Ode to CAT, and a pile of Meatballs

Let’s talk cats. Some are perfectly fine fellows. Our last one was of that sort. He minded his business, dropping off the occasional mouse or five, for good measure. Basically, he was of the useful sort. Our current cat is not. Now, now, before you get all up in arms and call me an animal hater, let me explain. We currently have a mole and vole problem here on the Farm. When I’ve asked other farmers what to do concerning such an issue, they have one answer and one answer only. What you need is a cat. Picture my face at that exact moment. Are you seeing a scowl? A frustrated frown, perhaps? Any would apply. And, to make matters worse, did I not just say I had finished planting the garden? That the lettuces were all in? Yes. All in. Until. Yes, until the CAT decided that very spot would make a very nice place for a bathroom. Now. We have the whole yard. Lots of spots to use, for, well, you know… But no. Apparently nothing but my personal garden would do—the very spot which was to produce our summer’s worth of greens. So, now I have to carefully scrape out the spot, put new (and turd-free) dirt in and plant something else. Something prickly.

Onto better things. While doing my morning walk, I discovered all the necessary herbs of the Italian variety are up and singing, therefore I plan on making a batch of meatballs, some for tonight and some to freeze for later. And this is how it is done:

One pound ground beef is mixed with one pound ground pork, along with a cup of crushed croutons, two eggs, a half cup grated parmesan cheese, one finely diced onion, two cloves minced garlic, and a quarter cup finely chopped herbs of the Italian variety. I am using basil, oregano, and thyme. This is all mixed together and mixed well and a tablespoon of the mixture gathered in the hand and formed into a ball and placed on a cookie sheet, along will as many as will fit (it’s okay if they touch) and set in a preheated three hundred and fifty degree oven for twenty minutes, or until they’re brown and start to sizzle. They are taken out and the ones we are eating now, will go into the sauce, the ones we are freezing, will be placed on a parchmented baking sheet and placed in the freezer and left until done (about three hours or so). They are then bagged into freezer bags, labeled, and enjoyed on a pizza, a sub, or on a pile of spaghetti on some future occasion.