Last Night's Dinner: Bulgur Salad, Part 3

You may have been wondering why I've been so quiet about the Fairview Farm pig these last two weeks. It is true that aside from some juicy, gigantic grilled pork chops a little while ago we've practically been vegetarians around here. But that's only because we've been patiently waiting for our home-cured bacon to be ready! The process, seasoning some pieces of our pork with spices and salt, refrigerating the meat in a plastic bag and turning it every once in a while, was simple. We are still sometimes confused by the multitude of packages in the freezer, some of them unlabeled. And there was a moment of doubt when my husband was slicing this meat and wondered whether he had cured salt pork instead of bacon. But then we fried some up and it tasted like bacon, so we are calling it bacon! In addition to enjoying it for breakfast since Monday, we had this salad last night (I simply cannot resist the package of bulgur in my pantry). Here is the recipe:

BLT Bulgur Salad
Serves 4

1 cup fine bulgur
1 1/2 cups water
Salt
4 ounces bacon
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons light brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
4 cups arugula
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 small avocado, peeled, pitted, and cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 scallions, white and light green parts, chopped
Ground black pepper

1. Combine the bulgur, water, and salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover, turn the heat to low, and cook for 15 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl, fluff with a fork, and let stand 15 minutes to cool.
2. Cook the bacon until crisp and transfer to paper towels to drain. Discard all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat. Whisk together the reserved bacon fat, oil, vinegar, brown sugar, mustard, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a small bowl.
3. Add the arugula, cherry tomatoes, avocado, and scallions to the bowl with the bulgur. Toss with the dressing to coat, season with salt and pepper, and serve.