Art of the Odd

It started with this — an innocent-looking blog post entitled “The Fluffy Mackerel Pudding might be my favorite.”

Fluffy what? Fluffy and mackerel should never be placed in the same sentence. “Oh, sweetie, what a perfectly adorable little fluffy mackerel!”

Never mind the pudding.

And so of course I had to follow the link to the site that inspired such a fantastically bizarre title.

It’s called Candy Boots. And it’s the home of the Amazing Mackerel Pudding Plan! What, you ask is The Amazing Mackerel Pudding Plan? Why, it’s the book inspired by a collection of truly horrifying Weight Watchers recipe cards from 1974.

I went. I toured. And then I shared the link with my husband.

“I think I’ve seen this before,” he said.

And then he said, “Wait. I know why these look so familiar. It’s because we had these.”

Oh, poor child. Can you imagine? Growing up with these cards lurking in your kitchen? Lying in wait?

He scrolled through the images. He stopped.

“Oh, my God!” he cried. “It’s SPECTACULAR!”

“I always wanted to make this,” he said. “And now I can’t remember why.”

“Because it’s spectacular?” I suggested. “And made of meat?”

“I guess the idea of hot dog engineering was just attractive,” he said.

This is why I love this man.

And I think I know what we’re making for next year’s MeatFest. Except we’re going to make it with really good sausages. And that’s just wrong.

(Photo by Scott Beale/Laughing Squid, MeatFest poster by Mikl-Em)