escape

Went on the River Cottage "pig in a day" butchery course last week,
which was most informative and instructive, learning to use every part
of the carcass - as they say, the only part you can't eat is the
squeal. With the help of master butcher Ray Smith, we made sausages,
hams, salamis, chorizo, roasts, pancetta, bacon, stuffed tenderloins,
liver pate, faggots, brawn et al and still got home in time for tea.
However, this did mean that I started viewing our pigs in an entirely
different light, measuring them up for the different cuts and feeling
them all over to make sure they're laying down a good store of fat...

Perhaps sensing the possible threat, two of the pigs made a bid for
freedom. They had evidently formed an escape committee during the
night and tunnelled under the wire. Having made it to the field,
though, the sight of all that lush green grass evidently made them
abandon their plan and when I arrived in the morning with Poppy they
were busy ploughing it up with their snouts. A couple of slices of
ginger cake was enough to coax them back into their pen.

I brought a rather nice sticky toffee pudding for them, made in the
best Sharrow Bay manner by slicing it in half after baking and filling
with treacle sauce before allowing to go cold and then reheating with
yet more sauce over the top. The pigs thought it was good, too.
Poppy, of course, was green with envy and stole a Hobb's House crusty
baguette out of the box, slinking off to a corner of the field to
nurse it undisturbed.