I didn't mean to skip two weeks of menu plan posts, but we came back from our cousin camp out to go full tilt boogie into fair week, then promptly succumbed to exhaustion and recovered last week. We did eat. I did menu plan. We just didn't post it. On the plus side, two of our children got blue ribbons for their art work at the fair and we raised a lot of money for scholarships, which our neighborhood community club awards to young people heading off for higher education.

Our apricot tree is ripe, ripe, ripe. It has also given up on us, since we have neglected to prune it for so long, and lost three limbs in a thunder/wind storm a couple weeks ago. Rich still has a little to do, but God has taken care of much of the pruning. Now, to save the wood for fires. In any case, you will see us eating lots of apricots this week and next.

We are a week from starting school again, so things are busy here and I am getting last minute planning and orders done. It's a little crazy. We also got three cats about three weeks ago, so our children could have a cuddly pet instead of our invisible cat, and to keep the mice down this fall and winter. We introduced one of the kittens to the turkeys today. He was terrified. That was on purpose. We don't want them hunting the poultry. So far, so good, they want to get the starlings, robins, mice, and we're hoping they will go for the gophers and rabbits, too.

Today is Mariam's birthday. She is two! You may also remember that it is her name day as well. Because it is a Sunday, we are observing that tomorrow. Her birthday party is a little thin tonight, as Rich and Alexander are out of town helping our very good friends pack up a moving van and clean up their home. We'll still be doing cake and presents, but it may end up later than we wish.

Since I have been remiss about posting recipes this summer, I will post several of them this week. I have a smoked chicken salad recipe I promised two weeks ago, my cinnamon roll recipe (which I couldn't enter into the fair because it has a cream cheese frosting), my funnel cake recipe and a frozen fruit salad recipe I promised some weeks ago.

• Sunday Memorial of Mariam Baouardy (to be celebrated Monday)
  Breakfast: Fried Eggs, Toast, Sliced Apples, Gingerbread, Milk & Coffee
  Dinner: Loaded Steak Salad, Birthday Layered Cheesecake
• Monday -
  Breakfast: Lemon Blueberry Baked Oatmeal, Milk & Coffee
  Dinner: Kofta and Rice, Leyali Lubnan (a kind of custard with pistachios)
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Spinach Egg Puff, Whole Wheat Toast, Apricots, Milk & Coffee
  Dinner: Sausage and White Beans with Tomatoes, Rustic Bread
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Yogurt & Jam, Apricots, Tea & Honey
  Dinner: Grilled Tuna Sandwiches, Veggie Sticks, Pickles, Plums
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Fried Eggs, Toast, Apricots, Milk & Coffee
  Dinner: Grilled Hot Dogs, Corn, Fruit Plate
• Friday
  Breakfast: Oatmeal with Apples, Cinnamon and Sugar, Milk & Coffee
  Dinner: Dubai Style Falafel, Khoubz Araby (Pita Bread), Middle Eastern Chopped Salad, Hummus, Yogurt Sauce
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Lemon Soufflé Pancakes, Bacon, Milk & Coffee
  Dinner: Spicy Sausage Pasta, Fruit Plate

What is on your menu this week? If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can. If there are any starred recipes, I will follow up separately with a weekly recipe round up on Saturday.

Labels: Birthday, Church Year, Family, Homemaking, Homeschooling, Homesteading, Menu Plans, Tales from the Kitchen