Lamb Overdose

Two weeks ago I was shopping at Trader Joes for the first time in a couple months. I had kept meaning to go in order to restock on food, but I have found that the grocery store just around the corner is not only closer, but is usually always less crowded as well. So upon arriving at TJ’s I tried to hold myself back from getting too carried away in my long absence, and for the most part I did rather well. That is, except for the huge lamb hock I snagged.

For those who might not already know, I am rather obsessed with lamb meat. This obsession has stemmed from my love for deliciously unique tastes and the infrequency of which I get to dine on lamb. My love for lamb didn’t really start until a couple of years ago and I found that the more I ate lamb, the more I craved it because of its delicious rarity. So in my already excited state, I happened upon lamb that I just had to procure despite the cost or enormous size. This was a slab of meat large enough to feed a family that I bought for just my lonesome.

Last week I decided to celebrate the end of a hectic holiday season and the beginning of a new year by having a date with the lamb and myself. The meat was already pre-seasoned and I followed the baking instructions on how to best cook the meat. It was only after I had finished cooking the meat (with some delicious garlic mashed potatoes and fresh green beans) that I realized that I could feed a family of five with this single meal. But that didn’t stop me from having two big slabs of lamb meat.

When I had eaten my fill, I was faced with the sudden problem of how to store the leftovers, let alone what to do with it all. Eventually, I managed to find a way to fit everything into my fridge. The next day for lunch, I made myself a lamb sandwich that I found to be rather tasty and satisfying to my underlying lamb cravings. That night it was more lamb, but this time I cubed it and sautéed it with a jar of masala sauce for an Indian flair. By now, I was getting my pretty fill of lamb. The next day I left for the weekend and left the remaining lamb for the next week.

It is now that next week and I have yet to go back to the lamb. Every time when I open the fridge and look at the lamb, I change my mind and look elsewhere for food. What have I done to myself?!?! My cravings and love for lamb has subsided. The once exotic meat that was so rare to encounter in my dietary adventures has now reached a commonplace ranking with beef, pork and chicken. I have destroyed the very thing that I loved through my insatiable obsession. Just like Victor Frankenstein, I was driven mad by my cravings until it was too late and I realized the faults of my ways.

It doesn’t have to end on a sour note. I think tonight will be the last night that I have lamb in what will probably be a very long time. Despite its recent occurrence, I will cherish every bite as I kiss goodbye a treasured friendship.