I ended up changing a couple meals this past week. We broke the fast on Friday and got take out pizza with Rich's mother. On Saturday, there was a community barbecue and concert type thing, so I'm making the ham and bean soup today.

Friday, I was able to get a windfall of pickling cucumbers from someone's garden, so had an impromptu pickling session with Rich. He packs the cucumbers into the jars better than I do. On Saturday I picked up a few more pickling cukes at the farmer's market, enough to make three more jars of bread and butters and one more jar of dills (this time hot dills), so we now have nine pints and one half pint of bread and butters (and mine is the best recipe ever), three quarts of dills and one quart of spicy dills. I didn't think I'd get any preserving done this year, because of how our move decimated our garden plans and efforts and how the unpacking and work on the house was taking so much time, but at least we have a little bit. The canning bug has hit me, though, and I plan on making two kinds of corn relish this week and maybe some blueberry preserves.

God has really provided for us since our move. People keep giving us fresh produce from their gardens, we even picked up a whole bunch at church this morning. At the farmer's market the farmers give us way more than we pay for, without fail, because they have gotten to know us or like our children or are pleased to see a larger family. Not only are we getting so much produce for so little, but it has been comprised of many of the varieties we wanted to grow, but didn't get a chance to this year because of the job change and move. Most of our produce over the last two weeks has been given to us by people who want to share their bounty with our family. The Lord is so good to us.

We will begin our formal schooling this week. This is earlier than the school district starts here, but we try to run our school schedule around the Church year rather than the school district's plans. Even with our many breaks, we end up in school more days than they do, because we continue schooling on most civil holidays, taking only Labor Day, Veteran's Day and Memorial Day off in common with the school year. Sometimes other civil holidays coincide with our term breaks or Church celebrations, but we don't consistently take them as holidays. We do school through the middle of July, however, so we always get Independence Day free.

I am excited to start school again and I know the children are, too. We just received a new art history program that we saw at the WHO and liked quite a bit, plus some more curricula to continue in our other studies. This will be a busy week!

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Oatmeal with Vanilla Sugar and Berries, Cherry-Apple Cider
  Dinner: Ham & Bean Soup, Whole Wheat Bread, Salad, Haogen Melon


• Monday
  Breakfast: Yogurt & Berry Smoothies, Cantaloupe, Milky Tea
  Dinner: Salami Sandwiches on Kamut Bread with Pepper Jack Cheese, Lettuce & Tomato, Sliced Nectarines, Grapes


• Tuesday First Day of School!
  Breakfast: Blueberry Pancakes with Maple Syrup, Apricots, Milk
  Dinner: Hamburger, Potimarron Squash, Eggplant, Pepper & Onion Saute, Wild Rice & Brown Rice Mix, Salad, Satsuma Plums


• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Leftover Pancakes & Syrup, Pomegranate Juice
  Dinner: Creamy Tuna Noodles & Peas, Salad, Fruit Plate


• Thursday
  Breakfast: Egg & Sausage Scramble, Spelt Toast, Mint Iced Tea
  Dinner: Beef Stew, Egg Noodles, Salad, Fruit Plate


• Friday
  Breakfast: Brown Rice Farina with Brown Sugar, Cinnamon & Raisins, Milk
  Dinner: Vegetable Jalfrezi (I use a different mix of vegetables, based on what we have), Rice, Watermelon


• Saturday Rich Cooks

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:
Ground Beef
Ground Pork (we mix in the seasonings for sausage)
Beef Stew Meat
Frozen Peas

Fridge:
Meaty Ham Bone leftovers
Salami
Leftover Bruschetta Topping
Eggs
Butter
Yogurt
Sour Cream
Milk
Cherry-Apple Cider
Cheddar
Pepper Jack Cheese
Lettuce
Corn
Carrots
Cucumber
Celery
Red, Yellow & Green Peppers
Jalapenos
Grapes
Maple Syrup


Pantry:
All Herbs & Spices
Salt
Potatoes
Tomatoes
Onions
Garlic
Olive Oil
Coconut Oil
Canned Tuna
Kamut
Hard White Wheat
Soft White Wheat
Spelt
Pastry Flour
Egg Noodles
Mini Penne Pasta
Brown Rice
Wild Rice
Borlotti Beans
Steel Cut Oats
Yeast
Vanilla Extract
All Sugars
Tea
Nectarines

Apricots from our tree

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