Well, it turns out that it was a good thing Rich had Friday off, but not for the reasons we initially thought. We had a horrible stomach bug go through the family. It started Monday with Nejat, then me, then Rich, then Jerome. Rich and Jerome just generally felt queasy, but Nejat and I were violently ill. However, after a day and a half, it settled down. The other kids seemed untouched, and Mariam, God bless her, took on helping me on Monday, and roasted a chicken over potatoes for the first time (also her first time making an entire dinner on her own) with just my talking her through it. By Friday, it seemed like we were in the clear, and nobody else would get it. Little did we know.

Friday night, just after midnight, Yasmina was rather ill, then Mariam, who has the least room for illness, was sick just about every 20 minutes from a little after 1:00 until 6:00 Saturday morning. She didn't sleep more than 30 minutes until that point, so neither did we, but she really had a rough night. We hoped getting all of it out of her system would mean she was well faster, but she spent all of yesterday on the couch, with us trying to get her hydrated, and her feeling miserable. No more sick, though, but the pain remained. We found some anti-nausea pills and gave her some ibuprofen for the pain, and she is much better this morning, glory to God!

Anyway, that made for a lot of shifted meal plans, and no St. Martin's rolls. It also meant that Rich didn't get all his Veteran's Day free meals because we didn't want to go out and make others sick or eat garbage on sensitive stomachs. It also meant that we missed a Veteran's Day dinner to which we were invited, because we really didn't want to get all those people sick. And, no Saint Martin's Day rolls or lantern walk. In fact, we had a trip planned to Sun Valley for Rich's work, and we were also going to spend our evenings with the airport directors' and their wives, but with how sick everyone was and how it seemed to have a long incubation, we decided to reschedule. In many ways, that makes our lives simpler, anyway, with some emergency safety classes Rich is taking, my design schedule this month, and Thanksgiving coming up, so it was a blessing in disguise - a big, heavy, unpleasant disguise.

Because of all of those schedule issues, the dinners this week are also fairly simple. They are either things that I can make quickly, or the kids can do with a little instruction. We are all busy and a little stressed and trying to work through not feeling well. We are still cooking through our freezers, and will be putting off butchering until December, also because of our schedule. On the plus side, it means that it will be cold enough that there will be no need to rush through any of the butchering process.

Speaking of cold, although it is cold here, it has been consistently about 20 degrees warmer than it was last year, for which I am grateful. Yesterday a big wind came through, though, which does not bode well for the end of this month. Those winds usually bring severe temperature changes, and I doubt we will be seeing a heat wave. But, God is good, and He is glorified in His saints. So many people have blessed us with firewood, our heaters are working well, we have a snug house, plenty of woolens, blankets, and so we will survive the winter. I am thanking God that the brutal cold was put off a little longer than usual this year.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Pancakes and Raspberry Syrup, Bacon, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Broiled Bratwursts, Sour Cream Noodles with Onions, Roasted Cauliflower, Mandarin Oranges
• Monday
  Breakfast: Vegetable and Potato Hash with Diced Ham, Toast, Sliced Apples, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Easy Persian Kabobs, Persian Herbed Rice, Fresh Pear Crumble Pie
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with Cheese, Toast, Sliced Pears, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Moroccan Eggs with Lamb and Harissa Yogurt, Roasted Cauliflower, Salad with Lemon Vinagrette, Sliced Oranges
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Ful, Toast, Chopped Tomatoes and Onions, Harissa, Radishes and Kalamata Olives, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Sauerkraut Bean Soup, Rolls, Sliced Apples
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Syrian Rice Pudding with Dried Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Thai Style Ginger Chicken with Eggplant, Jasmine Rice, Mandarin Oranges
• Friday
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast, Sliced Apples, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Vegetarian Ranchero Beans, Salsa Rice, Sliced Oranges
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Brudet to break the fast after Liturgy
  Dinner: Potato Dressing, Sausage Gravy, Green Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette, 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: Church Year, Faith and Morality, Homemaking, Homesteading, Menu Plans, Shelftember, Tales from the Kitchen