Day 9, 10–The Secret of the Stew

There was no duck egg by the pond yesterday, so I assumed Jasmine had laid a teaser egg and promptly entered menopause. Thankfully, I was wrong; the kids found another one this morning.

What do you take to a potlock dinner during an experiment like this? That was my dilemma last night. So I rummaged through the basement doomsday stash and found two cans each of Campbells Beefy Mushroom and Tomato soup. I decided that would be my base for a stew.

A couple pounds of meat, red wine, garlic, herbs de provence, worshy sauce, beef boullion, potatoes and carrots later, I had this savory meal simmering and ready to share with our friends:

(And I might add that the cooking experience was curiously, quite possibly, almost positively, dare I say–fun.)

Now. I received a few compliments on the stew, which were appreciated (I thought it needed more salt.). And when asked what the meat was, I told them “venison.” But here I must confess a truth:

The secret of the stew was, in fact, woodchuck. You see, I’d forgotten to thaw the deer steak in time, and Dave had finally gained the great pleasure of shooting the menacing rodent that recently darkened the dawn of our long-awaited spring.

I do say, if properly seared and seasoned, woodchuck loin is indeed favorable for a hearty stew. The compliments confirmed it.

(Just kidding! Good thing, because there are leftovers. Guess what’s for dinner tonight.)