Domestic Joy

Someday our community might raise cuy for meat, but meanwhile as Xena prepares to hike the John Muir Trail from Yosemite Valley to Mt. Whitney, we trek over to our favorite butcher, Dave Simaljian of Baron's Meat and Poultry.


As an appliance in a (mostly) vegetarian household, I doubt the refrigerator has ever held this much meat before. But meat protein is pretty awesome out on the trail, and since Xena can't eat beans, she's making jerky.


Our housemate Betsy pitched in and made an oven-full (three roasting pans) worth of root veggies. Xena bought a relatively high-end dehydrator (it's there in the background) and she's been going all-out drying full meals to take on her trip. It's not her first time backpacking, so adding the task of making 21 days worth of meals to all the other trip preparation isn't very crazy. She might also be saving money, since store-bought trail food is easily $20 per person per day.

I copied our half-cat, wandering in and out of the kitchen all weekend, smelling the marinades, the roasting, the sauces, the volatiles coming out of the dehydrator. The cat was clearly enamored of all the smells and activity, and I was transported back to my childhood when mom's kitchen was always filled with the smells of things baking and cooking.