My first task this morning was to pull my marinated meat out of the fridge and cut it into very thin slices, which I then put on the dehydrator trays. I filled every tray, and it was just about two pounds of meat, so the capacity is quite small. I set the time and temperature and then left it to do its work while quietly humming on the kitchen counter all day. Well, it wasn’t all that quiet, but the noise wasn’t too bad.
Things have gotten a lot easier since my dad used to make biltong (jerky) back in the day when we lived in Zambia. He’d brine the meat he brought back from a hunt, and then hang it in strips on little hooks all over the ceiling of the kitchen. It looked a little macabre, to be honest, and of course it only really worked during the dry season, but it took several weeks. This new dehydrator does the same thing in less than a day.
I had an email today from a writer friend who’d had my Jane Eyre guide recommended by someone in South Africa! Small world. I hope they enjoy it.
Today was the second class in my photography course. The lesson today was about color theory, something I feel on pretty firm ground with. We focused on analogous colors today, and our assignment is to take a photo featuring analogous colors. I’m pretty sure I can come up with something. I tend to dress in analogous colors ninety percent of the time—really more monochrome, to be honest. Not sure when or why that started, but that’s where I’ve landed.
But anyway, in today’s class a minor mystery was solved. On Tuesday I noticed a kid in the class. He was easy to notice because he’s very tall and lanky—a real beanpole. He reminded me right away of my son Flynn when he was in college—a very similar build. But also, the more I looked at him, the more familiar he looked. I felt sure I’d seen him somewhere before.
Turns out, I was right, and now I’m a little embarrassed I didn’t recognize him instantly. I’m blaming it on the fact that he’s grown about two feet since the last time I saw him. Several years ago now, I tutored two young men whom I called “the blond brothers.” Both were very respectful and conscientious students, but the younger brother, Isaac, was outstanding. He was one of the best students I had in all my years of teaching. Who could have guessed that we’d end up being classmates when he got to college? He says he still uses the things I taught him in his writing.
About the time I arrived at class, I received a message from my friend Desiree saying she was in town and had brought me something. She stopped by right before supper and gave me some beautiful china egg coddlers—two “single” sized and two “double” sized, for two eggs. They had belonged to Desiree’s mother and sister, who have since passed away, and she knew I’d use them. What a thoughtful gift.
After supper I turned off the dehydrator and pulled out all the biltong:
We all taste-tested it and it was pretty good! This makes me look forward to next week’s road trip. Store-bought jerky is so expensive and almost always laden with sugar. Now that I can make my own, I can put what I want in it.
Parting Shot:
My beautiful new egg coddlers. Bet you can’t guess what I’m having for breakfast tomorrow!