It's pouring cats and dogs out there. It won't last, rainstorms in this neck of the woods are brief and explosive. Thunder and lightning are common. It's as though Mother Nature uses this corner of the world to vent her daily frustrations. The storms may be violent but they are also beautiful with streaks of light and color illuminating the sullen, overcast horizon. I wish I had a photo to put here but my trigger finger has not been quick enough to catch a streak of lightning racing across the sky. It's something to strive for another day.
We're struggling a bit in the kitchen on this overcast Monday. Things are just not coming together. It's okay though, there's no one here and it seems to be clear sign to step back and focus on other things. We're trying to work on some recipes for the dishes Alex posted yesterday as they're meant to be contributions to cookbooks which are due at the end of the month. Actually they were due at the end of last month but since many of the other contributors were behind, we were granted an extension along with everyone else. It was a mixed blessing because it gave us almost too much time to mull over possibilities. Our food tends to be cleaner and more simple when we have less time to dream up embellishments.
I should be thinking elk but my mood and the weather definitely call for beef. My future definitely involves a thick steak, cool crunchy salad, rich red wine and perhaps a crust of bread to mop up the juices. It's a meal for stormy weather and one that I will savor later this evening. Oddly enough the steak dinner has become our comfort food. Some nights it may just be slab of beef and a glass of wine while other nights we gild the lily with potato puree or juicy tomatoes and spicy jalapenos. But when my energy is low and I find myself unconsciously trudging through my day, visions of rare meat dance through my consciousness. Dry aging is wonderful but in a pinch I can do without it. I don't need it to be prime although I do reach for the all natural beef whenever possible. I'm not sure what it is about a thick juicy piece of meat that sustains me so viscerally but there's no denying it's effect. As I slowly chew my way through flesh and fiber, savoring the rich juices and meaty essence, I can feel my muscles relaxing and my blood beginning to flow more rapidly through my veins. I become more alive and alert. Is it the protein? The iron? Or is it just the age old action of devouring meat for sustenance? I don't know the answer but I do know what I'll be having for dinner tonight.
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