It is the busy time for those of us who preserve right now. All the fruit and vegetables are coming ripe, and we have a lot to do. It is a lot of work, but I love it, because it means that when the produce isn't in season, we can still eat it from when it was at its peak. I did get stock canned last week, and I would like to make some more to can this week. We dried more apple slices and made cherry jelly. My experiment with cherry butter tastes fabulous, but I am still undecided about the texture. If we like it well enough, it will go into Christmas gift packages this year. If the texture is not quite what we like, I will use it in baked goods. Either way, it is a win.

Our gleaning club has provided us with so much in the way of eggplant, zucchini, peaches, and apricots. We are eating a lot in our meals this week and fresh, as snacks, but I am also going to be canning peach and apricot halves for the winter. This week, I have caponata planned, but will make double or triple the amount to put some in the freezer. I'm not sure how well it would can. Maybe I will put one jar in the pressure canner with the stock and see how that goes. If it turns out well, I will know for next year.

We are cooking a lot from our freezer and from the fresh foods that are ready in our area now. Our goal is to empty the freezer enough to butcher quite a few geese, ducks, and turkeys, and to make room for two or three butchered lambs, perhaps one sheep for mutton. We had no luck finding piglets this year, so we will have to buy pork in the fall, unless we can get one or two to butcher from a 4-H kid at the fair.

Since my birthday is this week, I am making something special with some of our ducks that I've wanted to make for a while. An Arab Instagramer shared a recipe for duck shawerma, and I am really looking forward to that. I will be making that and a three layered cake of cheesecake, chocolate mousse, and ganache. Rich thought I wanted to go out for my birthday, but I just wanted to have the food and cake I wanted. He's getting me a practical gift that I really need, and it will be a good day.

The weather this week is mostly cooler than it has been, with a couple hotter days, like on my birthday and the following day. It has been a rather pleasant summer, with not too many really hot days, but not particularly cool, either. I hope this means we have a longer fall this year.

Our church family is providing jerk chicken tonight, which I think will go really well with the food we are bringing. We are so blessed to have a parish of great cooks!

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Bacon, Egg and Vegetable Breakfast Burritos, Shortcake with Raspberries, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Jerk Chicken, Red Beans and Rice, Hot Pepper Sauce, Scallions, Peaches, Parishioners bring Sides/Salads/Dessert
• Monday
  Breakfast: Turkish Menemen, Toast, Cherries, Tea and Coffee
  Dinner: Koosa Mah'shi, Basmati Rice, Harissa, Sah'awiq, Middle Eastern Chopped Salad, Peaches
• Tuesday - Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene
  Breakfast: Sausage and Vegetable Hash Burritos, Apricots, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Slow Cooked Chuck Roast, Corn on the Cob, Marinated Cucumbers and Onions, Raspberries and Cream
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Vegan Oatmeal Almond Flour Apple Muffins with Walnut Butter, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Caponata with Pasta (Gluten-free for Jerome), Portuguese Marinated Carrots, Apricots
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Mthouamat Banadora, Quick Persian Barbari Bread, Cherries, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Duck Shawerma, Saj, Lettuce, Sumac Onions*, French Fries, Tourshi, Toum, Taratoor, Shatta, Cheesecake with Chocolate Mousse and Ganache
• Friday - Feast of James the Apostle
  Breakfast: Ful, Toast/Lefover Saj (Gluten-free for Jerome), Sliced Radishes, Kalamata Olives, Fruit Plate, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Lemon Garlic Scallops, Steam Sautéed Zucchini and Corn, Fruit Plate
• Saturday - Feast of Saint Anne, Mother of the Blessed Virgin Mother
  Breakfast: Bacon Stuffed Savory Griddle Cakes, Oranges, Sahlab, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Moussaka'a, Basmati Rice, Moroccan Beet Salad, Limoncello Crème Brûlée

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: Birthday, Church Year, Family, Homemaking, Homesteading, Menu Plans, Tales from the Kitchen