Thanks to one of our chaplain friends, we were able to leave town for much of last week, so our menus were scrapped during that time. As was our customary fast and abstinence discipline. We do not try to continue our fasting when we are not in control of our meals or when we are visiting people who do not respect it. We know some people who, we suspect, would purposely make meat meals on those days, just to see what the reaction would be, so we keep the peace by eating whatever is put in front of us. Even the monks with the strictest fasting disciplines would kill the fatted calf when visitors came to the monasteries, so as not to be doing their fasting for the praise of men. So, we try to think of it that way.

Anyway, it was a huge blessing to be able to just rest, somewhere else, and not have to be concerned with the mess that is going on here. On top of that, Fr. Steve was able to get us in to Skamania Lodge for free, with all meals and two adjoining rooms covered for us. Although he was holding a marriage and family retreat there, he knew that we were under a lot of stress and said that we wouldn't have to go to any of the meetings, but to feel free to use the child care if we wished, and just show up for meals. Otherwise we were on our own to do as we pleased. We used that time mostly to nap. We did get to use the pool with the children, Rich and I used the spa one night while Fr. Steve's daughter stayed with our children in the hotel rooms, we took advantage of the great fireplace, free hot cocoa and the lovely grounds. On our last day there, after we had checked out, we took a hike on one of their trails, then had a picnic lunch with the very nice sack lunches that were provided for the retreat. Photos will be forthcoming.

We were still back in time to have our Mother's Day dinner out after an outing to the Hulda Klager Lilac Gardens, where we forgot to have a family photo taken. We do have some other pictures and even a video of the children playing there, though.

edited to add: All menus this week are subject to revision, as our stove blew up last night. We are all okay. Fortunately, nobody was near the stove when it happened, the soup was still cool and hadn't even started to bubble, so it didn't burn anyone. If you want the whole story, I'm working on a separate post about it. However, since we won't be using the stove anytime soon, all meals have to be either crock pot, roaster (we have a stand alone roasting oven) or grill based cooking.

• Monday: Ham & White Bean Soup from Freezer, Crusty Bread, Salad


• Tuesday: Risotto with Sausage and Greens, Salad


• Wednesday: Pan Fried Scallops, Garlic Pasta with Escabeche Sauce (I picked up a fancy sauce on clearance a long time ago, so I'm using it here), Salad


• Thursday: Baked Rigatoni with Chicken and Red Sauce, Steamed Broccoli, Garlic Bread


• Friday: Grilled Salmon, Garlic Thyme Cous Cous, Salad


• Saturday: Braised Brisket, Egg Noodles, Swiss Chard & Cauliflower Gratin


• Sunday: Chili (made with leftover brisket) & Vallarta Beans, Cornbread

If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can.
What is on your menu this week?

Here is the list of foods from the freezer, fridge and pantry that I'm using this week. Anything from the freezer, pantry or fridge that was not bought specifically for this meal or this past week will be included in my lists.

Freezer:
Ham & White Bean Soup
Italian Sausage
Brisket
Scallops
Chicken Thighs
Mozzarella
Peppers
Corn


Fridge:
Eggs
Butter
Cream
Lettuce
Carrots
Celery
Cauliflower
Swiss Chard
Broccoli
Lemons
Bread Dough
Heavy Cream


Pantry:
All Herbs & Spices
Salt
Onions
Garlic
Olive Oil
Bread Flour
Whole Wheat Flour
Blue Corn Meal
Yeast
Baking Soda
Baking Powder
Sugars
Honey
Cous Cous
Rigatoni
Fusilli
Egg Noodles
Vallarta Beans
Marinara
Escabeche Sauce
Canned Tomatoes

Labels: Family, Homemaking, Menu Plans, Tales from the Kitchen