found some pork fat (and a good burrito)
On our way to a used car lot in New Bedford last Saturday, we passed a small Portuguese market with a sign out front which said "Fresh Meat Daily" at the bottom. What happened next went by quickly but with the protracted clarity which so often accompanies life's more exciting moments.
engage turn signal
apply brakes and steer out of traffic
bring vehicle to a stop along the curb
apply e-brake
lock car
enter store

Inside the market is a jumble of various off-beat pantry items, wines and kitchen wares arranged over two or three aisles. I have found that just such a diverse huddle of food-stuffs, pots and pans and occasionally movies is the hallmark of any small grocery serving a community of people who can not find what they want at Stop & Shop or Walmart.

In the rear is the meat counter with typical offerings in the case: steaks, slab bacon, cleaned guinea hen etc. Hanging behind the counter are coils of 3 different sausages. The butcher is a handsome guy, still on the fair side of 40, a little unusual for a butcher. He says hello and asks what we're looking for. I pause and then for the schfourteen-teenth time in the past few months, the question "Do you have any pork fat?" passes my lips.

I have asked this question of every meat department in every grocery store that I've been in here on the Cape: Roche Brothers, Family Foods, Windfall Market, Guido's Country Market in addition to numerous Stop & Shop and Shaws. With the exception of Guido's, the answer is always a confused look which leads to some further explanation ("I'm looking for raw pork fat, like suet, but from a pig not a cow") which then leads to a tentative search through the meat case, often ending with the meat jockey handing me some salt pork. "Close but no CIGAR!!" I yell as I kick the man in the shin and strike him over the head with the salt pork. "While this is technically raw, as in 'not cooked'", I explain to the now prostrate pork purveyor, "it is indeed cured with salt. If I asked for raw salmon you wouldn't hand me gravlax would you!?"

To his immense credit, Guido knew what I was talking about and said he could get it with some prior notice. He then went on to explain to me that nobody buys primal cuts anymore. It's become common practice these days for markets (including his) to order cuts of meat that are already fully trimmed. It cuts down on waste in the shop and allows the bigger markets to hire less skilled folks to man the meat counter. Nice guy, Guido.

No such issue with the guy here in New Bedford near the used car lot. Eric (as it turns out) knew exactly what I was looking for but didn't have any, so sorry. He seemed confused that I'd be looking for it so I explained that I make sausage at home and can't find any in the regular supermarkets. At this point he grabbed a slab of ribs which had a fair bit of fat around the edges (the cut was untrimmed you see) and asked if something like that would work for me. I said it would and he set to work raiding the pork in his case, trimming off strips of fat. As he was getting started he asked if I wanted any skin included. What an awesome question.

While he was working I asked about the sausages hanging behind the counter. They are linguica (mild) and chorizo (hot), made fresh in the store. There's a purply looking one in the middle of those two which Eric says is made with internal organs. "Some people like it." he says with an incredulous look. While he worked we talked about pork, pork fat, making sausage, Jaun Cole's recent article in American Prospect and the dangers of getting involved in a land war in Asia. When all is said and done I have 6 pounds of pork fat in a bag ($0.99/lb) and a hank of chorizo. Thanks to a little memory jog from Reen, I tell Eric "Obrigado", which is met with a surprised and grateful smile as he says "You're welcome."

This is just the type of place I'd love to have close by to home, but at least I've found one that's not too far away. Now I've just got to use up the fat so I can have an excuse to go back there.

Oh yeah. We also found a cool little burrito joint called No Problemo downtown near the whaling museum. Good mexican food is about as rare on the cape as a good butcher so it was a special treat to have lunch there.  2 comments

clams, fish and eggs
I'm really looking forward to digging clams some time soon. Doesn't that sound like fun?

The herring run should start soon with the schoolie bass right behind. Here's a current look at the water temps off of the Vineyard.

We are looking for the mid-40's before the fishies start arriving. I'd say we're about 2 weeks away.

By the way, my egg kicked ass at the easter dinner table on Sunday. I won three others and not one end of mine was broken. Next year I will boil in onions for extra toughness.  0 comments

waterfront home
This crazy scene greeted Sal and I as we were working Monday. I don't have the whole story, but one can assume that this little exercise somehow costs less than having a new home built. And the state of affairs in real estate 'round these parts says that such a notion just might be true.


What nice water views we have here Henry...

lovely, yes...but how do I get from the bedroom to the kitchen again?  0 comments

ice bath
With the ice cleared from the water for the most part, I've been back out in the field for work. We still found some ice last Friday morning but thin enough that I could break through it.

path through the ice  3 comments

say thankya
Finished The Dark Tower this weekend. It's been a long journey indeed. Mixed feelings about the ending. The final confrontation of Good vs. Evil was kind of not good. There were many more moments in the story which were much more epic. I also was dissapointed that the final conflict relied too heavily on a character which was relatively new to the story. As far as "how the story ends" after the confrontation, well I thought King did very well. So kudos for that. In general the whole end of the series felt rushed to me, esspecially Susanah's Song.

If you have a second, take a gander at the poem which inspired King to start writing this story in 1970. I think it's great.

I printed out this dragon illusion thing and folded it up but it doesn't quite work properly for me. Stupid dragons.

Lindsay ran a half marathon this Saturday. It was raining when she started and progressed through sleet and then into snow. 13 miles, soaking wet and freezing. Cars splashing through puddles as they drive by. She and the other racers are insane. Good news is that Lindsay finished in 3rd place overall for the women. She got a jacket from Puma and a free pair of running shoes.

I made a quick cassoulet from the Jacques Pepin's cookbook that Millburg gave to us last week. It was delicious. However I did feel funny having to buy sausage from the grocery. I felt slightly ashamed that I didn't have any homemade waiting in the freezer.  2 comments