• Monday: Leftovers from the Feast!


• Tuesday: Grilled Chipotle Rubbed Skirt Steak, Black Beans and Rice


• Wednesday: Lasagna, Garlic Bread and Salad


• Thursday: Smothered Pork Chops with Sauerkraut and Onions, Scalloped Potatoes and Salad


• Friday: Beef Sandwiches with Onions and Peppers on Olive Oil Bread


• Saturday: Enchiladas Blancas, potluck


• Sunday: Dinner Out at Friends, I think they are grilling kabobs of some sort

I am late again this week, I was recovering from our church schedule and feasting last week. The chipotle rubbed steak is the easiest thing in the world to make. Take a tablespoon of chipotle powder and a teaspoon of kosher salt and rub all over the skirt (or flank) steak, grill over hot coals, quickly, let rest and slice across the grain on the diagonal. Serve with rice, beans, avocado if you have it, salsa and or sour cream. You can stuff it all in a tortilla, if you wish. The lasagna recipe is taken from Fine Cooking; the two lasagne recipes from that issue, the chocolate cheesecake recipe and the mustard-horseradish potroast recipe I've gotten from them have made my subscription worth the money. I renewed it year by year for some time, then two years at a time, and this last time for three years. I like them that much.

There is a danger to posting these. My inlaws were shocked that I'd changed the menu on Friday, for instance, because they came expecting Baked Potatoes in Cheesy Broccoli Sauce, and got instead Eggs in Purgatory with toast. My father in law questioned whether or not the cheesecake would be at the Paschal Feast after that, saying that you just couldn't believe everything you read on the internet.

We are on day three of Easter. There are five more to go, Easter is an octave. This is a week of feasting, and even the traditional Friday (and Wednesday and sometimes Saturday) abstinence is not required, as fasting on a feast of the Lord is prohibited. So, we're eating lots of rich foods this week, and we may actually not be able to handle it all, but we'll do our best.

Rich and I did our hour of prayer each for Maundy Thursday (from the Latin, mandatum, command, the night the Lord instituted the Eucharist, as well as giving the command to love one another as He loved us, which is the harder command to keep), and I was convicted of our Lord's reproof to the disciples, I had a hard time watching with Him one hour that night. There is always one thing that particularly strikes me at these services each year. At the Stations of the Cross, it was the reading of Christ giving up his spirit to Death. He was no mere victim, which I already knew, but the force of his not being defeated, but offering himself revealed itself to me in a greater way this year.

My inlaws came Friday evening and went to the Stations of the Cross with us, they helped us clean, and clean, and clean. They said that as long as our kids still call them grandma and grandpa and don't refer to them as the cleaning staff, it's okay with them. Both of them were a bit tired from our rigorous schedule on Saturday, so they didn't go with us to the Easter Vigil, and instead found a church in town to go to morning services on Sunday. The vigil was beautiful, and holy, and I was again left in awe of the majesty of our Lord. We got home about 2:00 a.m., got the kids in bed and quickly got to bed ourselves in preparation for that morning's work. I have a funny story about Amira that I'll have to share in another post about that night's breaking of the fast.

Our Paschal Feast was a success, we made four herb roasted legs of lamb with a red wine sauce, pita and hummus, tabbouleh, pickled eggs, harissa, triple chocolate cheesecake, lemonade and iced tea. We put out some kalamata olives as well. Rich's mom made a salad with sliced apples and feta and lots of devilled eggs. Our church family brought a pasta salad, a green salad with mango, green beans, Mexican rice, more devilled eggs, chicken stew, sodas, wines, two lemon cakes, a chocolate fountain with fruit and angel food cake and Resurrection rolls. I'm sure I'm forgetting something. I made the laban bi chiyar, but left it in the fridge, so we found it after everyone went home. I also forgot to put out the Prosecco. I don't think my father in law has forgiven that.

Our priests said the blessings over the lamb, wine, bread and eggs and we feasted and enjoyed our celebration. Our Laudate kids hid Easter eggs for the little kids, and the younger ones had a great time finding them. Games were played, jokes were told, and a great time was had by all. It was an earlier night than usual this year, everyone went home by around 8:00 p.m. That was alright, truth be told, as it gave us a little bit of a rest.

I will post the mejeddarah recipe today, as well as some knitting content!

Labels: Church Year, Faith and Morality, Family, Homemaking, Menu Plans, Recipes, Tales from the Kitchen