Pork, the other white meat.

I just got home from being a crew leader at the Wildland Firefighter Apprenticeship Academy in Sacramento. One day I was with a group of guys in the cafeteria poking around at our inedible dinner when one asked if I had seen the pork and coke video... being on the subject of gross food. I said I had not and he pulled it up on his nifty phone that also serves as a computer. Reason #8 not to have a phone that functions as a computer: the ability to conjure disgusting facts about the food we eat, while eating food. Youtube raw pork and coke. It's disgusting. Supposedly if you add coke to raw pork (approved by the USDA), the acid levels in it will force maggots (or some sort of worm) out of it. Gross. To say the least. So only watch the video if you can handle seeing worms crawl out of a perfectly good packet of pork.

So I'm back home and my fridge is empty. I decided I had to go to the store and re-stock. Entering the meat aisle, I let my eyes scan the numerous choices...and couldn't stomach any of them. I thought about the pork and coke experiment and wondered if maggots really could come out of raw pork. I think they're too big. That's not to say that smaller parasites can't live in there, virtually undetected until you put a magnifying glass to it. Or pour coke on it.

I've been eating pork the majority of my life and I'm still alive and don't have any weird parasites living in my body- although after the conversation I had a nightmare about worms crawling around inside my skin. For the most part I have not contracted very many diseases or illnesses from meat sold in the United States. I'm still here, right?

Well I left the store with ground turkey and tofu. That was the extent of the meat I could handle looking at. There's a push toward vegetarianism for ya. So I googled the pork and coke experiment. The US National Pork Board says this is in response to the fear that since pigs eat virtualy anything, including worms, you can get trichinosis from parasitic worms in the meat. Here's what they have to say about it: "Because of modern feeding practices, trichinosis is a no longer a concern. Although trichina is virtually nonexistent in pork, if it were present, it would be killed at 137 degrees F. That's well below the recommended end cooking temperature for pork, which is 160 degrees F."

Huh. Kinda like the tobacco company stating that cigarettes aren't that big of a deal? Maybe. Maybe not.

One of those weird conspiracy theory websites states you should just cook the pork until done all the way through and the worms will become an added source of protein. Nice. Some one else on there says you should add coke, remove the worms, then cook. Nicer still. Plus I heard fizzy products (like coke or beer) are a great marinade.

The Montague Project Part 2

I walked to the post office this morning and dropped off my recyling along the way at the gas station that flies the state flag (Jefferson, not California like you would expect) along the way. I bet many of you did not know that I live in the 51st state of the United States of America, Jefferson. For more info on the beautiful state of Jefferson, click here.

After dropping my mail in the drop box, I peeked into the windows of what used to be the Montague Hotel and Bar. Every time I drive past it I see neat antiques in the window but no "Open" sign to go in and look. There's a certification of inspection posted in one window that certifies there was no violation which leads me to believe that it'll be opening soon. In another window there's a mannequin in a blue dress with a red vintage hat. On the window is taped a poem that speculates who she is and for whom she awaits. Behind her, amidst construction debris and dust is an antique bar with pendant lights and a deep mahogany finish. I'm intrigued about what will become of this historic site.

Montague was built as a stop along the California-Oregon railroad; perhaps a place to stretch your legs on a long journey and enjoy the views of Mt. Shasta. The railroad doesn't run through here anymore as far as I know so you can imagine the railroad stopping place has now become, well, a town formerly know as a stop on a railroad. The old train depot that used to load ticketed passengers onto the trains was donated to the town years ago with the only stipulation being that they remove it from railroad property. So it now sits along the main drag and serves as a museum. It's only open in the summer so I wasn't able to go in and see what they had to offer.

Walking back to my house from the old bar and hotel, I stop to absorb the history of the town and breathe it in. An old train sits next to the tracks and I spot an old hitching post for horses as well as the ramp up to board the train where the depot used to be. I stand on the tracks and look north and then south and think that back in 1887 it was probably very similar to what it looks like now.

Martin's Store, which appears to have had a major fire, is closed up and stands next to the Montague Fire Department with its offensive air raid siren that I'm becoming quite fond of.

Other things of interest seen around Montague:

Cute little Methodist church in town.

Old Skool Ink- one of Siskiyou county's highest rated tatoo parlors. Do they really call them parlors anymore?

The city pool. It's not kept up in the winter and only runs a few months out of the summer. It's snows up here, need I say more?

City Hall is located adjacent to the pool. There's also a little park with a kid play-thing in it. Swings, basketball court, etc.

A historic building...

Chickens. How can chickens not be interesting when you're from San Diego? Cows will probably be in the next installment.

The photos of the paintings are taken from the walls on the Community Hall. For more information on the town of Montague California, see it's official website.

Where did my self respect go?

Anybody seen it? I may have lost it in Bakersfield in a Borders that was going out of business. I had grown a little tired of my current collection of cookbooks, what with all the Mediterranean, Italian and Greek healthy morsels and all. You know, at one point I considered learning how to make sushi, but the idea of buying and consuming raw fish in Yreka made me slightly nervous. So some crazy idea popped in my head to buy a French cookbook. I blame it entirely on Julie and Julia. Did any of you see that movie? The chick gains somewhere around 20lbs in midst of all her self taught cooking lessons. Why? Because French food is BAD FOR YOU! That's why they call it French fries. Not because those are French made potatoes (no, French made potatoes probably have much more creme and butter in them) but because anything that scrumptious and bad for you must be French.

Oh sure, you look at my last entry and see all the healthy fresh ingredients that I have laid out on the cutting board and think what a healthy path I've laid out for myself. But you don't see the story behind the photos, the story that I never wrote, because little did I know (or maybe I knew and this super long winter caused me not to care) that I was heading down a dark and dangerous path.

Friends used to come over to my house and have coffee and wonder where I kept my sugar. I had none. When I went to thicken some sauces and it called for flour, I had none, and dealt with the thinner sauce. Who needed filth like sugar and flour in the house? No, not me. I drink my coffee black and eat fresh meats and vegetables and use extra virgin olive oil instead of butter. I've got wild rice and whole wheat pasta and fresh fruit and greek yogurt.

What has happened to me??!!! In my cupboards as we speak, a terrible thing is happening. I've got cane sugar (white, by golly), cocoa powder, semi-sweet chocolate and I just bought butter (real butter) for the third time in a month!!! Something needs to be done. This is ridiculous and it is so not me. I need to go back to Mediterranean cooking and learn how to make Indian curries. I'm thinking I should get rid of the sugar and flour and hide my French cookbook. I am not a baker and there are reasons for that. I certainly don't need to be adding creme fraiche to all my meals, not to mention the large amounts of butter I've consumed on my own this past week. Aarrgghh!!! This is cabin fever at its worst!