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美文阅读：Hungry Like a Wolf

跨境电商创业日记

2025-10-15

Fun fact: Australian Shepherds, unlike Australian Cattle Dogs, aren’t actually Australian; the breed was developed in the United States.

趣闻：澳大利亚牧羊犬不像澳大利亚牧牛犬，它们其实并非产自澳洲；这个品种是在美国培育出来的。

My husband Michael has the equivalent of a preschool education when it comes to food preparation. He knows the basics, like how to spread Nutella on rye. His food pairings are imaginative and desperate. He shouldn’t be in the kitchen in the same way a color-blind person shouldn’t be an art director of a fashion magazine.

我丈夫迈克尔在做饭这件事上，水平相当于幼儿园。他会最基本的，比如如何在黑麦面包上抹榛子酱。他的食材搭配既富有想象力又透着一股“饿疯了”的劲儿。他根本不该进厨房，就像色盲不该去当时尚杂志的艺术总监。

Michael does know his way around a refrigerator filled with leftovers though. The key to his survival has always been his prowess at warming up said leftovers in the microwave.

不过，迈克尔倒确实懂得如何在塞满剩菜的冰箱里“航行”。他能活到今天，全靠用微波炉加热剩菜的高超本领。

This brings me to the most sacred day of leftovers: Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year for Jewish people. Many non-Jewish people know it as the annual Jewish observance of fasting. The fast begins at sundown on the night known as Kol Nidre and continues to sunset the next day. There is always an extravagant feast on Kol Nidre before sunset to hold everyone over for twenty-four hours of starvation.

这就说到了“剩菜界”最神圣的一天：赎罪日——犹太人一年中最庄严的节日。许多非犹太人只知道这天要禁食。禁食从“科尔·尼德拉”礼拜的日落开始，一直持续到次日日落。于是，礼拜前的那顿日落大餐必须极尽丰盛，好让大家撑过接下来二十四小时的饥饿。

I love all the Jewish holidays because my mother-in-law does the cooking. The agreement we have is that I set the table and she provides the food. This has served us well through the years, and was negotiated on a table napkin one year after an especially challenging cooking experience. As part of the deal, I even get to keep the leftovers.

所有犹太节日我都爱，因为我婆婆包办做饭。我们之间的协议是：我负责摆桌，她负责出菜。这份“餐巾条约”是某年我做饭大翻车之后当场拟定的，多年来运转良好。按约定，剩菜还归我。

Notwithstanding the Jewish holiday contract, I am still entrusted with the care and feeding of the entire family and that includes taking care of our Australian Shepherd, Slugger Free Spirit Red Sox Koenig, who does not participate in the Yom Kippur fast.

尽管有“节日合约”，全家老小的温饱依旧归我管——其中包括我们的澳大利亚牧羊犬“史拉格·自由精灵·红袜·柯尼格”，它可不过赎罪日，该吃还得吃。

Slugger is a purebred Aussie, a stunning red merle with a soft coat in shades of white, tan and reddish brown. Unfortunately, as Slugger has aged, he has developed a throat condition. He often gags as if something is caught there. So one September, around the time of Yom Kippur, I tried changing his food from dry pellets to wet food. I hoped it would be less harsh on his throat. So it wouldn’t be wasted, I spooned his uneaten moist food into a plastic container and put it in the refrigerator.

史拉格是纯种澳牧，漂亮的红陨石色，毛软软的，白、棕、红棕交杂。可惜上了年纪后，它得了咽喉病，常常像被东西卡住似的干呕。于是那年九月，赎罪日前后，我把它的干粮换成湿粮，想着对喉咙刺激小点。吃剩的湿粮我舍不得扔，舀进塑料盒放进了冰箱。

As she does every year, that Kol Nidre my mother-in-law brought a complete holiday dinner to my house. We rushed through eating so we could get to temple in time for the evening service. We stuffed chopped liver, brisket, and noodle pudding into plastic containers to be eaten the next day when we would break the fast on Yom Kippur.

科尔·尼德拉那晚，婆婆照例把整套节日大餐搬来我家。我们狼吞虎咽，赶着去教堂做晚礼拜。吃剩的鸡肝泥、炖牛腩、面条布丁全被我们塞进塑料盒，预备第二天日落破斋时再享用。

That year, as he does each year, Michael fasted the entire day. His ritual is to break the fast at exactly 5:00 p.m., even if the sun has not set. He is fond of saying “It’s always sundown somewhere in the world.”

那年，迈克尔照例全天禁食。他的个人仪式是：不管太阳落没落，下午五点整准时开吃。他最爱挂在嘴边的话是：“世界上总有个地方已经日落了。”

While Michael struggled through the last half-hour of his fast, I took Slugger for a walk. When I returned home twenty minutes later, I saw that Michael had pulled a container of leftovers out of the refrigerator. The top was removed from the container and placed next to a box of crackers on the center island in the kitchen. Dry, beige crumbs littered a blue disposable plate. A dirty knife rested on the black granite countertop.

迈克尔与饥饿做最后半小时斗争时，我带史拉格去遛弯。二十分钟后回家，只见迈克尔已从冰箱扒出一盒剩菜。盖子被掀掉，放在厨房中岛的一盒饼干旁；蓝色一次性盘子上撒着干巴巴的米色碎屑，一把脏刀横躺在黑色花岗岩台面上。

How nice, I thought. Michael has helped himself to some chopped liver.

“多好，”我心想，“迈克尔还挺自觉，先吃鸡肝泥垫垫。”

“How are you doing?” I asked.

“感觉怎么样？”我问。

No response. He pointed to a mouth full of food.

他没空说话，指了指自己塞得满满的嘴。

Michael had moved on from the appetizer portion of the evening to a warmed plate of beef brisket and kugel, which are egg noodles baked in soft cheese and sugar. He was watching a movie with a TV tray in our family room.

原来他已飞速进阶，从“前菜”升级到主菜：一盘热好的炖牛腩外加“库格尔”——用软奶酪和糖烤的鸡蛋面条。他正端着电视餐盘，在客厅看电影。

I picked up the plastic container to put it back into the refrigerator, but something didn’t look right. I took a closer look at the contents. I showed it to Slugger, who raised his nose into the air. Sniff, sniff, and sniff. He licked his chops.

我顺手拿起那只塑料盒想放回冰箱，可总觉得哪里不对劲。凑近一看，又把盒子递到史拉格鼻子下。它抬头猛嗅，嗅完还舔了舔嘴。

I sniffed the contents, too. I imagined what Slugger must be thinking, “Why is Michael eating my food?”

我也闻了闻。脑子里响起史拉格的OS：“凭啥吃我的饭？”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m wondering, too,” I said aloud. “But thanks for sharing. You’re a good dog.”

“对啊，我也想知道。”我自言自语，“不过还是谢谢你肯分享，真是乖狗狗。”

I wasn’t sure what to do next. Should I tell Michael that he had just broken his holiday fast with dog food? Or should I call all the family members on my contact list and tell them the story? After a twenty-four-hour fast, some entertainment is needed.

我一时拿不定主意：是告诉迈克尔他刚用狗粮破了斋呢，还是赶紧给亲戚们打电话直播？毕竟饿了二十四小时，大家需要点娱乐。

“What do you think, Slugger?” I said. “Call the relatives? Post the story on Facebook?”

“你说呢，史拉格？”我问，“给亲戚打电话？还是发脸书？”

Slugger cocked his head to the side.

它歪了歪脑袋。

“That’s what I thought. You’re such a bad dog.”

“懂了，你这坏狗狗。”

I looked at Michael happily enjoying the rest of his dinner. I decided that if the dog food was good enough for Slugger, then it was good enough for my husband. I spooned the rest into Slugger’s bowl, grabbed my cell phone and called anyone who would answer the phone. Like food, this was a story best served fresh.

我看着迈克尔心满意足地扫荡残局。心想：既然史拉格能吃，那我老公也能吃。于是我把盒底剩的刮进狗盆，抄起手机，给所有肯接电话的亲戚现场直播——好故事就像好菜，趁热吃才香。