GardenPages

One of the enduring frustrations of living in the States again is not being able to purchase a piece of meat that is still attached to its bone, should the cut have been near one, or jacketed in its flavor-giving layer of fat. It, of course, has been excised for my own good. Whether I want it or not. So much for the pursuit of happiness.

For Christmas the Clarke family likes to dine on standing rib of beef, Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, brussel sprouts. You get the Dickensian picture. So I went to a hightone grocery and asked for the joint of choice. Took it home, unwrapped it from its brown paper shroud, and lo and behold, the muscle had been separated from the ribs bones, the fat removed with surgical precision, only for these “trimmings” to be lashed back on with twine. Sigh.

Now, Martha Rose Shulman reports that fat is back on the menu…at least some fats. And it is quite the complicated business coming to that conclusion, as she reports at http://tiny.cc/w0yyr. But reassuring nonetheless.

So I will adhere (without twine) to my principle of moderation in all things.
Now please pass the bacon.