ugh

Yesterday we discovered that the workers had accidentally unplugged our deep freezer in the course of their work two weeks ago. And by "we", I mean that I found Chloe whimpering and pointing to the freezer and then to the obviously unplugged cord. Knowing that Chloe would practice a strategy of avoidance, I tackled the cleanup operation today.

Rather than go into the details of the olfactory assault that awaited my opening of the freezer door, let me just tell you what was in there: steaks, seafood, chicken stock and a few other things. The thing about steaks packed in paper is that they tend to leak when they thaw. Imagine what a standing pool of blood smells like after two weeks at room temperature. It was a nasty business, and hopefully the neighbors didn't get too freaked out. I had elbow length gloves on and was soon spattered with a mixture of Formula 401 and blood. Also, shuttling black garbage bags from the basement out to the trash might have looked a little suspicious. All I can say is that I take payment in Cooks Illustrated recipe brownies if, for example, someone wanted to thank me!