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Monday, November 7, 2011

The Meat Piñata


In three more days, my homemade pancetta will be ready for some carbonara action! This project was spurred by a tutorial from The Tipsy Baker and an old blog post by Michael Ruhlman. My meat piñata is hanging above the bedroom door not because I think that's particularly romantic, but that location happened to have a hook conveniently located on the rafter. Plus, that spot is cool, the temperature ranges between 55-65 deg F, and mostly dark.

Strangely, the dogs are not going crazy from the smell, not that this is a smelly process. No scary mold or rotting smells are emanating from this hunk of meat. Yet, I expected that their sensitive dog noses meant that I would find them sitting underneath the meat mistletoe 24/7, but they are uninterested in it. This worries me because I am already paranoid that I'll die from eating homemade cured meat. Maybe the dogs know something I don't?


The picture above represents two annoying things (Mondays put me in an annoyed mood, you see):

1. Fifty-Fifty on our dining room table. I have an afghan in progress, and it rests on the table when I'm not working on it. This system is flawed because now the cats, particularly this cat, thinks the table is now an acceptable resting spot. No bueno.

2. Vespa's obsession with Fifty.  You can see Vespa's signature pointy ears in the pic. Some days, they are squabbling siblings who go out of their way to annoy each other .And, although it looks like Fifty is the victim, she is far from innocent. Again, no bueno.

A third thing that annoys me is my weakness for all things gummy. I bought a box of fruit snacks, 75 packages of gummy fruits, and I've managed to eat about half of them in 3 days. I think this is why I feel cranky: sugar overload. Or at least I hope this is what it is, because if it's a character flaw that is much harder to correct. This is also why my way to not eat crap must be to never, ever have crap in the house. Chocolate? Meh. Cookies? Meh. Gummy anything? GIVE IT TO ME NOW!!!!! Please tell me I am not alone in my odd "food" obsession. Anyone?

4 comments:

  1. I love the concept of meat pinata.

    Chocolate? Meh. Cookies? Meh. Chee-tohs? Gimme. We don't have them in the house.

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  2. I've got a meat pinata in the spare room closet (coolest, driest point in the house). The cat is completely unmoved by it.

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  3. LOLOL!!! you know me--i love chocolate, cookies, AND Cheetohs AND Gummy Candies. ESPECIALLY Chocolate covered gummy bears. holy crap those are great. :)

    also: i can't wait to hear how the meat pinata turns out!! AND that picture of Vespa and 50 really really CRACKS ME UP. :)

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  4. MicheleLB, I can't have Cheetohs in the house, either. Or, those Planters Cheese Puffs. If I was left alone in a room with them, they would expire (it would be a quick death).

    Foodycat, it's good to know that your cat is unmoved by the meat pinata. You've cured your own meat and lived to tell about it!

    Kimchi, chocolate covered gummy bears? They're an abomination! Just give me gummies, straight up. Haribo gummies are by far my favorite.

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