July is here, and it is getting hotter, which I love. Our meals will, again, reflect that. We have a funny meal Monday, because of a labeling mishap. It is either a tuna and tomato stew that we froze, or a turkey and tomato stew. We are not sure, but we will find out when it is thawed. We were blessed with 40 pounds of local cherries from our gleaning group, so we are eating loads of cherries this week. We've already gone through almost 20 pounds, just eating them and giving away some to friends from church.

Aside from celebrating the birth of our country, we are also celebrating Yasmina's birthday this week. She's requested tacos de papa, so that we shall have. Our Independence Day this year is going to be a little more low key. We will eat good food at home and watch our neighbors' fireworks shows, drink some wine and mead, and relax. We need that after the last couple months we have had of such busy-ness.

This past weekend was also busy, but for fun. We went to a homesteading conference in Idaho. We learned so much! Now, we are looking at ways to apply what we learned and enjoy our little property.

My hope for this week is that we can work on our home and property, read a bit, and rest most of the time. Thank God that Rich was able to take not only the holiday off, but last Thursday, Friday, and this Monday, so we could enjoy our trip and rest from it when we got home. We are grateful for his job which allows things like this.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Waffles with Maple Syrup, Scrambled Eggs with Leftover Pulled Pork, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Bratwursts, Lentils with Cabbage, Roasted Cauliflower, Salad, Cherries
• Monday - Feast of Saint Thomas the Apostle
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with Cheese, Toast, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Tomato and Tuna Stew, Bread, Fruit Plate
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Potato and Ham Hash with Cheese, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Grilled Steaks, Cool and Creamy Potato and Pea Salad, Grilled Vegetables, Cherry and Blueberry Shortcake with Chantilly Cream
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Apple Coconut Breakfast Bowls with Peanut Drizzle, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Vegan Egyptian Mahshi, Turmeric Rice, Harissa, Green Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
• Thursday
  Breakfast: German Apple Pancakes, Fried Ham, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Ground Beef in Muhamarrah with Green Beans and Rice, Sah'awiq, Green Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
• Friday
  Breakfast: Oatmeal with Brown Sugar and Raisins, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Croatian Roux Soup with Croutons, Salad, Fruit Plate
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Blueberry Lemon Ricotta Tea Cake to break the fast after Liturgy
  Dinner: Tacos de Papa, Avocado Relish, Chocolate Cherry Upside Down 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.

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