Muskrat Meats and the Miracle Fruit Tasting Party

Hey friends! I am back from a crazy weekend of festivities over in Delaware. What did I do worth reporting here? First off, I saw the most amazing display in someone's yard promoting local food. They had a canoe with a mannequin, and the mannequin was holding a wooden box trap. Next to this creepy display was a sign advertising muskrat meats. I actually had a waterman tell me once that he was very fond of muskrat meat. If I remember correctly it requires special preparation, but I can't recall if that is because it's stringy, gamy, or fatty, or some combination of all three. Anyway I am ALMOST sorry I did not buy some and take it to camp with me because then I would have a better story. Lucky, for you, I got a picture:





















The second thing worth reporting is that I went to a tasting party for miracle fruit. I keep reading about these parties, where people eat the fruit that temporarily nulls their sour taste buds, and I was starting to feel rather jealous. For this party, people were asked to bring things to try. I brought over some stuff for the buffet like limes, blueberry yogurt, sour patch kids, and celery. Lemons and limes taste like lemon and lime candy. Celery tastes like celery. Mustard tastes like candy. I did not eat the bittersweet chocolate because somebody told me it tasted wretched. My friend Oscar plied me with goat cheese. I will say the goat cheese was my favorite because the flavor was a great surprise and because it was fed to me.

Shannon