True confessions.

Yesterday and today were the first days I have missed being at the seasonal work. This weekend should be the Annual Parrish Fall Festival. That would mean the men gathered at the gymnasium early Saturday morning to make their special blend of sausage, probably somewhere around ten or eleven thousand pounds. It will go into the sausage haus and a small portion will be used today in their Sunday noon meal with the bulk being sold across the counter.

I can remember the first few years I attended the sausage making, they were still using the screw extruders to force the mixture into the sausage casings. Over the years they have gone to air powered extruders, making the filling of the casings much more quick, and ultimately shortening the time frame for making the sausage. They have tie tables marked, and once the casing is filled, they will tie and cut at each mark, giving them some consistency as to the length of the sausage.

Use to be they used the lining of the intestines as the casing, but changed to store bought casings, which are gathered on the spout of the extruder, and as the casing fills it stretches the casing down the table.

The process has started much earlier, in fact probably days for some, especially if they fed out hogs to be donated for the sausage making. The carcasses will be hauled in on a refrigerated big rig along with beef which will be blended in their special sausage.

The first stage is the boning of the meat. They will trim all they can from the bones and the meat will be piled on the appropriate table of pork or beef. As they begin to make their sausage, they will fill buckets with meat to be weighed and put through the grinder and then blended together with the other meat and seasoning specific to each individual Parrish.

Usually, as the first sausage is tied and cut, some of the more senior members of the men will begin boiling it in pots and before too long, they will have samples of their new product to be wrapped in bread and sampled.

I suppose one of the hardest things for me to become accustomed to was the fact that the older people there prefer their sausage boiled rather than grilled. They say it also makes a big difference with how many plates they sell at their noon meal on Sunday. Ironically, the younger members prefer the grilled sausage.

Once the sausage making is done and all the sausage is hung in the sausage haus, the men will get busy cleaning the gym. The floor has been covered with sawdust to absorb any fluids that might make their way downward, so as soon as the tables have been broken down, the sawdust will be swept and hauled away. When cleanup is complete, the men will retreat to behind the hall and let the women and children begin setting up for the boothes for Sunday. There will be games of chance along with quilts and baked goods, and even a few raffles.

Shortly after noon Saturday, the men will fire large pits and begin cooking the ribs and some of their special sausage. As they begin the cooking for all the participants, kegs of beer will be tapped and the festivities will begin. Saturdays are the fun days for all the residents, once the work is complete. You will find groups gathered around their preferred brand of brew, women and men. It is a jovial time for all. Around four in the evening the bell will toll as the Padre calls his flock to Mass.

After Mass a new round of kegs will be rolled out and the festivities will continue. Parish officials have learned over the year two things. To limit the number of kegs made available and to have a curfew. These two things seem to help with the quality and number of workers they will have in attendance on Sunday.

Saturday evening, a group of cooks will begin cooking briskets which will be the center piece of the Sunday noon meal (some Parrishes serve turkey and dressing). They will toil through the night, keeping fires going and feeding coals to the pits.

Sunday will find the residents reporting to their assigned tasks after bringing whatever part of the noon meal (vegetable or dessert dishes) they volunteered to bring. Sunday is a day of work and these people have very little time to socialize.

After the noon meal and all the activities wind down, Parrish members will gather for their annual auction of donated items.

This one weekend is the major tool for financing the parish for the up coming year.

So, I confess, I miss being with and socializing with all our friends out there and we hope their festival is a huge success!

One quick note, while the sausage will sell out very quickly (most of the sausage will be sold by parish members prior to the festival) each Parrish is known for its particular blend of sausage. Crazy thing is usually what one Parrish prefers is the sausage of another Parrish. It may be like cooking your own meal, it is always better if it is someone else's cooking.

And my final confession of the day is, I hate watery oatmeal.

I look at recipes as recommendations. Where you take it from there is your own business.

Oatmeal is a regular staple in our house. I am the maker of said oatmeal. I always begin cooking the heart healthy recipe, but usually end up adding more oatmeal to it!

So much for water oatmeal.

I like to cook it like I cook gravy, when it lets a void trail behind the spoon I am stirring with, I know it is ready to come off the stove.

They say confession is good for the soul!

Have a day!

FATHER, bless our friends at St. Lawrence. Reward their efforts.