Life gives jalapenos?Wrap 'em in bacon

Fall is bearing down upon us, which means football is in the air, leaves soon will be changing colors, nuts will be falling from trees, and politicians will be running amok. I often wonder if those last two aren't related to one another.

Except for the dog days of August, it's hard to tell we've had a summer. This was the first July I can recall when folks started reaching for sweaters, and weren't working in the refrigerated newsroom here at Sixth and Hickory. And with the abundance of rain, it has been one of the wettest summers in years. At least I didn't have to water the salsa garden that much.

While my jalapeno plants appear to be exhausting themselves, they did produce a fair amount of peppers, several of which found their way to the grill. I'm not sure how many others out there enjoy jalapenos, but they're one of my favorites. Actually, hot and spicy are my favorite kinds of food. A little heat, a little bite just makes a meal so much better.

Not meaning to tread on Linda Masters' turf, but one of the best ways to enjoy jalapenos is with bacon. Of course, the best way to enjoy almost anything is with bacon. Doesn't matter if nutritionists run screaming into the night at the mere mention of bacon, it's one of mankind's best developments. Bacon and jalapeno are just one of those combinations that's meant to be.

I've discovered many, many variations of the jalapeno/bacon combo, and tried a couple. The simplest and best is stuffing a jalapeno, or a jalapeno half, with cheese — cream, shredded cheddar or any other (although I'm not sure how bleu cheese would do) — and wrap it with a bacon slice then pop it on a grill until the cheese is melted and bacon is cooked. Or, you can put them in the oven and bake them. Then just serve them up, maybe with a little ranch dressing on the side, depending on the jalapeno heat.

One tip: Wear plastic gloves when removing the seeds from jalapenos before stuffing them. Otherwise, you'll regret it later if you touch your eyes, nose or anything else.

What does this have to do with fall, or the seasons changing, or anything of relevance? Uh, ... nothing. It's one of those days when I don't want to write something serious and depressing, and I'm obviously short of ideas. Hence, grilled bacon-wrapped jalapeno poppers. I've found when all else fails, go with food.

To be honest, I haven't run across a lot of light-hearted ideas this week, especially considering how bad much of the news has been. I think if I wasn't in the news business, I probably wouldn't keep up with the news as much. It'd probably give me a brighter outlook. But, then again, wanting to know what's going on is what got me into this business in the first place.

We all need to be informed about what's going on in the world around us, but sometimes you just want to shut it off, and need to shut it off. You need to get out to enjoy the changing seasons, to appreciate the more immediate world around you and away from the violence and disaster and bad things in the world. You can take just so much of it before you decide an asteroid hit on the planet might not be such a bad thing.

Hence, I enjoy things like the salsa garden, or bacon-wrapped jalapenos, or watching the super moon — the last one of this year is Tuesday, the Harvest Moon, so you better enjoy it as it shines on up in the sky. We just need to take time to appreciate what's good around us — the Cardinals in the pennant race, football season, autumn's arrival, and all the things that lift our spirits.

After going walkabout now in my head, I think it's time to go appreciate a few things, and treat a sudden craving for bacon.

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Sidenote: A friend, Liz Tone, told me her daughter, Courtney, had a baby on Labor Day at 25 weeks. Lulu was born at 1.1 pounds and is at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock. Liz asked if folks would keep keep them in their thoughts, prayers and send good vibes their way. I said I would. Here's hoping for the best for little Lulu.