The title is inspired by the fact that a deer crossed my yard just as I sat down to write, and by the headliner — if headliner is the word I want — at a strip club not far from somewhere I used to live:…

My late husband could never learn the word vegan; he always said veegen. So the cook’s pronunciation is in memory of my dearest love. No actual roast beef was involved in the actual meal I made, which is detailed in today’s story. Stay Out of…