This is what a two to three month grocery trip for a family of 10 looks like. (You can only see part of the bag past the blue freezer bag, but it's there, and there are two other freezer bags that aren't as visible behind the cooler).

We did our big Spokane trip yesterday, though we got a later start than we planned. Our goal had been to leave by 8:30, and it was closer to 10:30. We arrived home at about 6:45 and did the big unload of groceries, making sure the freezers were inventoried properly as things went in them, and made dinner. This is why you shouldn't glare at a big family for shopping big. Some of this will last a couple months, some of it will last just this week or the next. As we do not have a Fred Meyer, a Cash and Carry, a Trader Joe's, or any Arabic markets here, we go every two to three months and stock up quite a bit. We bring a cooler, insulated freezer bags, loads of freezer packs and take almost the whole day.

Anyway, the delightful surprises on this trip were that my favorite kosher salt which has been unavailable for the past three months was at the Cash and Carry, so I bought five five pound boxes, and that I found prepackaged shabboura at one of the Arab markets. Only plain, but still it was there, and I bought two large packages. We also found a nine ounce bottle of Aleppo pepper at almost half the price of what I normally pay.

• Sunday - Feast of Saint Irenaus of Lyons
  Breakfast: Toasted Bagels with Cream Cheese, Olives, Radishes, Cucumbers, Grapes, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Leftovers
• Monday - Feast of Saints Peter and Paul
  Breakfast: Croissants with Fried Eggs, Sausage Patties and Cheese, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Baked Penne with Meat Sauce and Fresh Mozzarella, Salad, Garlic Bread
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Oatmeal with Raisins and Brown Sugar, Tea and Honey
  Dinner: Marinated Greek Pork, Vegetable Pasta Salad with Feta Cheese and Fresh Dill, Miracle One Egg Cake with Lime Curd
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Fatayir bil Joubneh, Kalamata Olives, Hot Chocolate and Coffee
  Dinner: Falafel, Khoubz Araby, Green Hot Sauce, Taratoor, Olives and Veggies
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Honey Yogurt with Frozen Blueberries, Toast, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Dan Dan Noodles, Fruit Plate
• Friday - Feast of Saint Thomas the Apostle and First Bishop of India
  Breakfast: Ful, Shabourra, Sliced Syrian Cheese, Radishes and Olives, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Hummus*, Baba Ghanooj, Khoubz Araby, Fattoush*
• Saturday - Independence Day
  Breakfast: Pancakes with Maple Syrup, Bacon, Milk & Coffee
  Dinner: Ham with Mustard Rosemary Crust, Salt Potatoes, Thyme Roasted Carrots, Sparkling Pink Lemonade, Blueberry and Raspberry Custard Pie

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.


Linking to Menu Plan Monday

Labels: Church Year, Faith and Morality, Family, Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Menu Plans, Quarantine, Tales from the Kitchen

H'ashweh means padding as in loaded or stuffed. It's kind of like all the extras added to something. This one pot dish is loaded with good things, and it is simple to make. The rice is best if it is soaked and drained first, but when I am in a hurry, I have often made it just by putting the dry rice on top and going with it as it is. This amount serves 15 - 20 easily, if served with a salad, and fruit or other vegetable. I like to serve it with Laban bi Chiyar, Green Hot Sauce, and a green salad or sliced vegetable plate and Kalamata or spicy, baladi (country style) green olives.

H'ashweh

6 cups basmati or jasmine rice, soaked about 15 minutes, then drained
olive oil
3 pounds ground lamb or beef
3 medium red onions, peeled and finely chopped
12 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 tablespoon + 1 1/2 teaspoons ground allspice
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided
1 tablespoon salt, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper, divided
water
1 large bunch parsley, finely minced
1 cup pine nuts
1 cup slivered almonds
1 cup sultanas (golden raisins)

While the rice is soaking, heat about 1/4 cup olive oil in a heavy pan over medium heat. Add the meat and break up into pieces to brown. Add the onions and continue to cook and stir until the meat is broken up, browned and cooked completely, and the onions are translucent. Add the garlic, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the allspice, 1/2 teaspoon of the cinnamon, about 2 teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon of black pepper. Stir in well.

Cover with the drained rice and sprinkle the remaining 1 tablespoon of allspice and 1 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon evenly over the top. Add about 1 teaspoon of salt and about 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper. Cover with water by about a knuckle's depth over the top, around 9 - 10 cups of water. Bring to a rolling boil and allow to boil until the water has reduced a little and you can see little tunnels of bubbles coming through the rice. Cover and reduce heat to low, and simmer, without peeking even once, for 15 minutes.

Remove from heat and leave covered while you prepare the toppings.

In a frying pan, heat a tablespoon or two of olive oil over medium low heat. Add the pine nuts and almonds, and stir, watching carefully, until they just start to brown and remove from the heat immediately.

Stir the rice a little to distribute the spices evenly. Turn the h'ashweh out onto a large flat or shallow dish and layer the parsley, nuts, and raisins on top. Serve and eat with pleasure.

Labels: Frugality, Homemaking, Recipes, Tales from the Kitchen

The slipper is now at the sole, and I'm using a reinforced pattern to give it a little more wear. I'm really happy with how these are turning out, so I hope you will love them, too. I know a lot of people are having trouble with the new Ravelry. I am one of them. So, if you haven't signed up for LoveCrafts, or Instagram, now might be the time. It's not quite the same, but it won't give you headaches, migraines, or seizures. This has kind of been an impetus for me to be more serious about setting up my Shopify store, so I hope to have that up and running by the end of July or middle of August.

In our reading, the kids and I finished Little Town on the Prairie, and started on These Happy Golden Years. I'm this close to being finished with Babel, though some late nights and early mornings have slowed me down a bit. We hosted our first Songs of Praise study and dinner, and it was wonderful! It has been almost 11 years since I have been part of any study. We just haven't had the opportunity since we have moved here. We had great discussion and a lovely dinner and fun getting to know each other. Amira joined in, and enjoyed the experience as well. I'm so happy we finally did this.


Linking to Keep Calm and Craft On.
If you would like to receive updates and early notice of new patterns, beta knitting opportunities, and great discounts (plus pictures of new yarns, new tools, fun places, neat hints, book ideas, recipes and more) each month, please subscribe to 1,001 Knits. My best, and sometimes my only, discounts go to my subscribers.

Labels: Books, Design, Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Knitting, Quarantine, WIP, Yarn Along

Today was a lovely Father's Day with Rich, but also with some of the "grandparents" from our evening church. They took us all out for dinner at a local wood fired pizza place and we had such a normal, fun time with them. What a blessing it was for all of us!

Alexander has a job interview tomorrow for his first "real" job in his field. He was only able to do an internet interview for one company during all of this craziness, but they ended up letting many of their employees go because of the economic impact of all the Covid policies. So, when he put in his resumé for this job, it was exciting that shortly afterward they called him for an interview in person. We are praying for him!

The girls get to go to their studio this week, too, for intensives, and they are all so grateful for that. It has been a good week in that sense. Dominic is doing some house sitting/dog sitting for some friends who are camping this week, and earning a bit of money that way, too. Which is good, because he found out two weeks before he was supposed to "graduate" (they weren't doing graduation), that he was two credits short, so he has to get ready for a summer class so he graduates. Fortunately, he found one that was exactly two credits and was something he thought was valuable to him as well as fulfilling requirements for his degree. Rich is taking a couple days off this week to work on the garden and rest after all the early mornings and late nights he had to do at work recently. Last week, he did a lot of working from home to try to get a little rest, too, but these couple days will do him some real good. After all the rough things we have gone through so far, it is wonderful to have some good news and experiences right now. Glory to God for all things!

I switched some things around our menu last week, so I am making one of those meals this week. We are continuing with our Croatian theme, and moving around the Mediterranean a bit, as well. Because of our schedule this week, breakfasts need to be quick and/or easy to make and eat on the go.

• Sunday - Father's Day
  Breakfast: Farmer Breakfast Casserole, Hot Sauce, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Pizza, Ice Cream
• Monday - Feast of Saint Alban
  Breakfast: Yogurt with Jam, Toast, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Croatian Beef Burek, Cauliflower with Sour Cream, Cucucumber Salad
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Fried Egg Sandwiches with Cheese, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: H'ashweh*, Laban bi Chiyar, Green Hot Sauce, Sliced Radishes and Kalamata Olives
• Wednesday - Feast of the Nativity of Saint John the Forerunner
  Breakfast: Oatmeal with Chopped Apples and Cinnamon Sugar, Tea and Honey
  Dinner: Cheese Strukli, Marinated Green Beans and Red Onions, Kremšnita
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with Cheese and Salsa, Corn Tortillas, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Sausage and Cabbage Soup, Rolls, Miracle One Egg Cake with Lime Curd
• Friday
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter and Honey Toast, Sliced Apples, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Ricotta Rapini Ravioli with Butter Tomato Sauce, Salad, Bread, Fruit
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Pancakes with Maple Syrup, Bacon, Milk & Coffee
  Dinner: Ham with Mustard Rosemary Crust, Salt Potatoes, Roasted Asparagus, Lamb Shaped Lemon Coconut Pound Cake with Coconut Frosting Loaded Nachos, Ice Cream

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.


Linking to Menu Plan Monday

Labels: Church Year, Faith and Morality, Family, Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Menu Plans, Quarantine, Tales from the Kitchen

I think this is my last flashback to get caught up on the years I was not posting here. In the future, I will probably still choose a pattern here or there to flashback on a Friday, and you might want to check on those, because I may include sale coupon codes, too.

This week, I am highlighting three patterns. Gifts of the Magi, a set of three ball ornaments themed on the three gifts offered at the Nativity, Star of Bethlehem, which was inspired by the famed star leading the Magi from the East, and Saint Boniface, which was created in memory of his famous illustration of the evergreen as an image of the eternal life of God.

They were published at different times, but I put them together as the Nativity Collection for a discount. If you want to purchase all three patterns, that is the best price you can get. However, if you are only interested in one or two of the patterns, you can use the coupon code nativityflashbackblog on Ravelry from now until 11:59 pm PST on June 25, 2020 to receive 15% off the price. The code will work on any or all of the patterns.

These are all available for sale on both Ravelry and LoveCrafts. (At LoveCrafts, you can find Saint Boniface, Gifts of the Magi, and Star of Bethlehem individually). If you don't want to sign up for either of these, please do contact me and we can work out how you can purchase the pattern. Again, I am always happy to invoice for the discounted price, if you mention it to me when you e-mail.

If you would like to receive updates and early notice of new patterns, beta knitting opportunities, and great discounts (plus pictures of new yarns, new tools, fun places, neat hints, book ideas, recipes and more) each month, please subscribe to 1,001 Knits. My best, and sometimes my only, discounts go to my subscribers.

Labels: Christmas, Design, Flashback, Homemaking, Knitting, Nativity, Patterns

Here you can see a little more of those slippers I mentioned last week. I restarted the toe, both because I didn't like the fabric I was getting with the smaller needles and because the rate of increase on the toe was too steep, and looked a little too elfin. They are toe up, and I used the Middle Eastern cast on, sometimes called Turkish cast on, because which better one to use for an Arab lady who is making slippers themed on an Arabic wind? I decided that my swatch from last week would be blocked and turned into a bookmark, and voilà: I have another finished object for the year!

Also, I finally got some photos of the Kabsa mitts worn. If you would like to beta knit the mitts from last week and make at least one of them, I would truly appreciate it. Please contact me to receive the pattern for free and the details for the beta knit.


We are still reading Little Town on the Prairie, though we are rather close to being finished, only four chapters to go. I am nearly finished with Babel, too. We start our Songs of Praise study group next week, and I am so excited!


Linking to Keep Calm and Craft On.
If you would like to receive updates and early notice of new patterns, beta knitting opportunities, and great discounts (plus pictures of new yarns, new tools, fun places, neat hints, book ideas, recipes and more) each month, please subscribe to 1,001 Knits. My best, and sometimes my only, discounts go to my subscribers.

Labels: Books, Design, FOs, Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Knitting, Quarantine, WIP, Yarn Along

We have lived something like a month or two in the last week. This makes up for the fact that we keep thinking that it has only been a month since something else, to find that it has been two or three. We would appreciate your prayers.

Rich is still having long hours at work and plans to try to take some time for himself and the family this week. Because of our sleeplessness and stress, I did not get the recipes posted Saturday, and I will work to get them posted this coming Saturday. Please accept my apologies.

This week, I am making a lot of Italian and Croatian food. We have been missing Croatia and the Dalmatian coast, and since we haven't been able to take the kids there, we try to give them some of the experience with the food. We have two more birthdays this week, Rich and Dominic, who share a birthday. Rich turns 50! And Dominic turns 20. That makes five Covid birthdays. It's a little depressing, but we are trying to make the best of it.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Fruit and Yogurt, Fried Eggs, Toast, Strawberries, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Pork Tacos, Black Beans, Roasted Corn, Salsa Rice
• Monday
  Breakfast: Feta and Za’atar with Toast and Olives, Oranges, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Muffaletta Bread and Olive Salad for Salami and Provolone Sandwiches, Pickles, Fruit
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Scrambled Egg Burritos, Sliced Apples, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Beef and Vegetable Soup, Cheesy Olive and Herb Bread, Ice Cream
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Oatmeal with Brown Sugar, Apples and Raisins, Tea and Honey
  Dinner: Fried Fish, Tartar Sauce, Coleslaw, Potato Wedges
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Creamed Eggs, Home Fries, Sausage Patties, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Lasagna, Salad, Garlic Bread, Cranberry Cherry Pie with Chantilly Cream
• Friday
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Pancakes with Maple Syrup, Bananas, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Šalša and Linguine, Grilled Shrimp, Fruit
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Pancakes with Maple Syrup, Breakfast Sausage, Milk & Coffee
  Dinner: Grilled Bacon Cheeseburgers, Pickles, Fruit

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.


Linking to Menu Plan Monday

Labels: Birthday, Church Year, Faith and Morality, Family, Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Menu Plans, Quarantine, Tales from the Kitchen

This pattern is named after the eight blessings that Jesus pronounced in His Sermon on the Mount and it is no coincidence that I used eight colors. You can use any number of colors and adjust this pattern to be longer or shorter as you wish depending on how much yarn you have, which makes this a perfect project for using up scraps from other projects, or minis (which is what I used). There is a little tutorial in the pattern on how to do a knitted graft, which I think is the simplest way to graft anything.

Beatitude is available for sale on both Ravelry and LoveCrafts. Please use the coupon code beatitudeblogcoupon this week, through 23:59 PDT on June 18 on Ravelry to receive 15% off this pattern. If you don't want to sign up for either of these, please do contact me and we can work out how you can purchase the pattern.

If you would like to receive updates and early notice of new patterns, beta knitting opportunities, and great discounts (plus pictures of new yarns, new tools, fun places, neat hints, book ideas, recipes and more) each month, please subscribe to 1,001 Knits. My best, and sometimes my only, discounts go to my subscribers.

Labels: Design, Flashback, Homemaking, Knitting, Patterns

Another finished item this week! Not only are these mitts completed with ends woven in, but the pattern is almost ready to go to my technical editor. I will be washing and blocking them today. If you would like to beta knit this pattern and make at least one of them, I would truly appreciate it. Please contact me to receive the pattern for free and the details for the beta knit.

Though I did a very little knitting on Ascalon, I am working more on another of my Trade Winds patterns which focus on color this week. I have started a pair of wonderful slippers in the most decadent yarn. Caravan seemed an appropriate yarn to make a design named after an Arabic wind, with its own name, as well as its fiber composition of Merino, cashmere, camel down and silk. I hope to have the sample knit and pattern fully written and edited for publication in July, around my birthday. Mitts and slippers make perfect summer projects, in my opinion, because they are not heavy in your hands, and they are finished before you know it. If you are where you are going into winter, these would make good quicker projects to keep you warm as winter hits you. Small projects are always the right season.

We are slowly working our way though Little Town on the Prairie. It has been a tiring and stressful few weeks, on top of the background stress of the world around us. Elijah had another seizure, this time two months, almost to the day, from his last. We still cannot find a reason for any of them, though all have happened later in the evening. All scans and tests have come back with no indication of epilepsy or other seizure disorder, no diabetes, no anything that would make them think of why he should be getting them. This last one happened when he was warm and possibly dehydrated, though, so it may have contributed. He is fine and recovering well, but it has been pretty traumatic for everyone, especially for Jerome. Though I am barely sleeping, which is bad, I have been making good progress on Babel, and I expect to be finished with it in the next week or two.

It is looking like our Songs of Praise study group for women is going to begin at the end of this month and I am so excited! Amira is joining us, which I love, as I am thrilled to see the young woman of faith she is growing into, and it looks like some of her friends and my friends' daughters might join us as young women, as well. Since we are sharing the book, I picked up some pretty notebooks for Amira and me to record our thoughts for our study. You can see mine in the photo with the other books.


Linking to Keep Calm and Craft On.
If you would like to receive updates and early notice of new patterns, beta knitting opportunities, and great discounts (plus pictures of new yarns, new tools, fun places, neat hints, book ideas, recipes and more) each month, please subscribe to 1,001 Knits. My best, and sometimes my only, discounts go to my subscribers.

Labels: Books, Design, FOs, Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Knitting, Prayer Requests, Quarantine, WIP, Yarn Along

Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, one God; Oh come, let us adore Him.
I love Trinity Sunday! It is not as big a feast day as the Paschal feast or Pentecost or the Nativity, but I love it. It is a theological feast. It celebrates what we believe. Although, I "read" eastern, and our family tends toward the east, I love this primarily western feast. In the east, it is celebrated along with Pentecost, which means that, actually, we are celebrating it with the east today. However, it is a principal feast in the west. Prior to the Great Schism, it was a secondary feast and relatively minor observance. It came about around the time of the Arian heresy, which was repudiated by the Nicene and Constantinople Councils in the Nicene Creed. Around this time, there were prefaces and prayers written and proclaimed in churches on Sundays which emphasized orthodox Christian faith, and those for the Holy Trinity were said the Sunday after Pentecost in some areas, in other areas, it was the Sunday before Advent. It was emphasized to counter the erroneous teachings of the day, and was elevated to primary first class status in 1911, again to counter heretical teaching. In the east, while it is not primary, in the same way, it is the first of the three day observance of Pentecost, and is also called Trinity Sunday. We rejoice in the Trinity and love them. God is unity (one God) and community (three Persons) and has created all people to be in one in community.

• Sunday - Feast of the Holy Trinity
  Breakfast: Home Canned Peaches with Mascarpone, Toast, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Ham with Mustard Rosemary Crust, Baked Potatoes, Roasted Asparagus
• Monday
  Breakfast: Fried Ham and Eggs, Toast, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Kielbasa, Potato and Asparagus Skillet, Pretzel Crisps and Onion Dip
• Tuesday - Feast of Saint Columba
  Breakfast: Labneh, Za'atar and Olive Oil on Toast, Oranges, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Ham and Bean Soup with Light Bread Rolls
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Baked Oatmeal with Raisins and Brown Sugar, Tea and Honey
  Dinner: Salmon Burgers, Roasted Asparagus
• Thursday - Feasts of Corpus Christi and Saint Barnabas the Apostle
  Breakfast: Pepper & Sausage Brunch Strata, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Slow Cooked Chuck Roast, Baked Potatoes, Lemon Feta Dip, Shabboura*, Fruit Plate
• Friday
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast with Honey, Fruit, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Falafel, Khoubz Araby, Chopped Salad, Green Hot Sauce, Kalamata Olives
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Pancakes with Maple Syrup, Breakfast Sausage, Milk & Coffee
  Dinner: Grilled Leg of Lamb, Arabic Style Rice Pilaf, Fattoush*, Pistachio Cream Cake

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.


Linking to Menu Plan Monday

Labels: Church Year, Faith and Morality, Family, Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Menu Plans, Quarantine, Tales from the Kitchen

This is another pattern I really like. Large shawls are really my thing. The small ones are great for throwing over a dress or jeans, but when I want to be cozy or dramatic, a large shawl is what I need. When I started working on this actively, I realized that it was scheduled to be released right around when my 50th pattern was. I made sure it was my 50th pattern in my store. The name Khamseen means 50, and is named after a wind that is said to blow for 50 days. Entirely by coincident, the number of stripes to get to the right stitch count for the border was 50, and of course, there were 50 repeats of the border. All of that just delighted my number loving heart.

Khamseen is available for sale on both Ravelry and LoveCrafts. To receive 15% off on Ravelry between now and the end of the day June 11, use the coupon code khamseenflashback when you check out. If you don't want to sign up for either of these, please do contact me and we can work out how you can purchase the pattern.

If you would like to receive updates and early notice of new patterns, beta knitting opportunities, and great discounts (plus pictures of new yarns, new tools, fun places, neat hints, book ideas, recipes and more) each month, please subscribe to 1,001 Knits. My best, and sometimes my only, discounts go to my subscribers.

Labels: Design, Flashback, Homemaking, Knitting, Patterns

This week, I picked up that little mitt to make its match for a quick pattern release. It was my New Year cast on and I worked out all the challenges in it, so the next one should go really quickly. Ember Days is moving right along, and makes good knitting when I am doing something else and should be released this fall. On the weekends, I will still be working on Ascalon.

I finished some things, too! Vespers really delights me, and Yasmina is happy to have her mittens finally. I did a bit of experimenting this weekend, and made up that little baby hat with the leftovers from Vespers. This is completely unblocked and I still need to weave in its ends, but it will probably go to my midwife to pass to a new baby when those are completed.


Our reading this week is largely continuing with Little Town on the Prairie, as we finished The Long Winter last week. I am still reading Babel, but picked up my Romans and Sirach studies a little more this past week. It has been such a hard week, and I needed to read something true and beautiful. Also, I put out word to women in my area to see if anyone was interested in reading the Psalms with me, and several are interested in going through Songs of Praise, which thrills me. It is looking like it will happen in the evenings, but over dinner, which will also be fun.



Linking to Yarn Along and Keep Calm and Craft On.

Labels: Books, Design, FOs, Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Knitting, Quarantine, WIP, Yarn Along