Bunnies are food

Michael Moore almost ruined rabbit for us all

Last weekend I cooked a rabbit for the first time. Kati and Michael came into town, and I wanted to show them the DeKalb farmer’s market and impress them with the variety of foods available here in Atlanta. Michael worked in fast food for a long time, so he has a gut reaction against manufactured, over-processed food, frying, and corporate ownership of the things humans need to eat. I, of course, love to eat period, and I knew Kati would love the exotic stuff, because she loves things that are different and rare.

We went to the giant market and I could see it was a little overwhelming – we were there for over an hour and didn’t make it through the whole place. There were tons of every kind of fruit and vegetable, nuts, seeds, fresh baked goods, and of course, meat.

Which is how we got the rabbit. I had wanted to try a rabbit and Michael was sort of excited about it too. It was horribly expensive - $5 per pound – but our fascination with the skinned and cleaned mammal behind the glass next to the quail was irresistible. Dinan and Ron wouldn’t look at it with us; Dinan felt that rabbits were too close to cats and just couldn’t go with the plan. With a mighty sigh Ron gave up his portion and ate spaghetti as well.

I massaged olive oil into the skinned rabbit, and Kati cut up onions, mushrooms, and blue potatoes from California that were small and very, very blue. We threw some baby carrots in as well, and rosemary, black pepper, and salt went into the flour coating I patted onto the oiled bunny.

It did look like a cat. I worried at first that they had left the ears on, but it was just that a rabbit’s front legs are so powerful that the shoulders stick up over its back. It was pretty good; it tasted just like chicken, only with a tenderness and finer grain to the meat. Okay, so it was better than chicken. But we had only flavored it lightly and so it tasted just as any roast does, like juicy meaty vegetables. So it was OK, but nothing to write home about. I should have used some red wine. Kati felt odd after eating the roast and so wouldn’t have any more, and there’s half a rabbit still in the fridge.

Visiting with Kati and Michael is always fun. We talked about the current art project we’re all involved in, and politics, and the heat, which was rather pronounced after my air-conditioning went off Monday. We also shared a lot of music with my CD burner, which was awesome. They’re moving to Chicago soon, and I’ll just have to go and visit them – I’ve never been to Chicago, and I want to look at the charitable project they’re involved in.

I love the fact that my friends are all involved in this kind of high-level, amazing stuff that affects the world we live in. Weather we’re on stage or helping the public from behind the scenes, everyone I know is involved in some sort of life that benefits a lot of other people. I’m not quite sure how I ended up with all these sorts of friends, but I’m glad to be part of the whole moving, shaking kind of thing.

We all rock, you know?