By Busy week at clinic. 32 patient encounters. I should not be proud of that number but I am. Dr. Rashid said so at the staff meeting Friday, that the NP team is carrying us, and he looked at me when he said it.
A 52-year-old man came in Tuesday for medication refills and I noticed his BP was 182 over 108. He said he felt fine. I sent him to BMC ER. He argued. I said sir, you have hypertensive urgency, you will stroke out in the parking lot, please go. He went. He came back Thursday with a new regimen and a sheepish look. He thanked me. I said do not thank me, just take the pills.
Tuesday group. I did not have much to say. Someone else needed the time. Bernadette is good at making room.
Liam rode his bike without training wheels on Saturday afternoon. I took the training wheels off Friday night after the kids were asleep, leaned the bike against the garage. Saturday he came out and saw it and said MOM and I said try it. He fell twice, scraped his knee, did not cry. On the third try he pedaled to the end of the driveway and back. He was shaking when he got off. He said Mom, did you see. I said I saw.
I took a picture with my phone. I sent it to Meghan. I sent it to Ma. I did not send it to Sean, because I cannot, but I put it in the album in my phone that I keep for him. I do not look at that album. I just put things in it.
Saturday pancakes before the bike lesson. Burned the first one.
Sunday dinner. Ma made Italian wedding soup because she had a chicken carcass from Friday and because it is finally soup-on-a-nice-day weather. Tiny meatballs, escarole, pastina. Liam ate two bowls. Nora ate one and picked out the meatballs and ate them separately first.
Meghan called at 11. I told her about the bike. She cried a little and said why am I crying. I said I know why.
Food of the week: Italian wedding soup. Ma's version, with pastina instead of orzo because she thinks orzo is pretentious.
Ma’s Italian wedding soup — the pastina version, because orzo is pretentious — is the kind of food that does not ask anything of you except to sit down and eat it. Liam had two bowls. That is the whole review. When I thought about what to share from this week, I kept coming back to that same idea: something warm, something that feeds people without making a production of itself. These Party Sausages hit exactly that note — small, savory, gone before you know it, the kind of thing you set out and people just reach for without being asked.
Party Sausages
Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 2 lbs cocktail sausages or smoked sausage links, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 cup grape jelly
- 1 cup chili sauce (such as Heinz)
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Make the sauce. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the grape jelly, chili sauce, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and garlic powder. Stir until the jelly is fully melted and the sauce is smooth, about 3–4 minutes.
- Add the sausages. Add the cocktail sausages to the saucepan and stir to coat them evenly in the sauce. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
- Simmer low and slow. Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for 20–25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened slightly and the sausages are heated through and glossy.
- Serve warm. Transfer to a serving dish or slow cooker set to warm. Serve with toothpicks for easy eating.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 310 | Protein: 11g | Fat: 18g | Carbs: 27g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 780mg