Makin Bacon
A girl hungry for bacon came up with
a better way to microwave it.

Better way to cook:
Leave it to bacon eater

Got a hankering for bacon but worried about all that fat? Well, you may not be able to eliminate all of the fat in the bacon, but you can prevent it from sitting in its own grease - all thanks to a Minnesota girl.

Four years ago, Abbey Fleck, now age 12, invented the "Makin Bacon Dish" - about $7 at Wal-Mart Stores - which microwaves bacon vertically; that is, above the fat and not in it.

A white, plastic dish comes with three removable T-bars. Drape up to five bacon strips on each bar. Cover the cooking bacon with a paper towel to prevent splattering. As the bacon cooks, the fat drips into the bacon dish.

Remove crisped bacon strips from the T-bars and discard that worrisome fat collected in the dish.

The dishwasher safe "Makin Bacon Dish" was introduced in 1994 with a promotion on more than 10 million Armour brand bacon packages.

Citrus on sale

Vitamin C-rich winter citrus is a produce best buy with Ka'u oranges at 57 cents a pound at Safeway; honey tangerines for 88 cents at Daiei; navel oranges at 38 cents for Foodland Maika'i Club members and 39 cents at Star Markets; Minneola tangelos for $1.29 at Star; and grapefruit at three for $1 at Times Supermarkets.

Island Fresh kabocha is 67 cents a pound at Daiei, and 79 cents at Foodland and Times. Slice it into stews, soups and tempura. Or steam, bake, puree or braise to tap into its rich store of vitamin C, potassium and niacin.

Asparagus makes a midwinter debut at $1.98 a pound at Daiei and $1.99 at IGH (Independent Grocers of Hawaii) stores. Also, add color to salads with best-buy red onions for 69 cents a pound at both Safeway and Star.

Look for boneless "London broil steak" (top round) for $1.99 a pound at Safeway, boneless sirloin steak for $1.79 a pound at Star and $1.99 a pound at Times Supermarkets; and Ka Lei extra-large eggs at 2-1/2 dozen for $3.99 ($1.60 a dozen) at Star.