Christ is illumined! Let us shine forth with Him!

We have ended the Christmas feast and begun the feast of the Theophany and Epiphany. So, we are still celebrating, even though we are back on our normal fasting schedule. The Christmas season doesn't end until the final feast of the Nativity, which is the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Presentation of the Infant Jesus in the Temple. We keep our tree and decorations up through that feast, and still eat festive foods, though we slow down and ease back into normal eating during this time, so Lent doesn't hit us like a freight train.

Last week, we made adobo fish tacos with pineapple salsa, and they were spectacular. The recipe is from Patti Jinich, and I only changed one or two things. I didn't use oil when I pan grilled the pineapple, I tripled the fish and adobo recipe for us, and doubled the salsa, using serranos rather than jalapeños. A local grocery store makes fresh corn tortillas, so we used those and just steamed them to eat with the dinner. We would definitely make this again.

As I said last week, we are cooking more from our pantries and freezers again now, and we are eating more of a regular diet for us. Three of our kids are heading to a church winter camp over the next weekend, so we will only have five people to cook for at home, which will be challenging. I'm already thinking of how to scale back and it is super weird. I might be making a single recipe of food for our meals. Anyway, please pray for our family as we have people traveling and for our health that nobody would be knocked out with sickness as the bitter cold weather approaches. We are also supposed to see highs in the single digits and lows in the negatives this weekend. We need your prayers.

• Sunday - Feast of the Baptism of the Lord
  Breakfast: Leftover Pie and Ice Cream, Almond Cake, Bacon, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Turkey Vegetable Soup, Pumpkin Rolls, Salad, Cherry Chocolate Cream Cheese Bundt Cake
• Monday
  Breakfast: Syrian Rice Pudding, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Malay Chicken Fried Rice with Vegetables, Christmas Cherry Nut Cake
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Labneh, Za'atar and Olive Oil on Toast, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Persian Chicken with Pomegranate and Walnuts, Saffron Rice, Salad/Fruit/Dessert brought by Bible study members
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Oatmeal with Almond Paste and Raisins, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Slow Cooker French Country Winter Vegetable Stew, Garlic and Herb Rolls, Fruit Plate
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Baked French Toast, Peaches, Milk and Tea
  Dinner: Roast Tikka Chicken with Potatoes and Carrots, Rice Pilau, Chocolate Cranberry Walnut Cookies, Brown Butter Ginger Chews
• Friday
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast, Mandarin Oranges, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Croatian Roux Soup with Croutons, Green Salad, Fruit Plate
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Cardamom Apple Coffee Cake, Bacon, Coffee and Milk
  Dinner: Moroccan Eggs and Kofta with Harissa Yogurt, Garlic Turmeric Rice, Green Salad, Pomegranate Christmas 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: Church Year, Epiphany, Faith and Morality, Homemaking, Keeping the Feast, Menu Plans, Nativity, Prayer Requests, Tales from the Kitchen, Theophany