I've got a pound of hamburger and a pound of sausage, the start of a good meatloaf.

I just got a call this morning from the butcher over in Eastern Oregon; the farmer we have bought hogs from in the past had one there with our name on it, but didn't bother to tell us first. Luckily I am looking at a nice-sized check from Google to the right of my screen so I'll be able to buy it--long-term it saves a ton of money on groceries and it's very high quality. This is a goat dairy farmer; he feeds pigs on the whey left over from his (excellent) cheesemaking and man I tell you what, that is some pork.

The butcher is good, too; they make a mean ham and their sage sausage is delicious. I'm getting the lard and as many of the organs as came with the hog body--probably just the liver and heart. I use them for pate, and organ meats are extremely good for you.

Lynn Siprelle, Editor