Saints Perpetua and Felicity are two of my favorite saints. They were a married noblewoman and her servant who were brought to be executed for their faith. Felicity was pregnant and delivered while in prison. The image of her bleeding, recently delivered body being set against wild beasts in the arena was too much even for the Romans, who were so used to this kind of violence as entertainment, and seeing them martyred in this way was the beginning of the end for this kind of execution in Rome.

We only had to change one item on last week's menu, so I have repeated it here this week. The olive and rosemary focaccia we made last week was such a hit that we are having it again this week. Rich had an event come up at work to which we were invited, and really needed to attend, so I shifted to an easier meal for the kids to put together, and he and I went. This week is an eventful week, both because Amira's birthday is this week and because some dear friends we haven't seen in years will be here. We are super excited for both.

So far Lent itself is going well. However, it has been a hard time for me, with some minor health issues that have left me pretty tired, and more cold and wind here. The ducks had a stay of execution because of the weather and wind, so they are still wandering the property. However, their time will come this weekend, unless the wind does a number on us again.

Unfortunately, we had another problem with Misfits Market. Out of three orders and shipments, only two actually made it to our home. Their customer service is abysmal, and I will no longer be using their service or recommending it to anyone. My full review of the company will be posted sometime this week, but I was hoping people might have a recommendation for a similar company, who does not ship with FedEx, and knows something about customer service and communication (and reading for comprehension). After two out of three boxes had problems (both with delivery and product issues) and didn't actually ever arrive to our home, and both times we had problems, Rich had to use connections with the local FedEx office he has through work, with not a single word from Misfits, and Misfits taking more than four days to get back to us about the problem, they actually had the nerve to offer us a $10 credit to give them another shot. They still owe us money from the shipping on both of those boxes. I told them that we had already given them two more chances, and out of three orders, only one arrived at our home and had no problems. Besides that, independently of these issues, they have raised the minimum order from $35 to $55, which is often too much for our family (because I am looking for items that are priced better than we can get here and that we can use within two weeks before they start to deteriorate), while not exactly upgrading their customer service standards. Because of this, we were short of quite a few ingredients that we had planned for our meals this week, and that necessitated extra trips to the grocery store. We had nothing for salads and no chard, and had to pick up lemons, among many other ingredients we were counting on for our family.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Vegan Cornmeal Waffles with Maple Syrup, Fruit Plate, Tea and Coffee
  Dinner: Trapanese Pesto Pizza with Shrimp and Chard, Salad, Fruit
• Monday
  Breakfast: Wheateena with Maple Syrup and Coconut Milk, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Olive and Rosemary Focaccia, Middle Eastern Greens, Fruit Plate
• Tuesday - Saints Perpetua and Felicity
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast with Blueberry Preserves, Tea and Honey
  Dinner: Moroccan Spiced Vegetable Soup with Cous Cous, Salad, Fruit
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Oatmeal with Spiced Canned Peaches and Brown Sugar, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Bucatini with Tomato and Olive Sauce, Fruit Plate
• Thursday - Saint Gregory of Nyssa
  Breakfast: Potato Pancakes, Home Canned Peaches, Tea and Coffee
  Dinner: Asian Style Chickpea Salad, Mandarin Oranges
• Friday
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast, Fruit, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Shrimp and Vegetable Stir Fry, Jasmine Rice, Vegetable Pot Stickers, Lenten Chocolate Orange Cake
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Lenten Apple Butter Muffins with Sliced Almonds, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Falafel, Khoubz Araby, Harissa, Toum, Veggie and Olive Plate, 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 a Saturday.

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