We are so blessed to live in a rural neighborhood or actual neighbors. In the country, a neighbor might be someone more than a mile away, sometimes even farther, but they are there for each other, and friendly. We are one of the last country neighborhoods in our area still to have any sort of community organization, and we put on several events throughout the year. Last night was our harvest dinner. Folks come together with foods they grew or raised and made, and share with each other, give thanks and share our lives. I'm sure that originally, all the meat served was raised here in our neighborhood, but now the board buys and cooks it for the community. I made a gratin of root vegetables, all laid out in columns that was quite delicious and lovely, some puff pastry twists with gorgonzola, walnuts, and thyme, and the spiced pumpkin pudding that my kids love so much. The board provided roast beef and ham, and everyone else brought sides, salads, preserves, and desserts. It's great to see our neighbors and connect with them.

Our pork opportunity fell through, but it was a blessing. The woman offering the piglets had been a little cagey about them, and on further inquiry, we found out that they were not castrated, and were too old for that, as well as old enough already to have boar taint. I had to work pretty hard to get answers out of her, and she wanted nearly 30 of our muscovies in exchange for pigs that we really couldn't eat. On top of that, since they were all male, we couldn't even get a breeding pair to get piglets in the spring. However, since it would have required getting fencing in right away, that we had planned on doing at a little slower pace over the fall, this saves us that trouble. It was a little frustrating that the woman offering them for trade was not forthcoming about their ages, the fact that they were intact, or even what she was looking for in trade. She just said that she wanted poultry, and when I asked how many she was thinking, she wouldn't give me a number. It took much more effort just to get information, so, I guess finding out about the age and maturity at this point saved us dealing with that even more.

This week is still pretty busy for me, but I would love to share some recipes of things we have made and enjoyed recently (and some from before). We found a recipe for Irish farls, and thought they were delightful. I liked them quite a bit more than boxty, or the leftover mashed potato pancakes people make. I did think they would be improved with some fresh herbs like chives or scallions, or even parsley, added to them, but I don't know if that is traditional or not. We also made a biscuit breakfast bake that I have made several times, but really should put the recipe out for folks. It's super simple, even with mixing up the biscuit dough, and really tasty.

We didn't really put up much in the way of fruit or preserves this year. That is now weighing on me, but we will make it work. We do have some corn we grew to blanch and freeze, and that will be a blessing this winter. However, we are using the last of our canned fruit this week, and though we have relishes and pickles, jams and jellies, and some tomatoes and sauces, still, it troubles me that we didn't put up as much as we could have this year. Our life was just so busy. I don't know how we can get our life to be a little less busy next spring and summer, but we need to find a way. I do have cherries and cherry juice in the freezer that can become jelly, butter, and syrup, so I think I will take some time on that this season. Most of our menus are still largely being planned from our freezers and pantries, which is saving us all sorts of money and time. I think my goal this season is to fit in one day of some kind of preserving each week. If we can clean up my pressure canner, I can even start getting our stocks and broths canned so they aren't taking room in our freezers and don't need to thaw when we use them.

I'm so happy that Rich has Friday off for Veteran's Day. It will be great to have him at home, and he can get some things done that he has been wanting to do around here. We will celebrate Saint Martin the following day (on the actual Veteran's Day), and have some food and lantern walks and all sorts of fun.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Leftover Arabic Pumpkin Pudding, Bleu Cheese Puff, and other Leftovers, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Instant Pot Mensaf, Rice, Cabbage Salad with Cumin Dressing
• Monday
  Breakfast: Vegetable and Potato Hash with Diced Ham, Toast, Sliced Apples, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Roast Tikka Chicken with Potatoes and Cauliflower, Rice Pilau, Apple Almond Cake
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Cheddar Garlic Butter Swim Biscuits, Sausages, Canned Peaches, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Instant Pot Chicken Shawerma, Tamis, French Fries, Lettuce, Tomatoes, Peppers, Onions and Olives, Toum, Harissa, Taratoor, Fruit Plate
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Ful, Toast, Chopped Tomatoes and Onions, Harissa, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Vegan Dan Dan Noodles, Green Salad with Citrus Sesame Dressing, Fruit
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with Cheese, Toast, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Papas con Chorizo with Salsa, Sour Cream and Sliced Avocados, Fruit Plate
• Friday - Feast of Pope Leo the Great
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast, Sliced Apples, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Croatian Roux Soup with Croutons, Salad, Fruit Plate
• Saturday - Feast of Saint Martin
  Breakfast: Saint Martin's Day Almond Crescents, Loaded Home Fries, Bacon, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Peruvian Kebabs with Beef Heart and Grilled Lamb Chops, Super Crisp Peruvian Roasted Potatoes, Fried Olive Bites

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