Monthly Archives: December 2010

Sausage Making for Dummies

One of the ways we have always wanted to prepare our venison is as a sausage. This year Proeun found this great recipe.

Hot Venison Italian Sausage

2 pounds ground Venison
1 pound ground pork (we used all venison)
1/2 cup water
4 tsp crushed red pepper
1 TBSP salt
1 TBSP black pepper
1 TBSP fennel seeds (we used anise)
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil

We added paprika for color, sugar and Sriracha pepper sauce (Asian staple). We also chopped carrots, onion, bell pepper and cilantro. We made approximately 35 pounds of sausage so I am not sure on the proportions.

We ground up the meat, chopped the veggies and added the seasoning.

Turns out sausage making is a long process, especially when you are using new equipment to get used to. Took us one whole evening to figure out how to use the grinder as a stuffer. We ended up calling customer service the next morning. Then it took us a while to figure out the best stuffing technique with natural casing so as not to burst the casing but get them even and full.

Finally after about 2 hours of experimenting, starting and stopping to deal with children we figured it out. Sunday night we were up until 11:30 stuffing and cleaning up. Another long night.

We had some seasoned meat left over for meatballs and tried them in our weekly spaghetti. They were fabulous! Just drain off any fat before adding the sauce.

We also went over to my parents and they made a wonderful dish of venison tenderloin sliced into medalions and dipped in dijon mustard and ground pecans and walnuts and pan fried–so amazing!. Add crusty bread some rice and pasta and you have a meal fit for a king.

“Santa is Real!”

I am not sure exactaly how it happened. Proeun and I didn’t really have a game plan for the role Santa Claus would play in our holiday celebrations then last year Two told us. I remembered that Santa had always left presents for us and we had done the whole cookie thing but Santa wasn’t real to me or my sister.

Proeun grew up poor and honestly there were often no presents at all. He recalls with pain how teachers would always ask what you got for Christmas on the return from break, always in front of the whole class. Proeun loved school just because he knew he would eat at least one full meal a day.

When our children came along we didn’t really think Santa would be real for them either. Last year I didn’t plan ahead, no cookies, but I did have some carob cake I had made so Santa (me) got carob cake and soy milk (dairy alergy in this house). And he left some of the extra gifts.

The next week we were at Sabbath School when Two just bursts out, “Santa is real!” I was dumbstruck honestly.

This year we are trying to be more intentional. Trips to visit Santa, Christmas cookies, concerts maybe even a Christmas Eve Service.

This weekend we visited Santa.

Two was disappointed that we didn’t get to see the reindeer, especially “the red nosed one.” He asked, “But how did Santa get here from the north pole without his reindeer?” I told me the airport.

Mavis wasn ‘t so sure about the big guy. I guess he’ll have to guess what she wants, but candy is a good bet.

There was a guy there helping Santa pack up, (yes we even cut it close visiting Santa). Proeun said he wondered who that guy was. Two said without hesitation, “he was an elf.”

breastfeeding–a refresher course

After you have breastfeed 3 babies for the most part successfully it can really throw you for a loop when you have difficulty on your 4th. Actually so much about this pregnancy, labor and early postpartum period has thrown me for a loop but slowly we are figuring things out.

One of the first memories I have of Effie is within 2 minutes after being born I was holding her, completely exhausted and honestly a little shell shocked. I had waited and waited for 42 1/2 weeks for her. Planned a homebirth and thought I knew how things would go. Then I ended up in the hospital not sure at all how things would go down. After they broke my water it was like a whirlwind and all of a sudden she was here and I didn’t know what to do. Except she was crying and looking at me and then I knew what to offer her. The nurses helped me disrobe enough to offer Effie her first meal and she latched on without hesitation. The other children were younger when born and had been much more gentle but Effie latched on with a vengeance.

When I was the mother of just one baby I was talking with another mother and she said her son called babies “nurse sharks.” That was Effie. For nearly 36 hours she ate almost constantly. By 48 hours my milk was in and things changed a bit but by then my nipples were so sore from almost constant nursing. I was getting breaks now but could hardly stand to nurse her due to sore nipples.

That is when i discovered the importance of positioning. So I started my breastfeeding sessions in a chair with a boppy under my arm and a command not to come near mommy while I was nursing the baby. Yes it hurt that bad that I couldn’t risk any distractions for either of us.

Then I started researching. I knew I had to eat and drink liberally. After Two I lost 25 pounds below my pre-pregnancy weight. I felt very weak though everyone said I looked good. I started applying Lansinoh nipple cream after each feeding and taking Fenugreek and a Mother’s Lactation Tonic herbal rememdy. I bought a nipple shield but haven’t had to use it yet.

The turning point finally came Saturday night. We were having another marathon nursing session and I couldn’t do it anymore. Proeun took the baby and some formula samples we had received and gave me a much needed break. I felt awful. Like I was failing my daughter and family but woke-up feeling refreshed and able to think more clearly.

Now we are on the road to recovery. One nipple doesn’t hurt at all and the other one just at latch on. I am reminded that een with the simplest things sometimes we need help and we shouldn’t be afraid to take it. Oh and no matter what our experience we could still stand to learn something.