This was such a busy weekend for us. Between the feasts of All Saints and All Souls, a couple of our kids going to a teen retreat in Idaho, a memorial for a friend and neighbor, and going to liturgy at a church an hour and a half away this morning for a Saints Alive feast and celebration, we have been on the go in every direction you can imagine.

We had a lot of winners last week for dinner. The Colombian beans, Croatian soup, and Spanish farmer's rice are all going to be seen on our menus again later this year and into next year. However, I'm finding that we are needing quicker, simpler breakfasts even than what I have been planning, so I am streamlining it even more. Also, I am trying to plan for leftover uses to stretch the budget and make cooking time easier at night. For instance, we have roast pork on the menu for tomorrow, but I know there will be a little left, so it will go into the fried rice the next day. I tried to make enough rice this weekend that I wouldn't have to cook any Monday for the dinner Tuesday, but we went through it all pretty thoroughly. Soups, stews, and legumes are still showing up a lot, as they are warm and filling and good for the family purse. Speaking of which, our Grocery Outlet had these Spanish tuna burgers, made with real food, for less than $4.00 per pound, which is a screaming deal. Even considering that we are paying for the other ingredients at that rate, it also means that all we have to do is to heat it up in a skillet or in the oven, so that seems like a win to me. We bought a lot of them.

Since we had freshly butchered chicken, I used it for a meal this past week and that meal is going on next week's menu. This next weekend is the first (and maybe only) weekend since we last butchered. We have about seven muscovies on death row, destined for the freezer. I'm also trying to sell about 10 to 12 of them. If you live near us, let me know if you are interested. We do not want to be feeding this many all winter, so we are keeping a few for breeding and eggs, and the rest will become meat or get sold. The meat will be lovely in meals come January, though we may try a little this month, too. Thanksgiving will be taking up a lot of the menu at the end of this month, and then the Advent fast begins. We may slip in one muscovy dinner before all of that.

Because of our very busy weekend, it was a relief to us that the folks at church all pitched in to plan a wonderful dinner so we wouldn't have to do it tonight. In fact, one person explicitly told me that I could send recipes and assignments if ever I needed assistance. One person sent me a text less than a day from returning from Italy to ask what she could bring. We are so grateful for these people who are our church family.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: None (morning Liturgy)
  Dinner: Moroccan Lamb and Chickpea Stew, Rice, Homemade Bread, Cinnamon Rolls
• Monday>
  Breakfast: Fried Halloum, Sliced Tomatoes, Toast (GF for Jerome), Sliced Apples, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Roasted Garlic Herb Pork Loin, Roasted Broccoli, Baked Potatoes with Sour Cream and Scallions, Sliced Apples
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Yogurt and Jam, Toast (GF for Jerome), Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Fried Rice, Green Salad with Sesame Ginger Dressing, Fruit Plate
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Apple Coconut Breakfast Bowls with Cashew Butter Drizzle, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Persian Potato Curry, Basmati Rice, Tomato Salad, Fruit Plate
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Hard Boiled Eggs, Toast (Gluten-free for Jerome), Fruit, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Tuna Burgers, Pickles, Potato Wedges, Torta Dominguera
• Friday
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast with Honey, Sliced Fruit, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Thai Mussels with Jasmine Rice to break the fast after Liturgy
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Pancakes (GF for Jerome) with Raspberry Syrup, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Habanero Pork Belly Tacos, Ranchero Beans, Mexican Rice, Salsa, 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 Saturday.

Labels: Church Year, Faith and Morality, Family, Homemaking, Homesteading, Menu Plans, Preserving the Harvest, Tales from the Kitchen

This is such a delicious and simple salad. For your cooked beets, you can boil or steam them, but I prefer roasting them. You can cook them in a pressure cooker. In any case, you want them cooled and peeled, and that can be done ahead of time. This makes a good quantity of salad, so you may wish to halve it, but it does hold in the refrigerator for at least a week and a half or more. You can serve it a few times over that week or so, and not have to make salad each time.

10 medium beets, scrubbed, cooked, cooled and peeled, diced into fine dice
1 large red onion, finely minced
1 bunch fresh, flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 bunch fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons cumin seeds
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher, flake, salt (I use Diamond)
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice

In a large bowl, put the diced beets, minced onion, chopped parsley and cilantro, and toss a little.

In a small frying pan, toast the cumin seeds over medium heat, stirring occasionally, 2 - 3 minutes. Immediately remove from the heat once they start to smell toasty. You can grind them completely in a spice grinder or use a mortar and pestle and only roughly crack and grind them (which I prefer). Allow to cool.

Mix together the toasted cumin seeds, salt, pepper, olive oil, and lemon juice into a dressing. Pour over the vegetables and herbs in the bowl and mix well to coat everything. Chill until ready to serve.

Labels: Homemaking, Recipes, Tales from the Kitchen