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There's an old saying, "The cobbler's children have no shoes." Well, what was true of the cobbler of old is often true of the website designer of today. This is yet another attempt to come up with a website that I'll keep relatively up to date as well as to try and be interesting to read.

I tried using a blog for my personal home page, but even though I write several blogs, I never seemed to get around to updating mine. I'm hoping that this wiki format will work better.

Perhaps the most interesting thing, and certainly the most accessed content, on my previous website was my sausage recipe. Rather than make you click around to find that, I'm just going to post it here on the home page:

How to Make Klobasa (Slovak Sausage)

I must have been eight or nine when my father and grandfather decided to start making sausage again. I say again because this was an annual activity back when my grandfather lived on the farm. To make that first batch, my grandfather bolted a hand-cranked grinder to a bench, and we all took turns cranking it. It was hard work.

The sausage turned out great, though, and sausage-making has become a family tradition. About twice a year, my family will gather to make sausage. It's not uncommon for us to make 80 pounds, and one Christmas we made over 100 pounds. It's nearly impossible to do this by hand--after that first time we bought an electric grinder.

Ingredients

• 10 pounds pork butt
• 1 head garlic
• 1 tablespoon pepper
• 3 tablespoons salt
• 1 teaspoon marjoram
• 3 cups water or ice
• 1/4 pound sausage casings

The secret to making good klobasa is using just the right amount of garlic. When my family makes sausage, Brenda and I are in charge of adding the garlic. The first thing we do is peel one head of garlic for each ten pounds of meat. We then put the garlic in a blender, add some water, chop the garlic, and then let the mixture set for at least half an hour.

Next, we cut the pork butts, also known as Boston roasts. The butts average about 8 pounds and have a bone. To make sausage, you have to cut out the bone and then cut the meat into small cubes. While cutting, look for and remove any glands within the fat.

Cut away and discard unwanted fat and gristle, but don't throw it all away. Fat absorbs the garlic and marjoram, and without it, the sausage will not be as flavorful as it could be.

Place the meat into a tub, add the spices, garlic, water or ice, and mix. We use ice instead of water. This adds the appropriate amount of moisture and keeps the meat fresh at the same time.

To get the proper amount of garlic, my sister and I add some garlic to the meat, lean over the tub and smell the mixture. Then, we look at each other, and say, "More garlic." We repeat this until the smell is strong enough to suit us. One way we know that we've added enough garlic is if our mother can smell the garlic as she comes into the house.

After you've added enough garlic, let the meat mixture marinate for at least an hour. In the meantime, you can clean the casings. Natural casings come packed in salt, and before you can use them you have to rinse them, both inside and out with cold water.

The final step is to grind the meat and stuff the casings. The grinder we use has a sausage stuffer attachment so we grind and stuff in one step. To do this, you take a length of casing, tie a knot in one end, and slide the casing onto the sausage attachment. With this arrangement, the grinder grinds the meat right into the casing.

We package the sausage in plastic freezer bags and freeze most of it. In a good bag, the sausage will keep up to six months in the freezer.

Preparation You can make klobasa many different ways. For Sunday-morning breakfasts, my mother would pan-fry it. First, put a little water in frying pan, add the sausage, and cover. Boil the sausage for a short while to cook, then uncover and boil off the water. Brown the sausage on one side, then turn and brown the other side.

For dinner, I will sometimes make klobasa with sauerkraut. First, put a little water in a frying pan, add the sausage and cover. Boil for about half an hour. Take the pan off the stove and drain the water. Next, add the sauerkraut to the pan and add some more water. Boil until the sauerkraut is heated. Serve with a good bread.