Dr. Metablog

Dr. Metablog is the nom de blague of Vivian de St. Vrain, the pen name of a resident of the mountain west who writes about language, books, politics, or whatever else comes to mind. Under the name Otto Onions (Oh NIGH uns), Vivian de St. Vrain is the author of “The Big Book of False Etymologies” (Oxford, 1978) and, writing as Amber Feldhammer, is editor of the classic anthology of confessional poetry, “My Underwear” (Virago, 1997).

Re-thinking Slugs

Yesterday's post was disrespectful of slugs. I'm chagrined to have been so benighted and bigoted. After all, slugs have mothers too. In a comment, Mrs. KKP –formerly Miss KKH — (a food safety specialist) reports that many people happily eat slugs, which are a great source of protein and surely taste just like chicken when fried, or blended into a stew. They will no doubt serve equally well in a fricassee or a ragout.

In my defense, I can only say that I've not enjoyed a good relationship with slugs, so far. I remember my first encounter with the slimy tribe — as a young, innocent boy, in my father's garden on East 9th Street, where six-inch long fat gruesome creatures violated the precious daylilies with trails of goo. Slugs were unlike anything I had previously encountered and seemed to me to be either extra-terrestrial or transplanted from a horror movie. "Just pick them up and throw them into the bucket," my father said, optimistically. Squeamish, I declined.

And then there were the foot-long slugs crawling up the outsides of the windows on Mackinack Island and California's horrid banana slugs. They're all dreadful and voracious beings.

But now, in my maturity, I say, live and let live. Just don't make me eat them — or any cephalopod, for that matter.
The most popular slug recipe, google tells us, is for slug fritters. It begins with this ominous sentence: "Ingredients: ten freshly slaughtered slugs cleaned of all outer mucous."

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