Slaugther Video

In the multimedia package I produced for my master's, there's a video of me killing a pig. It's too long and pretty anticlimactic, but what's interesting to me is, while I stand behind what I wrote, how different it is from the text about the same incident (which originally appeared on this blog). I wrote the piece as soon as I got home but didn't edit the video for a few weeks.

On another note, it's disappointing — though not surprising — that lots of meat eaters refuse to watch the slaughter. If you have issues watching a video, which you can start and stop at your leisure, in the privacy of your own home, you should probably rethink the whole eating dead animals thing.

I know some might find it vomit-inducing, but death is part of the bargain, right?

Death of a Pig is Dead. Long Live Death of a Pig.

With the completion of Death of a Pig: a pig in three parts (also known as my master's professional project), a chapter in the life of this blog ends.

While this blog was never an explict part of my master's project, regular readers of this blog will be familiar with some of the pieces (such as a couple sections about slaughter and La Quercia). But there are other things to discover, especially the multimedia.

It's exciting to be finished but it means starting from scratch to produce the Next Big Thing.

Latté Art in Iowa

You think the squiggles in the foam on top of your coffee is cool? It's not. Here in Iowa, we get pigs on top of ours.

Art and photo courtesy of Brewed Awakenings, the best coffee shop in Cedar Rapids.

Home-cured Pork Belly and Jowls

After a couple of weeks packed in salt and stored in an old dorm fridge (no, really), I rinsed and hung the cured pig jowls (can I say pork cheeks?) and belly. The guaciale, or jowl bacon, is on the left in the photo above and on the right is the cured pork belly.

I ain’ t got no fancy hangin’ room or nuthin’, so they'll hang to dry in our home “office” for three weeks or so. No, really. It just has to stay below 60° and out of the dog's jaws.

Just a Reminder

If you're making pies (for Easter or any other reason), skip the butter and use lard.

Quicky Review: Augusta

We went on my birthday at the beginning of the month and, in honor of Kate Casper's piece (not available online available below) about the restaurant on Iowa Public Radio this morning, I now offer a few thoughts on Augusta.

The Good
The food is above average and everything — even the mayonnaise and pickles — is made in-house; the restaurant is proud that it doesn't own a can opener. And the prices are incredibly reasonable (seriously, where else can you get a side of fries for a buck? I mean, besides Micky D's?)

The Bad
I was disappointed that lots of the entrées were of the hunk-of-meat variety. Perhaps it's the Midwestern influence showing in their menu.

The Ugly
The waitron we had was, to be delicate, not very good . She wasn't rude, she just seemed overwhelmed. By us. Her only table. Perhaps it was her first restaurant job. Lucky for us, one of the co-owners bailed her out.

The Details
101 S. Augusta Ave., Oxford, Iowa
319-828-2252
augustarestaurant@gmail.com
www.augustarestaurant.net
Open Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m., Sunday for brunch 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. and for dinner 4 p.m. until 8 p.m. Closed Tuesday.

The Update
Kate's radio piece is below. It originally aired Sunday, March 16.

The Omnivore

I know I said I'd never let this become a recipe blog and it won't. I just discovered this and had to try it out.

(If you're reading this in a reader, you have to visit the blog to see the comic.)