Wurst Week Ever

This week it feels mighty good to be Jewish. Sure, there may be a rising tide of anti-semitism, but right now it feels like more people are focused on preparing for Christmas. And that’s a good thing.

For what it’s worth, I too think it’s ridiculous when municipalities put up a Christmas tree and decide to call it a “Holiday Tree”. They aren’t fooling anyone. Sure, there’s a Jewish holiday of the trees–it’s called Tu B’shevat–except it’s not until February. Maybe some Druids or Wiccans might be able to make a claim to a December holiday tree, but I just don’t know.

Mostly, I’m glad not to be caught up in the holiday madness. Chanukah isn’t about gifts, so I can avoid the crush of humanity at its apex of consumerism. Sure, kids might get a present every night, but it’s generally something small. A mere token nod to the tenor of the season.

But it was a good week for other reasons too. Have I mentioned that my diet has been almost entirely obliterated? Usually, I go through the week with no liverwurst. But this week was all about liverwurst.

I even have pictures.

Did you know that you can customize the grilled cheese sandwiches at The Cheese Traveler? It makes sense, I suppose. But the sandwiches are so carefully balanced, and thought out, that perhaps some people are reluctant to take liberties with their construction.

Well last week, I was told that instead of just adding Flying Pigs Farm ham to a sandwich, I could add Benton’s Bacon. Well, that was a revelation.

So this week, I went hog wild. And I took the traditional sandwich with Comté and mustard, substituted the McClure’s pickle relish for diced red onion, and added some slices of Flying Pigs Farm liverwurst.

Dear god that was good.

At the time I told Eric how happy I was to be able to get liverwurst on a sandwich. That way, I could avoid buying a larger chunk of it, and just devouring it over the course of a couple of days. Because while I do love liverwurst, I really don’t need to be eating that much of the stuff.

It may have been a bad idea to say those words out loud. Tempting fate is a bad plan.

With the love of liverwurst still on my mind, I made my way to Chester’s Smokehouse with the goal of getting a ham hock for split pea soup. Before I knew it, I was walking out with $30 worth of meat, cheeses, pierogies, and polish rye bread.

Oops.

Oh yeah. And somehow a chunk of liverwurst ended up in my bag too. I went for the spreadable pate version, because what’s life without a little spreadable meat butter. Hey, but at least I’m still doing my weekly yoga.

For what it’s worth, I’m feeling great and my pants still fit. Still, I know in my heart of hearts that some day soon I’ll have to slow it down a bit. Until then, I’m going to enjoy the freedom while I’ve got it.

The world can get crazy sometimes. It’s important to be able to find joy wherever you can.