I could not decide between this ancient icon and a more modern one, so I have included both. That this is Eastern and the other Western makes it even better. The other is at the bottom of the menu plan.

In the West, it is the Sunday of the Good Shepherd. In the East, it is the Sunday of the Paralytic. In both, He shows His care for us, that He cares for the individual, regardless of how weak or insignificant. That is my meditation this week.

It is another birthday week here! Nejat is turning 12 this year. Since we technically don't have to fast on Wednesdays and Fridays during the Paschal season, we are going to serve her choice of dinner on her birthday, without regard for day of the week.

We have a repeat from this past week, but it is because we had extra grape leaves from the jar and I want to use them. So, we are making more waraq 'ounab on Saturday. We had our first asparagus run with our gleaning group, so there is a lot of asparagus being eaten and a lot to pickle. A friend also gave us a ton of rhubarb, so I am making lots of rhubarb desserts, and I think I might make some vanilla rhubarb jam to can for the winter. I have a recipe from Baking with Julia for a Hungarian shortbread with vanilla rhubarb jam, and I will likely make that, too. This blog shows a way to do the grating of the shortbread dough with a KA attachment, which I will be trying.

Last week we had two not so great dishes. They weren't bad, but just not that great. The spicy Thai red curry chicken and rice casserole was not spicy, first of all, and I used about twice as much of the red curry paste that the recipe recommended. Also, it didn't have enough salt, even with the curry paste and fish sauce. Besides that, it really could have been better if the chicken had been browned just before it was put in the casserole, and if the whole thing were covered with foil for most of the cooking. It was fine enough, the flavor was good, but we had to add hot sauce, and that browning (maybe even of the onions) would have made it infinitely better. It was a great weeknight meal, because you literally just layered everything, including the rice, and baked it. So, you could throw it together and leave it to do other things while it cooked. In that sense, it was a success. However, it kind of fell flat. The Nutella mousse sounded like a simple approximation of a real mousse, but it was not as good as it ought to have been. It was worse, because the night before we had a real chocolate mousse with cherries. The contrast probably made it taste even worse. Basically, it was Nutella whipped with heavy cream. It was okay - just okay, though.

As it is Mother's Day here in the US today, and I am honestly not that big on gifts for the sake of giving gifts, Rich and the kids snuck flowers into the house for me this morning, all at different times, so I have beautiful flowers all over the house. Rich made omelets for me, exactly as I wished, and I think I'm getting a Mexican Coca-Cola from one of the kids this morning. I woke up to Amira folding the laundry without me asking, which is also a huge gift to me. When they asked if I still didn't really want just stuff, I told them that what I wanted was not to have to direct people to do things. I love thoughtfulness, remembering without my reminding, consumable gifts and experiences. So, this is perfect for me. Also, Rich got me actual incandescent bulbs for our chandelier, and I am so happy. I bought myself a sundress I really liked, and though it was supposed to arrive yesterday, it is coming tomorrow, and I think that counts, too. I had tried it on at a shop while we were on the West side, and they didn't have my size, but I was one size away, so I looked online, and found it. The shipping was free, and since it was being sent to my home, it had lower sales tax, and I was able to use a coupon, so it was a little less expensive than it would have been in the shop, too.

Anyway, I am still far behind on posting recipes, but perhaps this week I will get to it. We do have asparagus to pickle, too. And I have a big design deadline looming. No promises.

• Sunday - Sunday of the Good Shepherd and the Feast of Saints Cyril and Methodius
  Breakfast: Chorizo, Tomato, Pepper, Cheese and Chive Omelets, Leftover Blackberry Lemon Cheesecake, Doughnuts, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Orange, Apricot and Mustard Glazed Ham*, Scalloped Potatoes, Sides/Salads/Veggies/Fruit/Desserts brought by Parish
• Monday
  Breakfast: Chorizo and Asparagus Breakfast Scramble, Toast, Mandarin Oranges, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Beef Ravioli with Pesto Tomato Sauce (GF for Jerome), Roasted Asparagus, Rhubarb Curd
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Baked Ham and Cheese Egg Bites, Cinnamon Nut Raisin Bread, Strawberries, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Swedish Meatball Meatloaf, Salt Potatoes, Steam Sautéed Carrots and Asparagus with Garlic and Dill, Strawberry Sorbet
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Shakshouka, Bread, Sliced Apples, Milky Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Savory Palestinian Cauliflower Pancakes, Duqqus, Green Salad, Rhubarb Pie
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Ham and Egg Cups, Toast Fingers, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Stir Fried Beef and Broccoli, Jasmine Rice, Hot Chocolate Cookies
• Friday
  Breakfast: Saudi Style Ful, Persian Barbari Bread, Duqqus, Fruit, Coffee and Tea
  Dinner: Saucy Sour Cream Meatballs with Green Beans and Egg Noodles (GF Pasta for Jerome), Ice Cream Cake
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Bacon Stuffed Savory Griddle Cakes, Sliced Oranges, Hot Chocolate, Sahlab, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Waraq ‘Ounab*, Simple Rice Pilaf, Harissa, Duqqus, Green Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette, Arabic Rice Pudding with Orange Curd Topping

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 (this may be later this time because of our holiday feasting and rest).

Labels: Birthday, Church Year, Faith and Morality, Family, Fesh'a, Homemaking, Homesteading, Keeping the Feast, Menu Plans, Pascha, Tales from the Kitchen