Rabbit Du Jour

This pretty lady in the picture above is the anaconda on display at our local zoo. We were interested to learn that she is fed a rabbit every two weeks and that's it...no other meals or snacks necessary for 14 days! As a mom, I wandered away in a temporary mental fantasy...imagine the time and money I could save if I could just toss a rabbit at my kids every two weeks! Sure, it sounds icky, and I do love working in the kitchen while they hang over the counter, sharing snacks and stories from their school day. But, there are also those nights when it's 6:00 and everyone is cranky and the thought of throwing a small woodland creature at them and being done with it for two weeks...yeah, that's when the snake meal plan sounds appealing.

"Are the rabbits alive?" I blurted out. (I could see my husband's jaw drop open...I wondered if he knew me well enough to know the thought process behind my question...sort of a "surely she is NOT looking for recipes" kind of a reaction).

"Well..." the zoo educator continued (his expression looked as if he was giddy about giving the gory details), "We order the rabbits wholesale and they come frozen. We heat them up, so she thinks they are alive and still suffocates them before eating." He followed this with a wink of his eye and a "don't tell her, it's our little secret."

I used to think the giraffes were my favorite zoo animal, but I have to say this whole anaconda lesson had me fascinated. Don't worry...my kids will still be fed everyday...and I've never even cooked with rabbit. Now, I could go for a Mother's Day dinner made by my husband. He cooks wonderful homemade Thai food with fresh ingredients...never frozen! :)