Sorry Geoff and Ellen, I had to swipe your photo off your blog so my readers could see you guys. Ok, so who are Geoff and Ellen? Well, they are two heroes in my eyes. Capturing the true pioneering spirit, they set out on a journey to build for themselves a home, start a company, raise a family and be a part of community. Did I miss anything Geoff?
Anyway, I’ve been following their blog Montello Alpaca Company for over a year now, laughing at times and crying as Geoff shared a very private and horrible ordeal with his readers. They built their own earthbag home, raise alpacas and have a streak of hospitality a mile wide going through them. Their warm and inviting personalities make you just want to pack up and move closer to be part of what they are doing. I can tell you that if we weren’t destined to live in New Mexico, we would have definitely moved there!
The reason I’m posting this entry about them is this video they made of Geoff making a guinea pig kill and then roasting it, and then not only eating it himself, but interviewing Ellen as SHE ate a guinea pig for the first time. The film was intimate, Ellen was stunningly gorgeous as always (love the new hair cut!) and Geoff??? Um, well, he did the deed! I couldn’t believe what I was watching. LOL Geoff takes out this little tiny guinea pig, a BIG ASS knife, slits its throat, roasts it and watches his wife eat it. He ate it too. My question Geoff is “Was it at all filling?” You didn’t mention whether it is even worth the kill to eat the guinea pig since its so small.
It got me really thinking about rabbits though. I don’t think I’d eat guinea pig (not enough meat on the bones), but I have been researching meat rabbits. I was amazed at all I found out about them. As we get closer to raising meat rabbits, I’ll be sure to post something about it. For now, I want to leave you all with their video titled “Cuy Cuy Cuy.” Bon appetite!
Ellen here. I am thrilled that you would find something from the blog worth reposting on your own. I will say that I have been stretched much further out of my comfort zone than I ever thought possible (in more ways than one). I did eat some of the cuy and enjoyed it, but as we dug deeper in the flavors got too strong, and I couldn’t make it through any more bites. I have a sensitive sense of taste (compared to my husband who can chomp on a glove of raw garlic) and when I get something in my mouth that doesn’t taste very good I have an automatic gag reflex. So when I reached that point with the cuy, I didn’t have anymore. Again, glad you liked the video. We’ll make more about our adventures.
Wow. I am flattered. Thanks for the spotlight. Im glad you enjoyed the video. We have heard a lot of great things about rabbits. I am trying to find a meat that Ellen can eat. With her sensitive pallate, it may be that she just can’t eat freshly killed animals. Let us know if you decide to get rabbits.
Hi Ellen and Geoff,Ellen…I understand completely about the gag reflex thing. You may need things slow roasted or in a stew. I actually gag on anything that tastes gamey. Ugh! LOL I didn’t like deer the one time I tried it (it could have been the way it was prepared) but under the right conditions I’d try it again. One thing I could never wrap my mind around was eating buffalo. I hear it is super gamey, and musky food is just not my cup of tea. Oh, and I hate lima beans. LOL
Geoff…You are hilarious! I was cracking up at your sardonic laugh at the end of the cuy video and also the squab video. We have been wanting to put together some videos of everything happening, but I barely remember to bring the camera out to take pictures half the time. We are gonna get the rabbits, its just a matter of when. We have 15 ducklings coming (I LOVE roasted duck) and we still have to finish building the pond and duck house. After that comes the chicken coop, and then the rabbit hutches. I don’t know if I could handle taking care of all those things right away. I think I’d go insane. Its better for me to start with the ducks and slowly add animals as we progress.
I’m a follower of Geoff and Ellen’s blog too, and have to tell you about an amazing find. I enjoyed sage grouse for the first time last night. I’ve been helping my husband eat the grouse he hunts for years, but last night was the first time I enjoyed it. He soaked the cleaned bird in salt water for three or four hours, then sprinkled Old Bay seasoning generously over it and roasted it for about 1/2 hour at 325f. The seasoning was strong enough that it seemed to cover up the gaminess but not the flavor. I’ve earn rabbit before and think the seasoning would go really well with that flavor as well. I’ve never tried guinea pig, though.
It should have said “eaten” rabbit before.
Hi Cathe,I’ve never had sage grouse, and from what I understand, here in New Mexico the number of sage grouse are disappearing. I think they are so gorgeous and if we had great numbers here, I think I’d like to try eating them. I’ve even looked into raising them to increase their numbers, but from what the experts have shared with me, they don’t do well in the wild after being raised in captivity. If you’d like to share your experience and write a guest post on how your grouse is caught, killed, and prepared (and of course eaten) I would love to feature it. Let me know what you think, and if you’re interested, leave a comment and I’ll contact you via email.
Hi,My name is Dianna and am writing to ask if you could tell me about living in Montello and about dirt bag homes. Thank you for your time. Sincerely Dianna
Hi Dianna,
I live in Los Lunas, NM but I’m sure if you visit Montello Alpaca Company website, they could tell you more about living there.