Please read this...A mystery is solved...and some recipes, too...
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<p class="p1">As promised last time, we'll be sharing some culinary creations from Cahokia. Before we get to those delectable diversions, I wanted to share a solution to a bit of a mystery. And the mystery is even a little bit related to food. Sort of.</p><p class="p1">A couple of weeks ago, while motoring home from The Paragraph Factory for lunch, I happened to notice a dead raccoon laying alongside the road. </p><p class="p1">Spotting such a thing is not all that unusual, as you well know. At this time of the year, it's not surprising to see a veritable plethora of past-tense creatures alongside our highways. Raccoons. Skunks. Possums. Turtles in varying sizes and shapes. Snakes. Birds. And, occasionally, creatures which can no longer be identified. </p><p class="p1">Anyway, the raccoon was laying alongside the highway, decomposing or doing whatever such things do in the middle of summer.</p><p class="p1">Next day, as I made my morning commute to The Paragraph Factory, there was the dead raccoon. In the middle of the road. How could that be? Does a dead raccoon have a secret ability to transport itself in a post-mortem sort of way?</p><p class="p1">Well, a few days later, the answer to the mystery of a perambulating, life-challenge mammal may have been solved.</p><p class="p1">Once again, I was motoring back and forth from Point A to Point B. About halfway through the journey, I spotted a vulture (or buzzard?) on the highway. </p><p class="p1">The feathered garbage disposal was chowing down on a dead skunk that was smack dab in the middle of the road. Yup, there was a dead skunk in the middle of the road. And, with apologies to Loudon Wainwright III, the dead skunk was stinkin' to high heaven.</p><p class="p1">As I approached the stinky entree and the diner, the vulture didn't seem to be the least bit concerned that it might be about to join the skunk wherever such creatures go after they are obliterated on the highway. </p><p class="p1">Finally, the vulture seemed to take notice of the approaching hunk of metal. At that point, it began to try to drag the dead skunk off the road. Sadly, the vulture was not successful. It vulture-hopped and flew away. I drove over the dead skunk. Now, my car also was stinkin' to high heaven, too.</p><p class="p1">I'm guessing that the aforementioned dead raccoon was moved in the same way. At least, that is what I am hoping. Because the raccoon just kind of disappeared. We can only hope that raccoons do not become vampires, but that's another story.</p><p class="p1">All-righty then. Now that I've ruined your appetite, let's get to where this all started. </p><p class="p1">The accompanying images feature recipes which were discovered on a recent journey to Cahokia Mounds. I just thought folks might what to check them out. And, maybe, try one of two of 'em. </p><p class="p1">Oh, please make a note: None of the recipes call for dead skunk or dead raccoon. I suppose they could be used to make Indian stew: the recipe does call for "chunks of meat." All you have to do is make sure that the dead critters don't move. Bon appetit. </p>