The Last Straw (That Broke the Camel's Back)

Today I was reading hubby's Aku Ankka (Donald Duck) and found this phrase: "Tuo oli viimeinen pisara."

Uncle Scrooge was angry at a bear who tried to eat him and then it tried to steal his money hi hi hi hi...so he basically said, "It was the last straw!" and he went berserk!!!

I looked up "pisara" in the dictionary and it literally means "a drop".

Example: sadepisara = a raindrop, whereas vesipisara = a drop of water.

I browsed online to find more examples of use for sadepisara and vesipisara and here are they:

1. Yhtään vesipisaraa ei vielä ole taivaalta tippunut. (taken from here)

Ei yhtään = not at all
Vielä = yet
Taivas = sky ---> root: taivaa- + -lta = taivaalta
Tippua = fall ---> on tippunut = has fallen

Not one drop of water has fallen down from the sky yet.

2. Montako sadepisaraa valtameressä on? (taken from here)

Valtameri = ocean

How many raindrops are there in the ocean?

Some Medical Terms

Since I was invited to have a Pap Smear Test a little while ago, I received a Finnish booklet on Pap Smear, so I learnt some new medical terms.
Irtosolukoe (Papa-koe) = Pap Smear Test
Verenvuoto = Bleeding (the basic form of "veren" is "veri")
Näyte = sample
Otto = taking = the same as "ottaminen"
Tumor = kasvain
Kohtu = womb
Kohdunkaulan syöpä = cervical cancer
Kuukautiset = menstruation / period
Viimeisten kuukautisten alkamispäivämäärä = the first day of the last period
Tulos = result
Voinko saada ultraäänitestin? = Can I have an ultrasound?

The Verb Vaipua

Vaipua = to fall or sink

Present Tense 
 
Minä vaivun --- Minä en vaivu
Sinä vaivut --- Sinä et vaivu
Hän vaipuu --- Hän ei vaivu
Me vaivumme --- Me emme vaivu
Te vaivutte --- Te ette vaivu
He vaipuvat --- He eivät vaivu

Past Tense 

Minä vaivuin --- Minä en vaipunut
Sinä vaivuit --- Sinä et vaipunut
Hän vaipui --- Hän ei vaipunut
Me vaivuimme --- Me emme vaipuneet
Te vaivuitte --- Te ette vaipuneet
He vaipuivat --- He eivät vaipuneet

Conditional Tense (Take "vaipuvat", get rid of the -vat, and add -isi-)

Minä vaipuisin --- Minä en vaipuisi
Sinä vaipuisit --- Sinä et vaipuisi
Hän vaipuisi --- Hän ei vaipuisi
Me vaipuisimme --- Me emme vaipuisi
Te vaipuisitte --- Te ette vaipuisi
He vaipuisivat --- He eivät vaipuisi

Example: Vaivuin syvään uneen. = I feel into deep sleep.

Sauteed Reindeer Recipes (2 Variations)

Basic Traditional Sauteed Reindeer

Ingredients:

1 kg meat for sauteed reindeer
2 Tsp butter or margarine
1 dl water
2 tsp salt

Melt the butter or margarine in a pot. You will get a stronger taste if you use reindeer fat. Put the meat into the pot in small quantities at a time, thaw and brown. When all the meat has thawed and browned, add the water and salt. Reduce the heat and allow to simmer under the lid for about 10-30 minutes. Serve with the buttered mashed potatoes.

There are many opinions about the simmering time. It's worth trying out longer simmering times, though: 2-3 hours in the oven at 125-150'C.

Usually hubby and I just let it simmer in the pot for about 2 hours. Make sure, though, that you should add more enough water so that the meat is not dry (not too much water, not too little) and for the last 30 minutes you can add beer to make it really tender.

Other Variation for Sauteed Reindeer

In addition to the basic ingredients above, add these:

200 gr blue cheese
1 onion
5 juniper berries
20 green peppercorns
2 dl cream
20 pickled onions

Start by making the sauteed reindeer as in the basic traditional recipe, but brown the chopped onion at the same time. Add the blue cheese when the meat begins to simmer. Add the cream and pickled onions when the meat has almost finished simmering.

Bon apetit!!!