Fat Tuesday

My EF friends, I must confess to you and be shriven: I am going completely off the wagon today.

In honor of Mardi Gras, I am suspending all paleolithic rules for one day. I intend to graze on carbs and fruit. I've already had a muffin and yogurt, nuts and cheese (OK, protein does taste really good) and a piece of toast! Oh, and it gets better. Leftover pasta for lunch. And there's a pancake supper at church tonight, and I'm gonna have me a stack. With syrup.

Laissez les bons temps roulez!

Really, this is mostly motivated by the fact that I'm home sick. I could certainly have toughed it out, but I had no meetings scheduled today and it would be better to take a day to recover than miss work later in the week. But hey, if there's a day to break the rules this is it.

Of course Fat Tuesday leads to Ash Wednesday. That means fasting, until dinner unless I feel that the fast will blow my recovery. I'll take more opportunities for fasting during Lent, probably on Fridays as is the tradition.

And no, growing up I never seriously observed Lent- but hey, I fast for fun and health now, so why not take advantage of the spiritual angle? I might also see if I can drop hard liquor for 40 days.

But you'll have to excuse me now, I hear a cookie calling me.

In Praise of the Egg Sangwich

That's right, "sangwich". That's the way Grandpa said it, that's the way America says it, and it's worked out pretty well so far.

The egg sangwich. A divine expression of the holy trinity of protein: meat, egg, cheese. But it is not a sangwich without an affront to Paleo man, the bread. I submit that it is a necessary evil. A high protein/fiber english muffin will purge this sin, and more too.

Butter and grill thy muffin. In the same pan, fry an egg... or two. Break the yolks and pepper them with a resolute hand. For meat, any pork product will do: bacon broken in two and maybe woven into a square; ham, sausage deftly split. Stack meat on egg and seal with cheese. Cheddar, or gouda if the bread is dark enough. Lay it atop, when it melts it will hold the meat together in a warm cheddary matrix.

How much do I love the egg sangwich? It is the only egg-based food I do not drown in tabasco. Ketchup is the ideal: lubricant and sealant both.

And now, a haiku.

O, thou egg sangwich!
A ham and egg alchemy:
Ketchup, butter, grease.

It doesn't get much more evolutionary than this...

Since Jeff likes to show pictures of his dinner sometimes, here's mine... next to the knife I used to personally KILL it! Would have been a very paleolithic meal if not for the nice Chilean Cabernet I enjoyed with it, and the sausage and peppers... some chicken... one of Emjay's cookies... well, at least I killed and ate some protein. I was very hungry after 20!-12! burpees. (getting farther!)

Sorry I could not get a picture at an earlier stage in the preparation, but I have a pretty nice camera and I did not want to get fish guts all over it.

Fish in question was a good-sized grass pickerel caught in Helderberg Lake. We were visiting some relatives at their lake house. Some of my second-cousins were snatching sunnies out of the water by dipping the lure straight off the dock, then releasing them.

I deplore this! Since so many hooked fish die no matter what you do, I believe in keeping and eating any fish I hook including sunfish, perch, whatever as long as it's a legal species and legal size. Not a lot of people know this, but a 7" sunfish has enough meat for a good-sized taco and the bones and skin come right off when you grill it on an open fire. Mmmm. Fish tacos.

There's no limit on such fish in most waters in New York - or the limit is something ridiculous, like 50 fish - so catch enough to make a meal of it. In my opinion it's the only respectful way to fish. You wouldn't stab a bunny, pick it up so the kids can take a look, then pull the spear out if its leg and let it go to live or die with that wound... would you?

If you don't know how to clean and cook the fish, put it in a livewell and take it to your local Asian market. The one in my neighborhood carries live fish that they slay and prep on-site, I'm sure for a nominal fee they'd prepare your catch.

Oh, and GET A LICENSE, as long as I'm declaiming here. The State spends a lot of money stocking the waters and keeping the fisheries in good shape, so it's the least you can do to pay for the privilege.