Christ has Ascended! From Earth to Heaven! Alleluia!

We are within the Octave of Ascension for most of this week, and are praying the Novena to the Holy Spirit through this Saturday. We are near the end of the entire Paschal season. There is a sadness that comes with that, but we get to celebrate the second highest feast of the Church year, as well. Pentecost is the commissioning of the Church; it is her birthday, and without that authority and power, we could not live. Glory to God!

The weather is cooling down into the 70s and low 80s this week, which is great. We weren't quite ready for the 90s yet. It's easier when it is a slower build up to those temperatures. I didn't mind it so much, but it's hard on a lot of people. It's still warm enough for salads and lighter meals, but not so hot that cooking seems oppressive. The hottest day so far this year was yesterday, and it was such a busy day for us, with big errands, a memorial and reception for a neighbor, our monthly dance, and that was all after the homeschool formal and a birthday sleepover. We were kind of exhausted today.

We have nearly a month of school and extracurricular activities, plus an airshow right in the middle of it all and a ballet recital at the end. The homeschool formal dance went well, and it is another of our last of the school year events that we have checked off the list. We will be glad to have some more rest this summer.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Fried Eggs and Leftovers, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Greek and Italian Cold Cut Flat Breads with Vegetables and Olives, Fruit Plate
• Monday
  Breakfast: Toast, Arabic Cheese with Za’atar and Olive Oil, Sliced Apples, Tea and Honey
  Dinner: Spicy Garlic Ginger Pork, Sesame Green Beans*, Jasmine Rice, Fruit
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Scrambled Egg and Cheese Burritos, Salsa and Sour Cream, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Green Chicken Enchilada Soup, Fried Tortilla Strips, Cuban Lime Shortbread
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Steel Cut Oatmeal with Chopped Apples, Raisins and Brown Sugar, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Balkan Ratatouille, Rice, Croatian Style Marinated Cucumbers, Fruit
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Migas, Salsa, Sliced Avocados, Sliced Oranges, Tea and Coffee
  Dinner: Cheese Zombies, Crudités, Fruit Plate
• Friday
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast, Sliced Apples, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Monk's Salad, Olive Tapenade, Tamis, Koulourakia
• Saturday - Feast of Saint Bede the Venerable
  Breakfast: Prosciutto and Gruyère Scones, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Turkish Lamb Wraps, Grilled Asparagus, Pistachio Cream 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: Ascension, Church Year, Faith and Morality, Family, Fesah', Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Homesteading, Menu Plans, Pascha, Tales from the Kitchen

Christ is Risen! The Lord is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!

Christ has Ascended! From Earth to Heaven! Alleluia!

It is the slow down of the Paschal season this week. We have Rogation Days, Ascension Day is Thursday. The novena to the Holy Spirit begins on Friday, and we will wait and pray with the Apostles and disciples, for His coming on Pentecost. On top of that, there is Mother's Day today and Nejat's birthday this week. It's a full week. Tehnically there is some small abstinence this week, for the Rogation Days, and we begin the return to the normal abstinent schedule Friday.

The folks at church are generously making the meal tonight, which is a huge blessing to me. Since I won't have to cook, I think I will bring the poundcake that I didn't make last night to share with everyone there. It looks like we will have our Ascension Day picnic, though it is a challenge to find a high spot to have it and fly our kites.

We will get our first local asparagus next week, which will be fantastic. I'm looking forward to all sorts of asparagus dishes, and replenishing our asparagus pickles. We are still eating winter citrus and storage apples, but were able to get some good deals on berries and have our home canned fruit, so we can still have a little variety.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Dutch Baby with Limoncello Butter and Berries, Chorizo, Egg and Potato Hash, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Hamburger Stew, Salad, Bread, Cold Oven Pound Cake
• Monday - Rogation Day
  Breakfast: 'Ijja, Toast, Mixed Berries, Tea and Coffee
  Dinner: Potage Parmentier, Bread, Fruit Plate
• Tuesday - Rogation Day
  Breakfast: Overnight Peaches and Cream French Toast, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Macaroni and Cheese, Spice Market Carrot Cake
• Wednesday - Rogation Day
  Breakfast: Steel Cut Oats with Raisins and Cinnamon, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Instant Pot Mixed Lentil and Vegetable Khichdi, Basmati Rice, Fruit Plate
• Thursday - Ascension Day
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with Cheese, Toast, Sliced Oranges, Tea and Coffee
  Dinner: Chicken Thighs with Cauliflower and Capers, Pan Fried Potatoes, Rhubarb Curd with Chantilly Cream
• Friday - Feast of Saint Dunstan of Canterbury
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast, Sliced Apples, Tea and Honey
  Dinner: Tomato Soup, Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, Carrot Cupcakes
• Saturday - Feast of Saint Alcuin
  Breakfast: Lemon Soufflé Pancakes, Bacon, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Instant Pot Chicken Adobo, Burnt Garlic Fried Rice, Cherry Gelato and Blueberry Cheesecake Gelato

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: Ascension, Birthday, Church Year, Faith and Morality, Family, Fesah', Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Homesteading, Menu Plans, Pascha, Tales from the Kitchen

Christ is Risen! The Lord is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!

It's another busy week this week, though it slows down the tiniest bit by the weekend. There are a lot of quick meals, and meals we prepared before and put in the freezer for times like this.

Spring is officially here, though we did have a few cooler days in between the spike in temperature last week and the gradual heat that looks to be coming this week. Flowers are blooming, our maple tree leafed out almost overnight, and it is the best time of year for this part of our state. May through July is really the only time I love it here. Everything is alive, and in June and July fruits and vegetables begin to be available. Usually, there isn't much fire activity during this time, either.

Anyway, aside from needing those quick meals, we are still actively trying to excavate our freezers and make room for lambs, turkeys, and other meat from butchering. So, we are trying to eat from the freezer and pantry until there is sufficient room. We will eventually also need room for that produce I mentioned above.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Egg and Cheese Bagel Sandwiches, Strawberries, Tea and Coffee
  Dinner: Slow Cooker Cuban Mojo Pork, Moros y Cristianos, Ensalada Cubano, Key Lime Pie and Cuban Lime Sugar Cookies
• Monday
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs and Cheese, Toast, Sliced Oranges, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Chile Verde Burritos, Salsa Rice, Fruit Plate
• Tuesday - Feast of Saint Gregory of Nazianzus
  Breakfast: Potato Hash with Bacon, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Tomato Tuna Stew, Bread, Fruit Plate
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Steel Cut Oats with Raisins and Cinnamon, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Tomato Dal, Basmati Rice, Salad, Fruit
• Thursday - Feast of Saints Cyril and Methodius
  Breakfast: Creamed Eggs, Toast Fingers, Sliced Oranges, Tea and Coffee
  Dinner: Spanish Chorizo and Lentil Soup, Italian Bread, Salad
• Friday
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast, Sliced Apples, Tea and Honey
  Dinner: Adriatic Style Grilled Shrimp, Eggplant, Potato and Tomato Bake, Soparnik, Fruit Bowl
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Blueberry Lemon Ricotta Tea Cake to break the fast after Liturgy
  Dinner: Lemon Garlic Scallops with White Wine and Olive Oil, Parsleyed Rice Pilaf, Green Salad, Cold Oven Pound 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, Faith and Morality, Family, Fesah', Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Homesteading, Menu Plans, Pascha, Tales from the Kitchen

Christ is Risen! The Lord is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!

We are still coping with leftovers. So, tonight's dinner is what was planned for last night. Some of the dishes planned for last week had to be shifted, so there are a few repeats this week, too. Eggs are plentiful right now, so we are eating a lot of them. We have been able to bless some other people with eggs, too, which is fantastic. If you live in the northern hemisphere, talk to the people you know with poultry, or find people who have poultry, because all the birds are laying right now.

It is a pretty busy week, with this upcoming weekend being extraordinarily busy, so we are navigating meals and activities and errands, many of which are conflicting or at the same time. Please pray for us.

Our "instant" orchard is well on its way, and it looks so pretty. It has been so encouraging to look out and see trees.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Egg Sandwiches with Avocado, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Ham, Scalloped Potatoes, Salad, Dinner Rolls, Fruit
• Monday - Feast of Saints Philip and James, Apostles
  Breakfast: Egg Burritos with Cheese and Salsa, Sliced Oranges, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Split Style Tuna, Croatian Potatoes, Croatian Style Marinated Cucumbers, Cheese Potica
• Tuesday - Feast of Saint Athanasius
  Breakfast: Fried Eggs and Toast, Sliced Apples, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Tray Kofta with Potatoes and Taratoor, Rice, Salad, Arabic Orange Cake
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Oatmeal with Raisins and Brown Sugar, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Croatian Roux Soup with Croutons, Salad, Fruit Plate
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with Cheese, Toast, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Chicken and Chorizo Paella, Salad, Hot Chocolate Cookies
• Friday
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast, Sliced Apples, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Thai Shrimp Soup, Fruit Plate
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Pancakes with Maple Syrup, Bacon, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Dinner with Friends

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, Fesah', Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Homesteading, Menu Plans, Pascha, Tales from the Kitchen

Christ is Risen! The Lord is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!

We have too many leftovers! This is a great problem to have, but my planning is being a little thrown off by it. I had intended to make a Mexican style eggs Benedict with chorizo and avocado and chipotle hollandaise for Sunday breakfast. We had so many leftovers from the Paschal breads and the cakes we made this week, though, that we ate those instead. We are still in the Paschal season, and not quite feasting (though I understand that, at least in parts of the Antiochian diocese, and in Greece and parts of Southwest Asia and North Aftrica, the 40 days after the Paschal feast are entirely fast free!), we are eating a lot more treats than normal. With only eight of us at home, we are actually finding it difficult to keep up with them. So, I think I need to space them out a bit. We actually still have a ton of the chocolate left from the Pascha basket (but don't tell the kids how much, they just know that there is more).

One of these years, I will make our Pasqua bread with pancetta, rather than bacon, but so far I cannot justify the cost of over two pounds of pancetta versus the bacon. This week, I plan to recreate a dish Nejat ordered when we were on the Oregon coast two summers ago. We have wanted to make it for a while, but I was waiting for Jerome to be able to eat it with us as it was supposed to be made. So, I grabbed some canned crab claw meat and fresh basil, and we have everything else to make a fantastic macaroni and cheese with crab, parmesan and basil. When Nejat ordered it, I honestly expected it to be pretty basic with a little crab hidden in it and a sprig of fresh basil on top. It was not. It was fantastic. The cheese sauce was made with a sharp cheddar and a little parmesan, the crab was hefty and generous, and the basil in the sauce and sprinkled on top was just right.

I have been planning our meals almost entirely from our freezers and pantry, and just picking up fresh produce and dairy as it is on sale and as we need it, and restocking on staples that we use. Most of our dinners are actually planned through the month of May and part of June. We will be butchering some turkeys as soon as there is enough room in the freezer. Also, we ordered new poults, and because of the cold, they sent them with a whole lot of extra chicks, so those chicks that are roosters will end up in the freezer, too. Sadly, our goslings almost all died in transit, and the company had all future hatchings ordered already, so we only have three of them. We are hoping for a breeding pair and an extra male, and will put the extra male in the freezer, and keep the breeding pair to get our own goslings as soon as they are able. We have a sitting muscovy, and we are hoping for more of them. They have finally started laying, so we re getting rich eggs that are making for fantastic cakes. The yolks will be going into some ice cream, too.

One of our goals this year is to get property fencing up properly, and then we can talk about sheep. If anyone has any piglets, we would love two or three to raise, because come fall, that will be a welcome addition to our freezer and table. I'd love a milking cow, but we are just not in a place to be committed to the twice daily milking, or even once a day milking, if we share with the calf, as we intend. Rich is hoping to get another couple hives going, too, after the sadness of losing two because of our cold temperatures and taking a break from it. We miss our own honey.

Spring finally looks like it might make an appearance here, too. Rich has been busy this week with the boys, digging holes for seven new fruit trees and getting some of them planted and watered. Aside from that fencing, we are trying to surround the property with fruit trees. If we can get enough planted, we might actually be able to raise the temperature around the property by a couple degrees, too, creating our own micro-micro-climate. The east border of the property doesn't get a lot of irrigation, so we are thinking of planting native trees, like Russian Olive, which can spread, but will be slowed at least by the minimal water. We have starts from our lilacs and forsythia that can be transplanted there, too, and all those would provide a pretty and fragrant surrounding for us.

• Sunday - Feast of Saint George
  Breakfast: Leftover Sirnica with Pascha Cheese and, Italian Bacon and Romano Pasqua Bread, Moroccan Almond-Orange Cake and Creamy Buttermilk Cake with Coconut and Pecans, Spanish Cheeses, Strawberries, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Tray Kofta with Potatoes and Tomatoes, Rice, Harissa, Duqqus, Sah'awiq, Green Salad, More Leftover Cake
• Monday
  Breakfast: Soft Boiled Eggs, Center Cut Bacon, Toast, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Crab and Basil Macaroni and Cheese, Green Salad, Crème Brûlée
• Tuesday - Feast of Saint Mark
  Breakfast: Farmer Breakfast Casserole with Sausage, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Apple Cider Braised Pork Shoulder, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Green Salad/Vegetable Sides/Fruit brought by Bible Study Members, Lemon Blueberry Poundcake with Lemon Glaze
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Tomato Toast*, Fruit, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Instant Pot Turkish Split Pea Soup, Bread, Fruit Plate
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Egg, Cheese, Tomato and Avocado Tortillas, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Layered Potato and Beef Bake, Persian Chopped Salad, Arabic Orange Cake
• Friday
  Breakfast: Oatmeal with Almonds, Dates and Cardamom, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Adriatic Style Grilled Shrimp, Eggplant, Potato and Tomato Bake, Soparnik, Fruit Bowl
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Sausage, Egg and Cheese Biscuits, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Ham, Scalloped Potatoes, Roasted Asparagus, Dinner Rolls, Kremenitsa

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: Church Year, Faith and Morality, Family, Fesah', Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Homesteading, Menu Plans, Pascha, Tales from the Kitchen

Christ is Risen! The Lord is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!

It is the end of the Paschal octave, but not the end of the Paschal season. We have another 32 days until the Feast of the Ascension and ten days after that is Pentecost, the second highest feast of the Church Year! We have a lot of celebrating to do.

In light of that, Rich asked me to extend some of the foods I had planned for last week into this week and later in the season. A couple days into Bright Week, we all started to get either a cold or a stomach bug, and our appetites were much lower than normal (even considering we had been observing the Lenten fast), and so a lot of our Paschal feast was packaged up for the freezer to pull out when we need a quick and easy meal another time, and much of what I had planned for breakfasts did not get made. Rich said that we should simply extend our Paschal break one more week or start a more easy going school week so we could kind of make up for that. This isn't a fast free week, so we are working around the weekly fasting and abstinent schedule, but it allows us to enjoy some more things we wouldn't have otherwise had time for this week.

Sadly, because of how unwell people were, and exhausted (as most of us were no longer actually sick with anything by then), we had to miss the Orthodox Paschal celebration last night. We are bringing some of the foods I planned to make to our church dinner tonight, and will bring some of the breads with us to break the fast after liturgy with our Orthodox brethren on Saturday.

I posted the recipes from last week and this week yesterday. Some of them, like the sloppy Giuseppes and the "Italian" cream cake are not authentic anything. Honestly, I do not know how it got the name Italian cream cake, because there is nothing in it that brings to mind either Italian ingredients, recipes, dishes, or techniques.

• Sunday - Final Day of Paschal Octave
  Breakfast: Baghrir with Buttermilk Syrup, Bacon, Fruit, Sahlab and Coffee
  Dinner: Koubbeh, Mutawam Kusa, Arabic Cheeses, Olives, Persian Love Cake, Baq'lawa
• Monday
  Breakfast: Egg, Cheese, Tomato and Avocado Tortillas, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Thai Ginger Chicken with Eggplant, Jasmine Rice, Sliced Oranges
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Cheese Potica, Bacon, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Messy Meatball Buns, Salad and Sides brought by Bible Study Members, Cherry Gelato and Blueberry Cheesecake Gelato
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Tahina and Pomegranate Syrup on Toast, Fruit Plate, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Tangled Thai Salad, Fruit Plate
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Prosciutto and Gruyère Scones, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Moroccan Kofta with Cardamom and Lemon, Rice, Moroccan Beet Salad, Moroccan Almond-Orange Cake
• Friday - Feast of Saint Anselm
  Breakfast: Steel Cut Oats with Raisins, Cinnamon and Brown Sugar, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Crab and Shrimp Gumbo, Jasmine Rice, Hot Sauce, Fruit Plate
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Sirnica with a Butter Lamb, Italian Bacon and Romano Pasqua Bread, and a pitcher of Sheherazades to break the fast after liturgy
  Dinner: Sloppy Giuseppes, Green Salad, Roasted Zucchini Slabs, Creamy Buttermilk Cake with Coconut and Pecans

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: Church Year, Faith and Morality, Family, Fesah', Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Keeping the Feast, Menu Plans, Pascha, Tales from the Kitchen

Christ is Risen! The Lord is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!

Traditionally, the eight days of the Paschal Octave have absolutely no fasting in them. Glory to God, Jerome has no significant foods to avoid anymore. It is pretty easy to pass over bananas and lima beans. So, all our family gets to feast completely this year. That is such a blessing to all of us. Christ is risen, no matter what we can eat or not eat, though, and that is the most important thing. Since we are a week off from the East this year, our Saturday will be at an Orthodox vigil and we will celebrate with our brethren from that lung of the faith.

Blessed Feast and a Holy of Holiest weeks to our Eastern brethren!

• Sunday - Pascha/Fesah'
  Breakfast: Paschal Braided Bread, Pascha Cheese, Scotchicanese Eggs*, Bacon and Cheese Muffins, Strawberries and Sliced Oranges, Hot Chocolate and Coffee with Chantilly Cream
  Dinner: Vegetable and Olive Tray (with Kalamata Olives, Green Baladi Olives, and Marinated Peppers), Tourshi, Tourshi Makhloot, Deviled Eggs, Herb Roasted Green Lamb, Hummus, Baba Ghanooj, Muhamarrah, Tabbouleh, Waraq 'Ounab, Harissa, Sah'awiq, Duqqus, Fatayir bi Sabanich, Fatayir bil Joubneh, Sambousak, Laban bi Chiyar, Khoubz Araby, Red Eggs, Baq'lawa, Gatayif, Red Wine, and Martinelli's Sparkling Cider
• Monday
  Breakfast: Leftovers, Sahlab and Hot Chocolate
  Dinner: Loaded Meat Pizzas (a local place has a special on Mondays), Salad, Ice Cream and Nutella Brownies*
• Tuesday - Feast of Saint Leo the Great
  Breakfast: Savory Parmesan French Toast with Hollandaise Sauce, Sausages, Fruit, Orange Juice and Coffee
  Dinner: Leftovers, Mutawam Kusa, Sheherazades (a pitcher), Knaffeh
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Proscuitto and Gruyère Scones*, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Roasted Hot Dogs, Leftover Fatayir and Salads, Peeps S’mores
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Cheese Potica, Bacon, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Red Pork Tacos, Black Beans and Rice, Cumin Lime Coleslaw, Pistachio Cream Cake
• Friday
  Breakfast: Lemon Soufflé Pancakes, Bacon, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Onion Burgers with Smoked Cheddar, Roasted Asparagus, French Fries, Cherry Gelato and Blueberry Cheesecake Gelato
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Baghrir with Buttermilk Syrup, Bacon, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Koubbeh, Sirnica with a Butter Lamb, Italian Bacon and Romano Pasqua Bread, Arabic Cheeses, for after liturgy

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: Bright Week, Church Year, Faith and Morality, Family, Fesah', Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Keeping the Feast, Menu Plans, Pascha, Tales from the Kitchen

Christ has Ascended! From Earth to Heaven! Alleluia!

Ascension Day is Thursday, and we have the Rogation Days at the beginning of this week. We are praying for a special intention and would appreciate you joining in our prayers. This is also a super busy week for our family, we have the homeschool dance at the end of the week and all the preparations that go with that, not to mention the Ascension Day festivities. We will be heading to the closest approximation to a high hill we have here, and having our meal as a family picnic and bringing our kite, too.

If you missed it, take a look at my latest frugality post on the blog. I have restarted the series, now that the economy and inflation are so bad after the policies of the past two years. It seemed like it was time to take a look at those strategies again, and I will try to post something weekly about it, with some advice from what has worked for us. Your family needs and location and so on will determine how you use that advice, but I hope it will help you.

Rogation Days mean some extra abstinence this week, too. We get our first order of local asparagus this week and will be pickling this weekend. There will likely be a lot of asparagus on our menus for the week following, and we will have loads of pickled asparagus this summer and fall. Jerome's skin is doing a little better, and we thank you for your prayers. My skin is blowing up, but that is to be expected with all the hay and grass growing. Please keep us in your prayers still.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Sausage, Egg and Cheese Biscuits (Gluten-free for Jerome), Sliced Apples, Tea and Coffee
  Dinner: Mustard Glazed Corned Beef, Herbed Cabbage, Mashed Potatoes, Steamed Carrots, Mandarin Oranges
• Monday - Rogation Day
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter and Raspberry Peach Jam on Toast (Gluten-free for Jerome), Sliced Apples, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Pasta with Butter Tomato Sauce, Fruit Plate
• Tuesday - Rogation Day
  Breakfast: Ful, Shatta, Olives, Toast (Gluten-free for Jerome), Home Canned Pears, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: One Pan Creamy Sun-dried Tomato and Basil Gnocchi (Gluten-free for Jerome), Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Fruit Plate
• Wednesday - Rogation Day
  Breakfast: Slow Cooker Rice Pudding with Coconut Milk and Leftover Gatayif Filling, Canned Peach Halves, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Kenyan Black Beans in Coconut Milk, Rice, Fruit Plate
• Thursday - Feast of the Ascension
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with Cheese, Bacon, Toast (Gluten-free for Jerome), Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Chicken with Coconut-Lime Peanut Sauce, Jasmine Rice, Crème Brûlée
• Friday - Feast of Saint Bede
  Breakfast: Black Bean and Sweet Potato Breakfast Tacos with Salsa, Grapefruit, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Scrambled Eggs with Cheese, Toast, Fruit
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Irish Eggs Benedict with Corned Beef and Cabbage Hash, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Ham, Scalloped Potatoes, Roasted Asparagus, Chocolate Pudding with Chantilly Cream

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: Ascension, Church Year, Faith and Morality, Family, Fesah', Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Menu Plans, Pascha, Prayer Requests, Tales from the Kitchen

Christ is Risen! The Lord is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!

We have had a whirlwind couple weeks. This past week, Rich and I went up to a conference for his work, and got to have some beautiful time outdoors and at a gorgeous lodge. I got to rest, which I sorely needed. A lot of the menu plan was rearranged, as the kids needed to use different things and made different plans, so we have some repeat meals this week.

There doesn't seem to be much of a break in sight for a while, though. Nejat's birthday is this week, and we will have a family party for her. Her party with friends will be in June. The girls have their spring recital this week, as well. I can't believe it will be Amira's last performance as a student here. I'm trying to hold it together through all these lasts. Next week is our homeschool formal dance, so there is a lot to do for that, as well.

Jerome's skin has been clearing up quite a bit, and we are not sure if that has to do with the week on the Oregon coast, or food issues, so we are going to see if we can narrow it down by reintroducing some things he has had a bit of a break from to see if he flares up again. It is this macabre trial and error on this, and I wish we had more answers. We are still cooking mostly from our freezers and pantry, and trying to follow the Church dietary guidelines as closely as we can and seeing the benefits from it. God cares for us, and His ways bring good. I think I am going to get back to making beans and soup or stew at least once each per week, too. I'd love to hear from you if you are also trying to cook more frugally, and especially if you are trying to keep the weekly fasting and abstinent rules.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Cereal and Milk, Sliced Apples, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Pork Pad Thai, Marinated Peppers and Onions, Fruit Plate
• Monday
  Breakfast: Rice Pudding with Leftover Gatayif Filling, Home Canned Pears, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Macaroni and Cheese, Applesauce, Ice Cream
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Vegetable and Bacon Hash with Fried Eggs, Grapes, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Persian Spiced Chicken, Roasted Cauliflower, Salad, Moroccan Orange Cake
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Ful, Shatta, Sliced Radishes, Kalamata Olives, Toast (Gluten-free for Jerome), Canned Peach Halves, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Paella Primavera, Green Salad, Fruit Plate
• Thursday - Feast of Saint Dunstan of Canterbury
  Breakfast: Yogurt and Jam, Toast (Gluten-free for Jerome), Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Gratin Parmentier, Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Fruit Plate
• Friday - Feast of Saint Alcuin
  Breakfast: Black Bean and Sweet Potato Breakfast Tacos with Salsa, Sliced Apples, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Pizza Beans, Garlic Bread (Gluten-free for Jerome), Salad
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Fried Egg Sandwiches, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Pizza (Gluten-free for Jerome), Green Salad, Fruit Plate

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, Fesah', Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Menu Plans, Pascha, Tales from the Kitchen

Christ is Risen! The Lord is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!

As we watch the prices of food rise, we find more reasons to be grateful for the discipline of the Church and her fasts. We are endeavoring to bring our weekly fast more closely in line with these guidelines, because of the incredible growth we found from them, but are also noticing that it is saving us money in our grocery budget, as well. I think I am going to try to do another month of shelf cooking, with a minimal budget for produce, milk, and animal and paper supplies. This will also help keep things more manageable. This week, and during the rest of the Paschal season, we will not quite be as strict about it, but will slowly be easing into the practice. Our kids are actually who encouraged us in this, which is a huge blessing to us.

We were able to take a family vacation to the Oregon coast last week. It was kind of interim camping. We stayed in yurts, but there was electricity and a place to shower and indoor bathrooms (not in the yurts). We crabbed and clammed and harvested mussels, and failed to catch any fish. It was delightful. The kids want to go camping for real this summer with another family we are friends with , and this was a good in between, especially during the windy and misty weather we had for some of those days. We weren't allowed to cook in the yurts, but we were allowed to use an extension cord, so we brought an electric griddle and our electric pressure cooker. We also brought a tea kettle and a gas stove burner and we could use all of those outdoors and eat inside. It made for an easier experience. Loads of ice and packing frozen meats made our meals simpler, too. As far as vacations go, especially vacations for eight people, it was pretty inexpensive, and we still got to go buy fancy chocolates from a local company and get the seafood, and even eat out a few times. For the price of two hotel rooms for that amount of time, we were able to get all the licenses, food, the yurts, and the experiences we had.

We drove directly to the kids' homeschool co-op potluck, and the following day was a fiber festival I went to with a couple friends, and that night was a dance put on by our girls' ballet studio that Amira and Yasmina went to with Amira's boyfriend and Yasmina's best friend. Then there is Mother's Day. Because our church service is in the evening only this week, we will be able to have a brunch this year. This week isn't much less full, but it will not be quite as rushed. We are in the run up to ballet recitals, we have the homeschool formal dance, and so much more as we come to the end of the school year in just a month and a half!

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Mother's Day Brunch
  Dinner: Beans and Sausage, Rice, Rhubarb Crumble
• Monday - Feast of Saint Gregory of Nazianzus
  Breakfast: Vanilla Yogurt, Apple Sauce, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Chile Verde Burritos, Salsa Rice
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with Chopped Tomatoes and Cheese, Toast (Gluten-free for Jerome), Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Tuna Bean Salad, Home Canned Pears
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Ful, Shatta, Sliced Radishes, Kalamata Olives, Toast (Gluten-free for Jerome), Canned Peach Halves, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Tomato and Olive Pasta (Gluten-free pasta for Jerome), Green Salad, Fruit Plate
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Vegetable Hash with Fried Eggs, Apple Sauce, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Homemade Hamburger Helper, Faux Pots de Crème
• Friday
  Breakfast: Rice Pudding with Leftover Gatayif Filling, Home Canned Pears, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Pasta with Smoked Salmon, Spinach and Tomatoes, Crème Brûlée
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Cereal and Milk, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Grilled Bacon Cheeseburgers, French Fries, Spicy Garlic Dill Pickles, Ice Cream

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, Fesah', Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Menu Plans, Pascha, Tales from the Kitchen

Christ is Risen! The Lord is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!

We have a rather busy week, but it should be fun. Rich has vacation, and we are practicing camping for a trip we are planning for the summer. Friday is our co-op's potluck and then the following day, I get to go to a fiber festival nearby while Rich holds down the fort with the kids, and makes dinner for my return.

This past week has been rather busy for me, as I have been finishing up a proposal for a rather large, long term, knitting project, that should be ready for publication toward the end of next year. I am super excited about it, both the projects and the possibilities that stem from them. Please pray for success for me.

Jerome's re-introduction of foods continues to go well. He should be eating sesame normally this week, and we begin the introduction of soy. That might be more challenging, so he would appreciate your prayers on that score. We are waiting on the items that were most likely to be true allergies until toward the end of this process, but we are inching closer and are hoping for good results.

• Sunday - Feast of Saints Philip and James
  Breakfast: Bluberry Oatmeal with Cream (Gluten-free Granola and Milk for Jerome), Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Leftovers, Ice Cream
• Monday - Feast of Saint Athanasius
  Breakfast: Cottage Cheese, Toast (Gluten-free for Jerome), Fruit, Hot Cocoa and Coffee
  Dinner: Corned Beef, Baked Potatoes, Salad, Cookies
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Corned Beef Hash, Fried Eggs, Toast (Gluten-free for Jerome), Tea and Coffee
  Dinner: Grilled Hot Dogs, Chips, Pickles, S'mores
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Hard Boiled Eggs, Toast (Gluten-free for Jerome), Fruit, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Lemon Garlic Clams, Salt Potatoes, Salad, Fruit
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Cereal and Milk, Fruit, Tea and Coffee
  Dinner: Mezze Table, Baq'lawa and Helou
• Friday
  Breakfast: Leftovers, Fruit, Tea and Honey
  Dinner: Pinto Bean Tacos, Salsa, Sour Cream, Cheese, Chopped Tomatoes, Fruit Plate
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Rice Pudding with Leftover Gatayif Filling, Canned Peach Halves, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Steamed Crab, Lemon Dill Pasta with Mussels, Turkish Delight

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. Linking to Menu Plan Monday

Labels: Church Year, Faith and Morality, Family, Fesah', Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Keeping the Feast, Menu Plans, Pascha, Tales from the Kitchen

Christ is Risen! The Lord is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!

For us in the West, Sunday was the final day of the Paschal Octave, but for the East, it was the Paschal feast. We were able to go and share their Pascha service and break the fast with them this weekend, so were eating our breakfast at about 3:00 in the morning. A couple of our boys went back to share in the Agape Vespers and feast Sunday afternoon, and our wonderful Anglican parish here took care of the Sunday evening meal so we wouldn't have to do it. Our boys, especially, really love the Orthodox liturgy, and Jerome feels so comfortable there, so it was great that they could return.

Part of the reason this is so late is because poor Rich either ate something that didn't agree with him or came down with something terrible, because he was violently ill Sunday night and Monday, and we were all so exhausted and concerned about him. So, I was either resting or caring for him, and this didn't get the attention it needed. It doesn't seem to be spreading to anyone else, but after our exhausting couple weekends, and me getting food poisoning last Monday night, we are wiped. Please pray that the family does not fall ill.

We are still working on introducing foods back to Jerome, and overall that is going well. It is still the Paschal season, and we are celebrating, though we are back to our Wednesday and Friday fasts, but we are going to be a little easier on those days during this season, and there might be fish, dairy or egg for those meals. Please keep praying for Jerome, his skin is such a burden to him.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Sirnica and Italian Bacon and Romano Pasqua Bread, Apple Cinnamon Bread, Croissants, Fromage Fort, Strawberries, Olives, Prosecco
  Dinner: Spaghetti and Meat Sauce, Garlic Bread, Salad (from our Generous and Kind Parishioners)
• Monday - Feast of Saint Mark
  Breakfast: Leftover Farmer Casserole, Green Salsa, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Grilled Sausages, Macaroni and Cheese, Salad with Ranch Dressing
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs, Toast (Gluten-free for Jerome), Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Sloppy Guiseppes (like Sloppy Joe's, which none of us like, only with Italian Sausage and Sauce, and covered with Provolone and Parmesan), Green Salad with Roasted Beets
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Tomato, Kalamata Olive, Eggplant and Red Pepper Toast, Home Canned Pears, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Baba Ghanooj, Muhamarrah, Bread (Gluten-free for Jerome), Banadora Maghlieh, Moroccan Almond-Orange Cake (Safe for Jerome!)
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Cereal and Milk, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Leftovers
• Friday
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast (Gluten-free for Jerome) with Honey, Sliced Oranges, Tea and Honey
  Dinner: Black Beans and Rice, Faux Pots de Crème
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Vanilla Yogurt, Cream Cheese Swirled Cherry and Mixed Berry Coffee Cake (Gluten-free for Jerome), Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Take Out Fish and Chips

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. Linking to Menu Plan Monday

Labels: Church Year, Faith and Morality, Family, Fesah', Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Keeping the Feast, Menu Plans, Pascha, Tales from the Kitchen

Christ is Risen! The Lord is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!

Traditionally, the eight days of the Paschal Octave have absolutely no fasting in them. Jerome is still going without certain foods, though he started his trial of sesame last week, so we are letting him have small amounts of the baba ghanooj and hummus for his portions of them this week. This permits him to share in the feast a little more. We had some gluten-free flat breads that we found at the Grocery Outlet that were safe for him, so he is able to use them in place of the khoubz with the salads and dips.

Blessed Feast!

• Sunday - Pascha/Fesah'
  Breakfast: Paschal Braided Bread, Pascha Cheese, Scotchicanese Eggs (Gluten-free crumbs for Jerome), Strawberries and Sliced Oranges, Hot Chocolate and Coffee with Chantilly Cream
  Dinner: Herb Roasted Green Lamb, Hummus, Baba Ghanooj, Muhamarrah, Tabbouleh, Waraq 'Ounab, Harissa, Sah'awiq, Duqqus, Fatayir bi Sabanich, Fatayir bil Joubneh, Sambousak, Laban bi Chiyar, Khoubz Araby (Gluten-free Flatbreads for Jerome), Red Eggs, Vegetable and Olive Tray (with Kalamata Olives, Green Baladi Olives, and Marinated Peppers), Tourshi, Tourshi Makhloot, Baq'lawa, Gatayif, Persian Love Cake (Gluten-free for Jerome), Red Wine, Sheherazades (a pitcher), and Mexican Coca Colas
• Monday
  Breakfast: Bacon and Eggs, Toast, Fruit, Sahlab and Hot Chocolate
  Dinner: Grilled Hot Dogs for Neighborhood Potluck, Rose and Saffron Ice Cream
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Mexican Eggs Benedict with Chorizo and Avocado Cream, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Moroccan Kofta with Cardamom and Lemon, Rice, Fatayir bi Sabanich, Fatayir bil Joubneh, Laban bi Chiyar, Moroccan Beet Salad, Moroccan Almond-Orange Cake
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Chocolate Chip Pancakes (Gluten-free for Jerome) with Strawberries and Chantilly Cream, Sausage, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Leftovers, Peep S'mores
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Egg, Cheese, Tomato and Avocado Tortillas (Gluten-free for Jerome), Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Sloppy Guiseppes, Green Salad, Blueberry Cheesecake Gelato
• Friday
  Breakfast: Sausage, Egg and Cheese Biscuits (Gluten-free for Jerome), Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Spaghetti and Meat Sauce (Gluten-free pasta for Jerome), Green Salad, Faux Pots de Crème
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Farmer Breakfast Casserole with Sausage, Cream Cheese Swirled Cherry and Mixed Berry Coffee Cake, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Bacon, Lettuce, Avocado and Tomato Sandwiches (Gluten-free bread for Jerome), Pickles, Leftover Desserts

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. Linking to Menu Plan Monday

Labels: Bright Week, Church Year, Faith and Morality, Family, Fesah', Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Keeping the Feast, Menu Plans, Pascha, Tales from the Kitchen

We had a trip back "home" this past week and got to spend a few minutes on the harbor. It was literally a breath of fresh air. We had such a delightful time by the salt water, the trees, the mountains, and it did fill us with some homesickness. However, it is good to be back home again with our kids. I really needed that break, too. It has been a while since I posted any updates on my crafting or reading, and I hope to get back to that this week, also.

There is a lot of roasted asparagus on our menu this week. It is fresh and local, and we are getting it for $0.75/pound, and we just haven't had time to do any pickling of it. That will be on our next load of asparagus, I think. We also have a couple repeats on meals this week, just because they didn't really work out with our schedule last week. Rich and I had to leave a day earlier than planned, so I simplified a meal so the kids wouldn't have as much to keep track of with regards to Jerome's diet. We will see it again this week, though. Breakfast is still pretty automated. However, I am going to be including more eggs for the kids, because our chickens are producing a ton and we have too many at home. With Jerome not eating them, we aren't using them as ingredients in shared foods or meals, so that means a few breakfasts and a dinner that will almost be two different meals, rather than the same one, so they don't go to waste. Also, if you are local, maybe we can work out a trade or something, and you can get fresh eggs from us.

The koubbat battatas we made last week was delicious, but frying it was a disaster. I ended up coating a jelly roll pan generously with oil, putting the formed potato koubbeh on the pan, and cooking at a high heat, then turning over to brown on both sides. This was successful, and actually made it a quicker process, so even though I couldn't get them to fry up properly, I don't know that I will try it again, anyway. We salvaged the detonated koubbeh from the oil and ate it over rice. I may share the recipe here, too. I found a recipe for making chicken fried steak and fried chicken that is gluten-free, egg and dairy free, as well. I am thrilled, because I have been wanting to make that for a while, but didn't want to leave Jerome out of it. I can use his gluten-free flour mixture to make biscuits he can eat, too. The gravy is something I am still working on, but I will let you know when I have a solution there.

This week, we have another birthday, and we are so excited. Nejat turns eight this week, and we are having a small celebration with the family, which she was trying to plan so that Jerome can eat it with us. The kids have really been wonderful about looking out for him. She will have a party when we can work it out with her guests' schedules. Pentecost is next week, which is the second highest feast in the Church year. We look forward to the birthday of the Church and the bestowing of the gifts of the Spirit. Christ is risen!

• Sunday>
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with Cheese (Scrambled Chickpeas with Peppers and Onion for Jerome), Cara Cara Oranges, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Pasta with Meat Sauce (Gluten-free Pasta for Jerome), Salad, Roasted Asparagus, Chocolate Cloud Cake (Lime Coconut Ice Cream Bars for Jerome)
• Monday
  Breakfast: Sweet Potato, Pepper and Onion Hash, Blood Oranges, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Pork Tacos with Shredded Cabbage on Corn Tortillas, Salsa Rice, Sautéed Peppers, Onions and Corn, Sliced Oranges
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs and Toast (Strawberry Coconut Yogurt and Gluten-free Toast for Jerome), Sliced Apples, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Loco Moco* (using worcestershire sauce instead of soy sauce), Garlic Rice, Fried Eggs (none for Jerome), with Chopped Scallions, Roasted Asparagus, Fruit Salad
• Wednesday - Feast of Saint Dunstan
  Breakfast: Ful, Toast (Gluten-free for Jerome), Kalamata Olives, Fruit Plate, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Smothered Bean Burritos with Corn Tortillas, "Mexican" Rice Pilaf, Shredded Cabbage, Chopped Tomatoes and Cilantro (none for Jerome), Diced Avocado
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Apple-Coconut Breakfast Bowl with Honey Peanut Butter, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Piri Piri Chicken with Roasted Peppers, Turkish Flatbreads (Gluten-free flour for Jerome's), Fruit Plate
• Friday
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast (Gluten-free for Jerome), Sliced Apples, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Fried Cauliflower with Parlsey and Pine Nuts, Taratoor (not for Jerome), Vegetarian Ruz Bukhari*, Fruit Plate
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Waffles with Maple Syrup (Gluten/Dairy/Egg-free for Jerome), Sausages, Sliced Oranges, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Arabic Style Turkey and Rice, Lemon-Cumin Cabbage Salad with Parsley, Cara Cara Oranges

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. Linking to Menu Plan Monday

Labels: Birthday, Church Year, Faith and Morality, Family, Fesah', Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Menu Plans, Pascha, Special Diet, Tales from the Kitchen

The kids and Rich gave me a lovely and restful Mother's Day. Rich had me get myself a burr coffee grinder that I have wanted for a while, and sent me off yesterday with a friend to a local fiber festival where I picked up some socks and yarn. The three younger girls put together a gorgeous floral bouquet for me, Amira made me that card, Alexander made meals with Rich and did loads of cleaning, Dominic gave me a gift card so I could go out for a treat, Nejat went with Rich to spend her own money to buy me some fancy chocolates, and made me a bead ring, and all of them did what I wanted for the day and made me feel appreciated. We talked birth stories, which interested most of the kids, actually. The younger girls asked to see my c-section scar. That was a little odd, but I thought it was good that they were interested.

This week will be full of a lot of busy-ness, but I am trying to have good meals, anyway. We have the first of the asparagus of the year, so there is a lot of that, too.

The Ascension is Thursday, with Pentecost coming shortly after that. Christ is risen!

• Sunday - Feast of Saint Gregory of Nazianzus
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with Leftover French Fries and Cheese (Bacon Burger for Jerome), Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Grilled Steaks, Rice, Vegetable Skewers, Raspberry Cheesecake (Vegan, Gluten-free Lemon Bars for Jerome)
• Monday
  Breakfast: Sweet Potato, Pepper and Onion Hash, Fruit Plate, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Koubbat Battatas, Rice, Roasted Asparagus, Moroccan Beet Salad
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Pomegranate Blueberry Yogurt (Strawberry Coconut Yogurt for Jerome), Toast (Gluten-free toast for Jerome), Sliced Apples, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Syrian Chicken, Ruz Bukhari, Persian Chopped Salad, Fruit Plate
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Ful, Toast (Gluten-free for Jerome), Kalamata Olives, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Smothered Bean Burritos (filling and sauce over rice for Jerome), "Mexican" Rice Pilaf, Shredded Cabbage, Chopped Tomatoes and Cilantro (none for Jerome), Diced Avocado
• Thursday - Feast of the Ascension
  Breakfast: Apple-Coconut Breakfast Bowl with Honey Peanut Butter, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Chicken and Bacon and Tomato Sandwich (on Gluten Free Bread for Jerome), Roasted Asparagus, Ricotta Orange Cake with Chantilly Cream (Lime and Coconut Milk Ice Cream for Jerome)
• Friday
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast (Gluten-free for Jerome), Sliced Apples, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Maghmoor, Rice, Fruit Plate
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Dutch Baby Pancake with Butter, Lemon and Powdered Sugar (Gluten-free, vegan version for Jerome), Strawberries, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Italian Pork and Beans, Baked Potatoes, Roasted Asparagus

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. Linking to Menu Plan Monday

Labels: Church Year, Faith and Morality, Family, Fesah', Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Menu Plans, Pascha, Special Diet, Tales from the Kitchen

Spring has finally sprung here for real. Now, we have lived here long enough to know that we might still see a killing frost between now and Memorial Day, but we have hope. Even our place, which is a little outside of town, has a different microclimate, and folks in town don't see as cool temperatures, as late into the year, as we do. We've had many years of lost fruit on trees, though, and have learned to be cautious. The flowers are blooming, though, and we have lilacs in abundance, violets, daffodils, tulips, and grape hyacinths. From now through July is the most pleasant, prettiest time of the year here.

It is also starting to warm up a little. The morning temperatures last week were almost never below freezing. We are supposed to be in the 70s most of this week. It is going to be pleasant and, except for my allergies making things more difficult, I plan to enjoy it as much as possible. We are still doing a lot of cooking out of our freezers and pantry. All our meals will either be completely safe for the numerous food sensititivities for Jerome, or have a simple alternative to make it so for him, as well as preserving our two meatless days each week. Breakfasts are honestly the hardest part of this for me, so I have kind of automated it to be mostly the same dishes or types of dishes each week.

Christ is risen!

• Sunday - Feast of Saint Athanasius
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with Peppers and Onions (Scrambled Chickpeas with Peppers and Onions for Jerome), Salsa, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Meatballs with Garlic, Oregano, and Parsley, in Spicy Tomato Sauce with Pasta (Gluten-free pasta for Jerome), Salad, Fruit
• Monday
  Breakfast: Sweet Potato and Andouille Sausage Hash, Fruit Plate, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Sticky Lamb Chops, Battatas Harra (without coriander and cilantro), Fruit Plate
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Pomegranate Blueberry Yogurt (Strawberry Coconut Yogurt for Jerome), Toast (Gluten-free toast for Jerome), Sliced Apples, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Scrambled Eggs with Onions and Jalapeños (Scrambled Chickpeas for Jerome), Bacon, Toast (Gluten-free for Jerome), Canned Peaches
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Ful, Toast (Gluten-free for Jerome), Kalamata Olives, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Spring Herb Soup (with pasta kept separate, and gluten-free pasta for Jerome), Fruit Plate
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Apple-Coconut Breakfast Bowl with Almond Butter, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Lemon-Chicken and Chard Phyllo Pie (Potato Crust for Jerome), Roasted Squash and Onion Wedges, Fruit Salad
• Friday
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast (Gluten-free for Jerome), Sliced Apples, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Mediterranean Vegetable Casserole, Rice, Vegan Coconut Cream Tart with White Peaches and Blueberries
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Leftovers, Strawberries, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Grilled Bacon Cheeseburgers (vegan "cheese" and gluten-free buns for Jerome), French Fries, Roasted Asparagus, Chopped Salad

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. Linking to Menu Plan Monday

Labels: Church Year, Faith and Morality, Family, Fesah', Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Menu Plans, Pascha, Special Diet, Tales from the Kitchen

>
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.

I was reflecting on the fact that while East and West are still separated, this week, our commemorations are similar. It is Palm Sunday and Holy Week for the East. It is the Sunday of the Good Shepherd in the West. In both, He is shown to us as laying down His life for us. That is my meditation this week.

My special lunches for the week didn't really work out because we had so much food leftover from each meal. We really were working to eat up the leftovers for lunches and so on, and didn't have the opportunity for special lunches as well. I even had to skip one dinner, one side dish, and one of the desserts simply because we had so many left over from other meals. We have been eating like it is a holiday almost every day now. Today, though, we begin a fast of sorts. We have made sure to keep part of the kitchen "clean" and absent the ingredients that Jerome cannot have (wheat, gluten, gliadin - including barley, rye, spelt, etc. - oats, sesame, lentils, peas, soy of any kind - including soy sauce/tamari sauce, tofu, fermented soy - coriander/cilantro, eggs - of any kind - dairy - of any kind, except ghee - cocoa bean/chocolate, oysters, bananas, pineapple, canola, lima beans, chestnuts and macadamia nuts), and are trying to plan dinners and most shared meals as things that are either entirely safe for him or have a component for which we can choose an alternative easily like we did last time. This time is just far more extensive and long term.

There was only one food that had to be re-introduced at a specific time, and only one that the doctor thought might be a permanent loss (along with the lima beans and canola, which we have avoided for years) and that is one he doesn't love, so for the rest I asked him which were his priorities to decide what order to return them. Some of that was expediency or convenience, he wanted to be able to eat chocolate at Christmas, and I wanted to make sure that foods we use a lot of during Lent would be more available to him. It will be October of next year before he has all of the foods back. Thank God for the Grocery Outlet! I was able to buy some good substitutes (not made of fake or overly processed foods) for a good price, and have them for him. Also, the weather is getting warmer and more fresh produce is becoming available to use locally, so that will make some of our meal planning simpler. A friend gave me a good recipe for gluten-free bread, and I will be trying my hand at it this week so Jerome can eat bread, at least - most of the ones I found online or in stores either included egg or pea protein or canola or sesame. Please pray for Jerome, for his healing, and for us as we walk this road with him. Christ is risen!

• Sunday - Sunday of the Good Shepherd and the Feast of Saint Mark
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs and Scrambled Chickpeas, Sausage Patties, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Persian Chicken with Jeweled Rice, Arabic Candies and Sweets (Blackberries and Raspberries for Jerome)
• Monday
  Breakfast: Sausage, Potato and Vegetable Hash Burritos (Blue Corn for Jerome), Berries and Cream (Coconut Cream for Jerome), Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Souvlaki, Grilled Vegetable Skewers, Arabic Style Rice Pilaf (without the Vermicelli, and using Olive Oil), Fruit Plate
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Yogurt with Jam (Strawberry Coconut Yogurt for Jerome), Toast (Gluten-free toast for Jerome), Sliced Apples, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Not Texas Chili, Tortilla Chips, Chopped Onion, Tomato, Avocado, Cilantro (not for Jerome), Fruit
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Potato Pancakes with Avocado Lime Mash, Fruit Plate, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Cajun Spiced White Fish with Peppers and Tomatoes, English Muffin Bread (Gluten-free Texas Toast for Jerome), Fruit Salad
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Moroccan Style Sweet Potato and Chard Skillet, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Thai Peanut Chicken, Jasmine Rice, Mandarin Oranges
• Friday
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast (Gluten-free for Jerome), Sliced Apples, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Vegetarian Ranchero Beans, Rice, Fruit Plate
• Saturday - Feast of Saints Philip and James, Apostles
  Breakfast: Waffles with Maple Syrup (Gluten-free Waffles for Jerome), Sausages, Sliced Oranges, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Greek Style Chicken over Rice, Sautéed Peppers and Onions, Fruit Plate

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. Linking to Menu Plan Monday

Labels: Church Year, Faith and Morality, Family, Fesah', Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Menu Plans, Pascha, Special Diet, Tales from the Kitchen

Jerome's new ad for LaCroix: Less disappointing than the orange flavor.

This is really our only week of semi-ordinary meals for the next year. This week, we are not bothering with any of Jerome's dietary restrictions, and are only keeping a mild abstinence for Wednesday and Friday. The year of restrictions and testing begins next week. We are recreating some of our Paschal feast for Jerome tomorrow, just because he didn't get to have it in its entirety on the actual day. I'm also making a mini-Thanksgiving dinner Saturday, since he will have introduced only one food completely and will begin to introduce only one other by then and will have to have a modified and restricted Thanksgiving this year. Many of the meals this week include either ingredients he loves and won't be able to have after this for a long time, or dishes/items he especially missed when we had them and he couldn't during his 60 days of the last restriction.

I am mourning this with Jerome, both for his sake, but also for all the easier for me to plan and make meals that I won't be able to use for our dinners. Especially as I think of things the family would love to eat, but then realize that it will be six months to a year and a half before it can be a general meal. I am planning a few extra special lunches this week for that reason, too (including some gruyère stuffed rolls and za'atar rolls). Just to give you a sense of what is being excised, he cannot have any wheat, gluten, gliadin (including barley, rye, spelt, etc.), oats, sesame, lentils, peas, soy of any kind (including soy sauce/tamari sauce, tofu, fermented soy), coriander/cilantro, eggs (of any kind), dairy (of any kind, except ghee - which we have at least!), cocoa bean/chocolate, oysters (which we eat only rarely), bananas, pineapple, canola (which we usually avoid, anyway), lima beans (ditto - he had a reaction to these some years back, and we just don't eat them now), chestnuts and macadamia nuts. He does get rice and corn back, moderate sugars/sweeteners (which is how we eat in general), dried fruit, no limitations on root vegetables, and all vinegars. Because we are out of Lent and Advent, for now, this means he can have almost all seafood and meat (with the exception of the oysters) on all days except Wednesdays and Fridays, also. It's a good thing we attempted to observe Lent closer to the strictest rules, as that has prepared me for cooking without dairy and egg for him, and will make our Advent observance simpler to plan this year.

Please pray for him, for his healing, and for us as we walk this road with him. We are still in the Paschal season (through the Ascension or Pentecost, depending on how you count it), and we are keeping that in mind. Christ is risen!

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Sirnica and Italian Bacon and Romano Pasqua Bread, Oranges, Sahlab*, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Pizza, Salad, Ice Cream
• Monday - Feast of Saint Alphege
  Breakfast: Cereal and Milk, Sliced Bananas, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Herb Roasted Green Lamb, Khoubz Araby, Waraq 'Ounab and Kofta, Frozen Treats from our Paschal feast for Jerome, H'alawa*, Orange Glazed Cookies, Gatayif, Jordanian Baq'lawa (from the Grocery Outlet!)
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Sausage, Egg and Cheese Biscuits, Bananas, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Lasagna with the Best Meat Sauce Ever, Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette, Cheesy Olive and Herb Bread, Rice Krispie Treats*
• Wednesday - Feast of Saint Anselm
  Breakfast: Dutch Baby Pancake with Butter, Lemon and Powdered Sugar, Strawberries, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Falafel, Tamis, Taratoor, Duqqus, Sliced Vegetables, Kalamata Olives, Fruit Plate
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Baked Gatayif, Leftovers, Strawberries and Apples, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Barbecue Beef Brisket Sandwiches, Coleslaw, Frozen Fruit Salad, Strawberry Lemonade Bars
• Friday
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast, Sliced Apples, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Kusheri, Harissa, Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette, Fruit Plate
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Proscuitto and Gruyère Scones with Scallions, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Herb Roasted Turkey, Bourbon Gravy, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Sweet Potato Rolls and Butter, Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Onions with Bacon and Gruyère, Pumpkin Pie with Chantilly Cream

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. Linking to Menu Plan Monday

Labels: Church Year, Faith and Morality, Family, Fesah', Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Menu Plans, Pascha, Special Diet, Tales from the Kitchen

Christ is Risen! The Lord is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!

We have another week of mostly feasting, but since Jerome is still on his diet through the end of this week, we are having to be a little careful. We had been hoping that this would be the end of it for him, but it looks like he has a long haul with a slightly modified diet from this one (some things have been returned to him, but some have been removed) and it is for six months. Poor kid! He is holding up pretty well, and we are going to take a one week break with absolutely no weird dietary restrictions on him next week, which will be our really big week of feasting. Then his six months begin.

Since I don't want to make multiple meals multiple times a day, nor do I want Jerome to feel like he has to eat "weird" food while we eat the normal stuff, this means that, at least for dinner, we will largely be on the diet with him. This is going to be a bit of a challenge for all of us. He will start to get the foods back, one at a time, at the end of October, and the whole process should finish up around the end of October next year. This is a long term situation. Please pray for all of us, but especially for him, for his healing. His doctor was so great, and told him that having parents who already knew how to cook and how to prepare food from good ingredients was part of God looking out and preparing the way for him.

• Sunday - Final Day of the Paschal Octave
  Breakfast: Steak and Eggs, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Take Out Ribs and Chicken, Salad, Fruit Salad
• Monday - Observed Feast of Saint Leo the Great
  Breakfast: 'Ijja (using tapioca starch in place of flour), Toast (none for Jerome), Sliced Radishes, Kalamata Olives, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Grilled Chipotle Tri-Tip, Cool and Creamy Potato and Pea Salad, Fruit
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Labneh with Chopped Tomatoes, Kalamata Olives, Za’atar and Olive Oil, Toast, Mint Tea
  Dinner: Pork Adobo, Garlic Fried Rice (Cauliflower Rice for Jerome), Sesame Garlic Green Beans
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Ful with Chopped Tomatoes and Sliced Radishes, Sah'awiq, Toast (none for Jerome), Sliced Oranges, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Roasted Shrimp with Peppers, Tomatoes, Onions and Feta, Rice (Cauliflower Rice for Jerome), Fruit Plate
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Scambled Eggs with Cheese, Toast (none for Jerome), Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Beer Braised Smoked Corned Beef, Salad, Fruit Plate
• Friday
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast (Apple Slices with Peanut Butter for Jerome), Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Potato and Poblano Stew, Fried Tortilla Strips (Tigernut Chips for Jerome), Fruit
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Vegetable Hash with Rutabagas, Peppers and Onions, Salsa, Sour Cream, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Grilled Rosemary and Oregano Lamb Chops, Grilled Marinated Vegetables, Roasted Potatoes, Fruit Plate

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. Linking to Menu Plan Monday

Labels: Church Year, Faith and Morality, Family, Fesah', Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Keeping the Feast, Menu Plans, Pascha, Tales from the Kitchen

Christ is Risen! The Lord is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!

Traditionally, the eight days of the Paschal Octave have absolutely no fasting in them. Because of Jerome's medical diet, that is only partially true for us this week. However, we have worked out ways for him to enjoy most of the foods we have during this time, and are planning some of those foods that we would normally eat for later parts of the Paschal season. I even found sugar free, naturally cured bacon for him so he can break the fast after the vigil with us with our bacon and eggs in the wee hours of the morning.

Blessed Feast!

• Sunday - Fesih'
  Breakfast: Paschal Braided Bread, Pascha Cheese (made with monkfruit), Scotchicanese Eggs (Jerome's made with homemade sausage with no sugar in it and no breading), Strawberries and Sliced Oranges, Hot Chocolate (with a pot for Jerome, sweetened with monkfruit) and Coffee with Chantilly Cream
  Dinner: Green Lamb*, Hummus, Baba Ghanooj, Muhamarrah, Tabbouleh, Waraq 'Ounab (leaving the rice out of a portion of the grape leaf filling for Jerome), Harissa, Sah'awiq, Duqqus, Fatayir bi Sabanich, Fatayir bil Joubneh, Sambousak, Laban bi Chiyar, Khoubz Araby, Vegetable and Olive Tray (with Kalamata Olives, Green Baladi Olives, and Feta Stuffed Green Olives and Marinated Peppers), Red Eggs*, Tourshi, Baq'lawa, Gatayif, Sugar-Free Faux Pots de Crème (for Jerome, we found some monkfruit sweetened chocolate chips that we are using in this), Grain and Sugar Free Chocolate Cake (also for Jerome), Red Wine, Sheherazades (a pitcher), and Mexican Coca Colas
• Monday
  Breakfast: Leftover Desserts, Leftover Scotchicanese Eggs, Fruit, Cocoa and Coffee
  Dinner: Leftovers
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Creamed Eggs, Toast Fingers (none for Jerome), Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Souvlaki, Grilled Vegetable Skewers, Herbed Cous Cous (Cauliflower Rice for Jerome), Almond Coconut Cake
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Shakshouka, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Koubbat Battatas, Rice (Cauliflower Rice for Jerome), Sah'awiq, Harissa, Loubiyeh bi Zeit, Leftover Desserts
• Thursday
  Breakfast: 'Ijja (using tapioca starch in place of flour), Leftover Khoubz, Sliced Radishes, Kalamata Olives, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Thai Peanut Chicken, Jasmine Rice (Cauliflower Rice for Jerome), Orange Glazed Cookies (Leftover Almond Coconut Cake for Jerome)
• Friday
  Breakfast: Farmer Breakfast Casserole with Seasoned Ground Beef, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Dinner from the Monastery Bakery and Café
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Cottage Cheese with Za'atar, Chopped Tomatoes and Cucumbers, and Kalamata Olives, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Mustard Glazed Corned Beef (using Jerome's monkfruit golden sugar), Colcannon, Leftover Desserts

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. Linking to Menu Plan Monday

Labels: Bright Week, Church Year, Faith and Morality, Family, Fesah', Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Keeping the Feast, Menu Plans, Pascha, Tales from the Kitchen