“This time, the two of you will be making it, I’ll just give you instructions. First, take all the meat out of their packages and put them in a big metal bowl. You can find it in the cupboard above the fridge.”
Momo retrieved the bowl while Sonja tried to tear open the meat packages. Luckily the cat came over with the sense to use scissors. Ground beef, pork, and turkey were dumped into the bowl, the girls staring at them with their mouths watering.
“Oh, I almost forgot. The two of you need to wash your hands since you’re going to be touching the meat.”
They obeyed, ready to sell their souls if it meant getting close to all that raw meat. While they washed their hands, I got out some eggs and a small bowl.
“Now I’m going to show you how to crack open an egg. You take an egg, tap it against the edge of a bowl to create a line of cracks, and then you gingerly pull it open.” They had seen me use eggs plenty of time before, but this time they got in close and paid attention. They tensed as the eggshell fractured, as if they were watching a horror movie, and then gasped when the gooey insides poured out into the bowl. They were so amazed by something so simple, it made them look even more adorable than usual. I poured my egg in with the meat and gave the girls their turn.
Given her egg, Momo brought her face as close to the small bowl as possible and began making small taps on the shell, as if trying to speak in Morse code. Wanting to get this done before dying of old age, I clutched her hand in mine and helped her break it open. I then gave the bowl and an egg to Sonja, hoping that she would do a little better. Squealing in joy, she crammed the egg in her mouth and began chewing on it with goop running down her chin. Honestly, I had been expecting her to just smash the egg into the bowl and make a mess.
I pushed her over to the sink. “No! No! You spit it out! I’m not paying for any Salmonella treatments!”
Sonja pouted and gave in, regurgitating a slimy, fragmented mess into the drain. We would have to try this again some other time, maybe for scrambled eggs.
“At least now we can get to the main part. You’ve put all the meat together and added an egg. Now you have to mix it up with your hands. Both of you reach in there and start mashing it up with your fingers. I think it’s something you might enjoy. But don’t eat any of it!”
Sonja and Momo started mixing the meat together like toddlers with Play-Dough. I could see their mouths watering as they worked, their predatory instincts telling them to dig in. Anytime they tried to eat some of the meat, I would tap them on the head with a wooden spoon. Maybe this was a little cruel, but learning to do these things was for their own good. I added some ground garlic to the mix and then had them shape it into a loaf. After dropping it onto a glass pan, I pushed in some lumps of mozzarella and then put it in the oven.
“Good work, girls! I’m very proud of you! You’ve just made your first meatloaf. Before long, you’ll be able to do it without me here.”
My praise made Sonja wag their tail and Momo purr, though that might have been the smell of the meatloaf cooking.
——————-
Jay says
Funny, I thought the bedroom was on the second floor.
Nice story, though!