We awoke to the sound of gun-shots this morning.

In our peaceful alpine foothills we have, it would seem, a lone boar (that is boar - as in wild pig, not bore - as in blogger).
He is on the rampage in the fields and meadows, ripping up the ground on his forage for edibles. That alone, apparently, is reason enough for him to be shot. We can't have the tidy Swiss landscape being ripped up by a pig! That and the fact, that (in some parts of Europe) the hunting season has started.

Lots of restaurants now have signs hanging outside, advertising 'Wild Woche' - Wild Week means 'Game Week' and gives the restaurants an excuse to sell portions of Bambi and bits of Bambi's Dad at extortionate prices. This season will obviously give us wild boar too! I wonder if he was able to dig up any truffles before they shot him?

As today is the first day of Autumn (Heather your forecast was correct!) a lot of those restaurants are going to be able to advertise 'Metzgete' too - literally translated, Metzgete means Butchered. Autumn is the time of year, when the Swiss celebrate the blood sausage.
When I say blood sausage, please don't envisage anything like the English black-pudding - I am sorry to say, it has no similarity whatsoever.

The Alsatians (Elsaß, France) have blood sausage, as do the Germans and the Austrians. All are edible, most are good - if you enjoy that sort of thing - but I have yet to acquire a taste for the Swiss version.
The recipe? Quite simple:
Take 50 cm of pig's intestine and wash until clean. Tie a knot in one end and fill it with pig's blood. Tie a knot in the other end and twist it in the middle to make two sausages. Do not allow the blood to cool, but preferably, drop your sausages straight into boiling water. Not, however, for longer than two minutes, otherwise the blood will congeal.

I'll try anything once. The first time I tried Swiss Blutwurst was at a bar with standing-room only. When my sausage was placed in front of me along with Sauerkraut, potatoes and bread, I took my knife and fork and went to cut the sausage. The effect was astonishing! The two people to the left and the two to the right of me instantly jumped away from the bar!

"What did I do?" I asked.
"You've not eaten that before, have you?" the guy on my left asked.
"No." I admitted
"We cut them open along the bottom." he informed me, not proffering a solution for something that sounds impossible.

I turned my fork over and held the sausage down with it and slit the sausage open, as gently as I could. The people alongside me relaxed noticeably and I almost turned green! My plate was full of congealed blood!

I pushed the plate away from me and ordered a Schnapps to help me recover.

After a few minutes TGOML nudged me and said:
"You're not eating that then?"
"Definitely not!" I said emphatically.
"Mind if I have it then?" he asked.
"Be my guest," I said "but don't asked me to watch." and turned away.

Just in case you - like me - don't fancy the blood sausages, you may also order liver sausages.
Now please don't go confusing these with the German Leberwurst because, once again, there is no similarity!
The Swiss Leberwurst is similar to their Blutwurst - the only difference being, that the blood has been replaced by a revolting mass of minced liver and fat.

The weenies amongst you, may order a pigs tail or tongue in some places or, if those don't take your fancy, an ordinary piece of salted pork, all menus served with Sauerkraut, potatoes and bread. I wish you a guten Appetit.
I, myself, will give the Metzgete a miss again this year.