I have become wary of telling Husband what I want, or if I like something, because he takes it on himself to make certain I get it. Sometimes I just make an offhand comment about liking something, with no expectation of getting it, and Husband takes it to heart and feels responsible for it. I think it has something to do with his being an older brother of a younger sister and feeling responsible for her happiness. My father was the same way with me. One can only be considered spoiled under these circumstances if one comes to expect such treatment. I don’t expect it, so I am not spoiled!
Last week I took the last jar of home-rendered lard out of the freezer as I needed it for pie crusts. I told Husband that we would need to render more lard some time. I didn’t mean that I wanted to do it right away, but that was how Husband interpreted it, and he set to work finding some pork fat for me to render. I came home for lunch to find a disgruntled man who had been unsuccessful in finding any pork fat from our usual sources. He even phoned butcher shops in Fargo, Brookings, and Canby, MN. I assured him that it wasn’t a crisis, and that it was fine if we didn’t find any. There are lots of good pie crust recipes that don’t call for lard. Husband was still fretful. I just hoped he would forget about it and stop ruminating.
Yesterday while I was in my meetings, Husband chanced on a farmers market on Nicollet Avenue, and found a source for leaf lard and pork fat from a guy who raises hogs in New Richmond, WI. He and Husband talked lard and, after several phone calls back to the farm to check on supplies, he and Husband arranged for us to pick up 10 pounds of leaf lard and other pork fat from him at the Minneapolis Farmers Market on Saturday morning. Lard crisis averted. It remains to be seen what Husband will ruminate about next.
What have you gone to extremes to find or accomplish? What is your favorite pie crust? What do you ruminate about?
