Snow cow.

Madison.

The Underground folks held another seasonal dinner out at Fountain Prairie, though Sharon and I weren't able to make it out this time. Mark Dohm was busy taking pictures again, though, and has posted them on the web for all to see. I particularly like the ones where Ben's going to town with the meat saw. Perhaps it's the hat.

Mark, for those who don't know him, is one of the most well-connected, food-centric people in Madison. He's everywhere. He's aware of most everything.¹ And he does some nice camera work.² Mark is also one of the folks behind FERMENT, a casual monthly meeting for food- and sustainability-related stuff. The last two - the ones I've managed to attend - were at RP's Fork and Spoon Cafe, which meant you could load up on some fine, fresh pasta³ and local beer. It's yet to be determined where the next one will be, just a week from today.

It was a week late for the dinner, but I was out at Fountain Prairie this weekend, hunkered down inside to avoid the fierce cold.⁴ I did take the opportunity to snap a few photographs in the brief moments before the camera's battery and my fingers froze stiff. The light was gorgeous, with the sun's low angle lending strong relief to the drifts of snow. Here's one of the better shots I managed to get before scurrying back into the kitchen:



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¹Such as the recent worldwide mustard tasting and judging at the Mount Horeb Mustard Museum, which apparently included over 350 entries, some from as far afield as Europe and Japan.

²Stirs a mean sausage gravy, too.

³Made, presumably earlier that day, on the machines that you can see behind the counter.

⁴In the event you're someplace balmier, it's worth noting that last night's low temperature was somewhere in the neighborhood of -18°F. Before the onslaught of the deep freeze, I'd intended to try cold-smoking some sausages this weekend, but I figured it was all but impossible. The "cold" bit doesn't mean frozen.^a

^aBut it was nice to have a backup freezer, i.e., the back porch. No worries about cooling down that gallon of turkey stock from last week's sausage-making leftovers. Last week's sausage: Moroccan turkey (Bourbon Red, with raisins and the sorts of flavors you'd put in a tagine). This week's (unsmoked) sausage: Cajun pork and shrimp, sort of like an uncured, unsmoked andouille.