Last night we made a spicy three-bean chili with bison (which is a lot better for you than beef but still has all the delicious wonders of red meat). As usual, we made a pretty big pot of it, and unless I wanted to divvy it all up into smaller containers, the leftovers weren't going to fit in the fridge. But we have a deck, and it was snowing, and we used to do put food outside at our old apartment all the time.
The key difference here is that our new deck is connected to the ones beneath it, all the way to the ground -- so animals (and serial killers) have significantly greater access.
So we wrapped the lid onto the pot with aluminum foil, then put a very heavy cast iron pan (wrapped in a plastic bag) on top of the pot -- and then wrapped the whole thing again in a trash bag. We figured it was more or less water and vermin proof. And if anything got past these formidable defenses (seriously, the pan is heavy), well, then it just plain deserves the chili.
This morning, I went to the back to check the goods. The pan was still in place on top of the lid, but a lot of the plastic was shredded -- and the tell-tale footprints of a Rodent of Unusual Size were all around. I have a feeling if the weather was nicer, whatever it was would have invested more time and patience into acquiring the meal (and with all that chili pepper, a nasty case of indigestion).
Guess that's the last time we do that.
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