MEAT-loaf. With MEAT. And MEAT.

Here's a very yummy random meatloaf that I made last night out of 3 kinds of meat (bacon, veal, and pork saussage). I had been thinking of BBQ snags, and then the rain came. Lovely, soaking, heavy rain, wonderfully good for the garden and the dams and the tanks, and absolutely crap for the BBQ.

I made this up out of things from the fridge & freezer. You almost certainly can't replicate it, and I almost certainly never will. But it may inspire. The recipe, that is, not the picture. It's not the most photogenic thing. It makes me feel a bit guilty about that time I sent the Canberra Times photographer off to take a photo of liver and onions.

Recipe: Random Meatloaf
6 eggs
4 pieces eye bacon
500g leftover lean cold wine-poached veal
750g Italian spicy pork sausages
2 large field mushrooms
olive oil

Softboil and shell 4 of the eggs.
Chop the veal quite finely, but not to mince. Around 0.5cm dice.
Mix half of the sausage meat and a raw egg into the veal.
Mix the other raw egg into the rest of the sausage meat.

Layer in, from bottom to top
* the bacon
* half the sausage & egg mix.
* half the veal & sausage mix.
* the eggs, end to end.
* the remaining veal & sausage mix.
* the remaining sausage & egg mix.
Bake at 160C fan forced for an hour.
Add sliced up mushrooms to the top, spray with olive oil.
Increase heat to grill for ten minutes, or until done to your taste.
Turn out onto a small chopping board, then invert it onto a larger one to slice up.

Read on for the notes

Notes: the point of this layering is partly to get a contrast in textures, but also partly to protect the lean meat from drying out. The sausage meat is relatively fatty and this helps keep it moist. Also, the streaky end of the bacon rashers would have been much better for lining the pan. But you work with what I have.

If I had made a meatloaf from scratch, with mince, I would have spiced up the meats with whatever took my fancy at the time. An English style sage and onion perhaps, or one could go Asian with chilli, ginger and garlic, or Italian with tomato, olives, garlic and basil. In this particular case I didn't add any extra flavours, because both the sausage and the veal were already strongly flavoured. The veal had been poached in white wine, and the sausages were Country Pride from Lyneham, and very spicy and flavoursome.

I served it with steamed broccoli and pattypan squash; a tomato relish made by B1's Mum; and soft white bread rolls from the Kambah bakery. It was very good. We also accompanied it with a spot of champers, a couple of friends, and a DVD of Young Frankenstein. Ah, sweet mystery of life, at last I've found you!

I'm a vegetarian for today. And I got the first figs from my little tree.