This is what it looked like at our house Monday at 9:00 am. It got a little better, though still hard to breathe, then it got a lot worse when the winds changed and brought in the heavy smoke that had been blown to sea. We are supposed to see a small improvement by Tuesday, so I am postponing my grocery shopping from Friday to Tuesday, in the hopes that it will be easier to breathe. As bad as this looks, it is much worse where my mother (and the kids' godparents) live. Please be praying for the entire west coast which is engulfed in flames and smoke right now.

The good news is that because of how well stocked we are, the generosity of farmers, and my getting the inventory done on all the comestibles and libations (hooray!!!) in the house, we can go without a grocery store trip for a while, actually. It means I have to be creative with what we have, and not just choose to make whatever I feel like, but since I know how to cook, we are still making out pretty well. Glory to God, the farmer the boys have been helping keeps sending them home with tons of produce, and we have filled our freezers with about half of what we would normally purchase in a year. His generosity and a little of our time has blessed us and saved us money. He has been sending these beautiful watermelons, eggplant, cabbage, onions, cucumbers, spaghetti squash, jalapeños, leeks, kohlrabi, basil, tomatoes, besides all the green and red bell peppers, home with them after work. We are praying that he is blessed far more than he has blessed us. Even what he has done has helped other families besides ours, as we were able to offer the produce to them, too. Our gleaning club has been doing what it can during this time, and we are getting eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, cucumbers, and peaches on a fairly regular basis, too. This is besides what our garden is (finally) providing. God is looking out for us extravagantly.

This week has the autumn ember days, and we will be, of course, praying for the Church, her bishops, priests and deacons, those in consecrated virginity, and those called to all those offices, but we will also be praying for the physical and spiritual relief of our country and the world. If you feel led, please pray (and fast, as you are able), on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. If you are unable to fast, you can eat meatless on those days, as a reminder. It is the feast of Saint Cyprian of Carthage today, who said of the Church:

Whoever is separated from the Church and is joined to an adulteress, is separated from the promises of the Church; nor can he who forsakes the Church of Christ attain to the rewards of Christ. He is a stranger; he is profane; he is an enemy. He can no longer have God for his Father, who has not the Church for his mother.

Please pray for our Mother Church.

• Sunday - Feast of Saint Cyprian of Carthage
  Breakfast: Pancakes with Butter and Syrup, Sausages, Scrambled Eggs, Mixed Fruit, Juice
  Dinner: Taco Meat and Beans over Roasted Tomato Salsa Rice, Sliced Tomatoes, Queso Fresco and Jalapeños, Salsa Verde
• Monday - Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
  Breakfast: Toast with Feta, Tomatoes, Za'atar and Olive Oil, Apricots, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Gumbo, Rice, Pepper Vinegar, Sliced Watermelon
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Plum Skillet Cake, Hard Boiled Eggs, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Borschty (Substituting Rutabagas for the Potatoes for a Nightshade Free Friend), Sour Cream Egg Noodles
• Wednesday - Ember Day
  Breakfast: Steel Cut Oats with Chopped Apples and Cinnamon Sugar, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Boiled Potatoes, Romanian Cabbage Salad, Romanian Eggplant Dip, Shabboura*, Sliced Watermelon
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Biscuits with Peach Butter and Ricotta, Pears, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Spaghetti Squash Bolognese, Fried Eggplant, Garlic Balsamic Beet Greens, Sliced Tomatoes and Cucumbers
• Friday - Ember Day
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast with Honey, Sliced Asian Pears, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Caramelized Onion and Eggplant Puff Pastry Tart, Fruit Salad
• Saturday - Ember Day
  Breakfast: Pancakes with Maple Syrup, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Eggplant Gyros, Baba Ghanooj, Taratoor, Green Hot Sauce, Khoubz Araby, Sliced Vegetables, Olives, Sliced Watermelon, Basbousa*

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, Homesteading, Menu Plans, Quarantine, Shelftember, Tales from the Kitchen