With a winter storm on the way I searched the internet for egg replacements in baking. It doesn't look as if this snowfall will rival some of those we had last year, but since, already, we haven't been able to get out to the grocery for a few weeks it looks like our veggie meatballs will have to be stuck together by instant mashed potatoes. (I'm all out of flax seed and whizzed tofu...can you believe it?)

Mary told me that during WWII rationing in England folks were sometimes allotted an egg a week, so I guess we have six weeks worth of eggs, but I'd still rather not use them in the "meatballs." She mentioned there was whale meat. Not in our stocks, in England during the war. I'm pretty sure I would be found dead of starvation beside a whole freezer full of whale meat. Probably some people would starve to death with a freezer full of my veggie meatballs. If you want to know about cooking consult Deborah O'Toole's Shenanchie's Kitchen. Provided she survives reading this.

Mary and I eat minimalistically. My cooking philosophy is to remove ingredients from recipes until I can't taste the difference. Thus our recent published recipe for "Justinian's Minimalist Egg Curry" in Robert Weibezahl's Second Helping of Murder. Of course Justinian didn't have curry, or tomatoes for the tomato sauce. Or even a can opener to open the tomato sauce. Our mystery books are more historically accurate than our recipes. Possibly just as edible.

I do occasionally wonder what people from ancient times would make of modern prepared foods? Would they find an instant frozen pizza a remarkable delicacy or bland beyond endurance?

Now Mary is perusing an internet site about WWII rationing. She says, someone suggested "Squirrel Tail Soup." Yet another argument in favor of vegetarianism.