… and I have sinned. Penance was sought and paid.
You might notice that the previous entry was posted at 4:10AM Pacific, a tad early even for this early riser. The truth is I had not gone to sleep, but not by design. I was in bed, blearily watching Headline News somewhere around midnight but could not fall asleep. Someting was brewing in my stomach. Somewhere around three it struck — nausea, dizziness, heartburn to beat the band. I have had acid reflux but this was child’s play. I was about to blow my dinner all over the bed. I had to stand up. My wife stared at me in alarm, but we both knew what had struck: “Organic pork belly!”
I know it doesn’t sound appetizing, but it is the specialité de la maison of a new and quite trendy Italian restaurant hereabouts at which we had just eaten with some friends. No, I’m not going to name it, because it wasn’t their fault. I should have known better than to order pork belly after I had white truffles on scrambled eggs and toast (fantastic–and the price of a medium-sized car!), sloshed down with numerous glasses of merlot and chianti (at least we had the sense to order by the carafe). I didn’t neglect dessert either–torta di nonna accompanied by several flavors of sorbet (Concord grape, Meyer lemon) not to mention a Ricotta fritter something with sour cherry sauce.
And that pork belly– only about 97% fat, but crispy and delicious, served on a bed of Tuscan beans. They made it on a woodfire grill, the most authentic, I am told, in our city. Now I am paying for it.
Lord, I have sinned. I promise not to do it again… until tonight.
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20 Comments
1. Caroline:Don’t be so quick to assume it was the food. I had those exact same symptoms 2 weeks ago – vomited my dinner, then nausea, dizziness and extreme reflux. It sort of diminished gradually over the day and then resolved. And as the nausea and reflux persisted long after I had vomited I thought it strange. I think there’s a one day stomach flu going around. But anyway – you have my sympathies!
Dec 23, 2004 - 9:15 am 2. TmjUtah:Aaargh. Roger, it’s a holiday thing. Glad you’re better now, of course.I’ve been guilty of saying “I shouldn’t have had that darned ice cream cup” at the tail end of a twelve hour barbeque myself.
Suuuuuuure it was the pork belly…*laughing*.
I’m cooking today. Four hour pineapple, clove, basalmic/virgin olive oil marinade for the port- side five pound pork loin roast. As soon as that goes in the fridge, the starboard roast gets washed, dried, rubbed down with coarse black lemon pepper, lemon juice, cinammon, and light olive oil. Somewhere between three and four hours at 325 and we’re talking Roman-* level decadence here…
My only regret is that I don’t have a pit barbeque out back. Our new Amana oven is almost as good, even if we can’t do woodchips in it.
* My wife the editor has explained that even if I don’t have the grammar chops to get usage right, if I leave spaces where my dashes end up I run less chance of screwing up your format. So, Ta- DA… spaces!
Dec 23, 2004 - 9:19 am 3. rickE:Roger, Like Scrooge, it could have been a bit of undigested meat, or as you say it might be a divine message. You might want to take a look at this: http://www.aish.com/literacy/concepts/Reward_and_Punishment_.asp
Dec 23, 2004 - 9:30 am 4. Ray:Roger,
I got sick just reading it.
Dec 23, 2004 - 9:36 am 5. Canuck:Now, look what you’ve done! GoogleAds is full of pork recipes etc.
Dec 23, 2004 - 9:42 am 6. rickE:Or the divine message may have been this: http://www.aish.com/spirituality/odysseys/Keeping_Kosher3_Kicking_and_Screaming.asp
Dec 23, 2004 - 9:47 am 7. Dave F:Now you see why you should keep kosher. It’s just common sense.
Dec 23, 2004 - 10:29 am 8. Skookumchuk:Homemade Almond Roca candy. The usual frosted Santas and Christmas trees. And she makes this wicked cranberry oatmeal cookie.
I’ve had three lemon bars this morning – so far.
Dec 23, 2004 - 10:31 am 9. PeterUK:Roger it was more likely to have been the scarmbled eggs,http://www.gpnotebook.com/cache/-1898971101.htm
Enjoy your Christmas.
Dec 23, 2004 - 10:40 am 10. PeterArgus:Roger:
Your post confirms my suspicion that all blogs, no matter how noble, eventually resort to graphic depictions of digestive insults, aka Andrew Sullivan.
As a GERD sufferer I can testify that Nexium has solved this problem for me. I can actually eat all that great food you described and suffer not one belch (well maybe one).
BTW, Merry Christmas to you and your family!
Dec 23, 2004 - 10:43 am 11. Terrye:Roger:
We have all been there.
I know I ate more after I quit smoking. Now I am thinking of starting again so that I can lose weight.
not really.
Dec 23, 2004 - 11:54 am 12. Jeremy Brown:Hey, Roger. You have my empathy as one who has known similar digestive wrath. It wasn’t pork in my case, though my lifelong atheism probably has had something to do with it.
It’s strange how a bout of gastroenteritis will make atheists and agnostics start talking to God. That Yaweh plays dirty pool.
Dec 23, 2004 - 12:50 pm 13. Brian:Next time try a glass of milk with ten or twelve shakes of Angostura bitters. Cures anything!
Dec 23, 2004 - 12:51 pm 14. Charlie (Colorado):I’ve been fairly abstemious recently, because I’m trying to get down to 220 by my 50th birthday next August (mark your calendars!). But my sister was in town, so we took my mother to her favorite restaurant, Morton’s of Chicago.
I was, I thought, fairly restrained. Sliced tomatoes with vinaigrette, a New York cut, and sauteed spinach with mushrooms. No dessert, but I did allow myself one glass of dry vermouth, it being a holiday dinner and all.
Sick for 36 hours. I’m just not used to eating a piece of meat that size any more.
Sure tasted great, though.
Dec 23, 2004 - 2:25 pm 15. Matteo:I’m reminded of a scene in an eighties movie where one character is badly hung over, and the other says, “I’ll make you some lunch. How about a greasy pork sandwich served in a dirty ashtray?”
Dec 23, 2004 - 3:04 pm 16. richard mcenroe:The key to your downfall, Roger, is the Eeeeeeevil word “organic.”
If preservatives weren’t good for you, God wouldn’t have created chemical companies. Big words ending in “-ites” and “-ates” are your friend…
Dec 23, 2004 - 4:44 pm 17. Charlie (Colorado):Treyf. Definitely Treyf.
Dec 23, 2004 - 6:25 pm 18. richard mcenroe:Er, Roger, under these circumstances, exactly WHAT were you outsourcing during that 4:10 a.m. post?
Dec 23, 2004 - 8:03 pm 19. richard mcenroe:What is the point of low-carb pork snacks? They’ll barely even pollute a Muslim…
Dec 23, 2004 - 9:22 pm 20. Bruce Hill:“Oy, Treyf”.
- Richard Lews as Prince John in “Robin Hood: Men in Tights”, after someone has just plonked down an entire roast pig in from of him during a banquet scene.
Dec 24, 2004 - 5:53 am