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Sunday, September 13, 2026

Menu Plan: Feast of Holy Cross

So, last week was something else. I went down to Eugene to try to help my aging mother who is having more health problems. That didn't go over well, and she needs your prayers. We do, too. We are truly the sandwich generation, taking care of kids, parents, and also grandparents. While it is a good duty, it was another thing added when I am already fielding a lot, and being responsible for two and a half households.

Without saying too much, things are quite difficult in that quarter, but God knows the need. On the plus side, I was also able to visit with our dear friends who are godparents to half our kids and guardians to our kids should we pass away, and see Dominic and Shawn and Winnie every full day I was there. Arthur and Michelle really spoiled me while I was there, because they know how much I am carrying right now. I am so grateful for that time with all of them.

While I was gone, Rich and the kids were making all the meals, but I forgot to have them cut one of the recipes in half, so between that and me not being here to eat any of the things they made, we have a LOT of leftovers this week. We have two leftover meals this week, but one is specifically the remainder of that extra large dinner from last week. Even still, we are using up things from our freezers, and making ready for mutton and a steer.

This week is the first semi-week of school for our girls. We are easing into it this year, with all the turmoil around us. The next four to eight weeks are incredibly busy, then we basically have to try to start in with normal life again. The girls are doing chemistry and earth science this year, so we are starting that this week, then in a couple weeks, our co-op begins, and we will be gradually adding everything else in as we go.

Our parish family is coming through for us in so many ways, and I cannot thank God enough for them. We had turkeys in the freezer to use, both to feed the church and to free up room in our freezer, so while I was gone, Rich seasoned the turkeys for the meal at church, and I cooked them today and made the gravy, while the our parish brought all the other things. Because of our hectic life for the next two months, they are basically handling all the Sunday dinners through the end of October. They have done so much for us, and I am so grateful for them.

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.

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// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 10:31 PM 2 comments

Sunday, September 06, 2026

Menu Plan: September 6 - 12

Thy nativity, O Mother of God, heralded joy to the whole universe, for from you rose the Sun of Justice, Christ our God. Taking away the curse, He imparted blessings, and by abolishing death, He gave us everlasting life.

Through thy holy birth, O Immaculate One, Joachim and Anna were delivered from the shame of childlessness, and Adam and Even from the corruption of death. Thy people, redeemed from the debt of their sins, cry out to you to honor your birth: "The barren one gives birth to the Mother of God the Substainer of our life!"

It is the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Theotokos Tuesday and we rejoice in that. Without her, we could not have Him. Glory to God in His saints!

So much for a restful week to recover. We have a pretty busy week ahead of us again. Please pray, as we will be all over the place. Although our cold evenings and mornings are certainly back, and it was rather cool this past week, but it is supposed to warm up a little this week. Our last gasp before the real cold arrives.

There is a lot going on in the family and a lot coming up for all of us. Not much that I can discuss publicly, but please keep every memeber of our family and extended family in prayer. God knows the needs. It has been a tough time - tougher than normal. We have all kind of hit a wall, and it's just getting harder. However, God has sent us consolations and that is beautiful to see.

Because of the weird circumstances of our week, we are keeping a much more loose fasting rule. Don't be surprised by fish or dairy on some days that normally wouldn't have them. We are doing the best we can and asking for God to strengthen us as we get closer to resolution. There were also much more leftovers this past week than expected, so some meals have been moved to this week, and there are more leftover meals planned.

Thank God for both our gleaning club and our parish family. They are still providing for us and each other. Since our garden was much smaller this year, the gleans have meant we had local, fresh produce to put up for the winter, which is a gift. Also, we've been able to bless our parish with the gleanings, and the parish has been handling meals on Sundays, or at least the main dish. This next couple months, they are really taking the lead on those. Please pray for God to bless them.

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.

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// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 10:26 AM 0 comments

Sunday, August 30, 2026

Menu Plan: August 30 - September 5

Rich and I are definitely feeling our age. After our rapid trip down to our granddaughter and back and then going straight into fair week and all of that work and those late nights, we took until nearly Thursday to start recover even a little bit. We took it more easily this weekend.

Last week, the winds of change came right on schedule. This week we are officially in fall. While I love autumn, it is usually so short here, and is a harbinger of the brutal winter, so it always makes me a little sad now. We are trying to get the most out of our garden, and spend some time preserving foods so we can still eat the fresh foods of our area during the winter and spring next year.

We had fantastic burgers last week, and I want to share what we did with them, in case you want to try something like that. Rich grilled the burgers, just plain beef with the Spice House's House Blend Turkey Seasoning on them, we toasted some ciabatta rolls, and spread them with homemade mayonnaise, dijon mustard, and a little ketchup. We layered gruyère cheese, sautéed onions, fresh arugula, avocado slices, and crisp bacon on the burgers, and ate them with cherry tomatoes from our garden and cornichons. We had planned on eating potato wedges with it, but were a little full of fried and oily foods, so we grilled fresh squash and peppers from our yard to eat with them, as well.

That was one of our successful meals last week. We tried a historic apple recipe that was Lenten for one of our breakfasts. Let's just say that there is a reason it was left in history. We will not be making it again. Besides that, I have realized that I simply cannot cook for fewer than eight people. So, we are planning a leftover day at least once a week, and if, by some miracle, we don't have enough, we will make sandwiches or some other quick and easy meal. I've set that for Thursdays, as it is a meat day on which I usually have something happening in the evening, which leaves me with more time that night.

We are so excited to have two of our granddaughters this coming weekend. We will fill them with good things and let them enjoy the outdoors as we can. They will come to church with us, and we can love on them for a couple nights. It is good. As for this weekend, our parish family is yet again coming along side us and giving me the rest I need from our rather busy few weeks by providing the meal Sunday. We are so grateful for them. In the meantime, we are still trying to eat down our freezer so we can fit that mutton, a steer, and our birds in there for winter and next year. I'm even planning a turkey dinner and some roast lamb over the next month or two, so we can make even more room. Rich wants to have a poultry day each week, to eat some of our birds in the freezer which were butchered last year, to make room for the new harvest. Shelftember will begin this week, and aside from milk and produce, I am trying to eat only what we already have here, to make room for preserved foods and the meat in our freezer.

Thank you for your prayers and support over these past few months. We are getting close to resolution and are praying for the best outcome.

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.

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// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 3:12 PM 0 comments

Sunday, May 17, 2026

Menu Plan: May 17 - 23 (Ascension Octave and Novena to the Holy Spirit)

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!

My observation about the local weather pattern around Ascension and Pentecost held true this year. Rich said that maybe Jesus needs a headwind to ascend (that is a joke!). We had hotter weather earlier last week, and it is cooling a bit with wind this week. This week is yet another busy week. Sometimes I wonder if we will ever have an easy going, slow week again. There is a lot going on this week, including an end of year potluck for some of the girls' classes. God bless our parish family who took over the meal for tonight so I could handle all the other things thrown at me this past week. Several of our meals this week are garbage management so we can use the bits and bobs that were left over from other meals this past week.

I scheduled some things wrong and thought we were getting our last load of asparagus this week, but it was last week, so I am having to rush our pickling this year. Nearly all of our fruit tree blossoms froze this year, though we are hoping the apple blossoms will make it (they come later in the season) and we might get apples this year. No apricots, peaches, plums, or cherries. Maybe we will see pears, though.

As we approach Pentecost, I am filled with gratitude to the Church. I always appreciate Apostolic authority, but I am especially glad for it now. Without it, after all, we couldn't eat bacon, or cheeseburgers, or crab! As we grow in faith, I see how important it is to have it. There is so much confusion in the modern world, and the clarity brought by the Church is so valuable. God has undone the confusion of Babel for us, and it is our vocation to follow Him. We will be hosting our traditional Pentecost Tongues of Flame Barbecue next week, and I am really looking forward to that.

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.

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// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 9:59 AM 0 comments

Sunday, September 21, 2025

Menu Plan: September 21 - 27

We had such a busy week that I never hit publish on this.

This is a super busy week for us. We have our homeschool co-op beginning, plus getting ready for Winnie's baptism.

Jerome has had a health setback, as a piece of the hardware in his jaw has popped out and he will need more surgery. It is not as extensive, but is still fairly serious. This also means he is back to a no-chew diet. Please pray for him and for us.

In fact, pray for us in general. There is a lot going on here.

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.

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// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 12:43 PM 0 comments

Sunday, September 14, 2025

Menu Plan: September 14 - 20

Hello! Remember me? It's been a bit of a whirlwind this past month. We had fair week, and right in the middle of it, with all hands on deck working the neighborhood booth, Dominic and Shawn welcomed their little girl. The next day was Jerome's scheduled jaw surgery (both jaws, plus his wisdom teeth out, it was gruesome, and I can tell you more if you aren't squeamish). His birthday was four days later. Happy birthday! We had a pot roast we puréed for him, over mashed potatoes and chocolate pudding with chantilly cream for dessert. His care was really difficult at first, with something like 20 pills he had to take (crushed and added to liquid which went in a syringe, because he couldn't swallow or chew), and almost all his food and drink had to go through a syringe for the first week.

The day after that, I left on a bus for Dominic and Shawn's to make meals, clean up, and hold Winnie. It was a delight, but exhausting. Also, I learned a lot about people on the bus rides to and from their home. While I was gone, Rich was doing a lot, while also trying to be at work, and the kids at home helped with much around the house and with Jerome. Then, Rich and I had a trip to Canon Beach to be there for our godson's wedding, which was also kind of an early anniversary trip for us, because this year won't be an anniversary trip year. Also, a one night work trip the same week.

We are exhausted. In the meantime, some of the kids' classes have started, and we are easing into our school year beginning (which is the end of September). However, their group science class has started, and our co-op begins soon. So, yes, it's a little busy around here.

Our church family has been amazing, making meals, taking care of things while we are gone, looking out for our kids. They are doing so much to relieve pressure and stress for us. They even provided the dinner tonight, so I didn't have to cook any of the things I had planned and could rest on our day of rest.

We have a couple weeks without too much, but Winnie's baptism is coming up, and that will be exciting and beautiful. Please pray for her, her parents, and her godparents. Also, please keep Jerome in prayer. After a month of good recovery, he may have overdone it and has an infection. It is being treated, but that is now his second round of antibiotics in a month.

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.

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// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 11:38 PM 0 comments

Sunday, August 10, 2025

Menu Plan: Fair Week and Feast of the Dormition

In birth, you preserved your virginity; in death, you did not abandon the world, O Theotokos. As mother of life, you departed to the source of life, delivering our souls from death by your intercessions.

Shudder, O ye heavens! and, O earth, give ear unto these words:
God descended once before for our sake; He descends again today for His Mother.

Technically the feast isn't until Friday. However, the Dormition (or Assumption, in the West - this is the same feast, but the title emphasizes a different aspect) is the fourth highest feast in the Church year, following the Paschal feast, Pentecost, and the feast of the Nativity. Church teaching is that all the apostles but Thomas were gathered mystically around the Blessed Mother as she died, and were there for her burial. Thomas, arriving three days later, was taken to her tomb, only to find that it was empty. This Church teaching of the assumption of her body into heaven is not just a pious tradition, but holds some deep spiritual and physical truths for us. It is a sign and reminder to us that not only Christ resurrected bodily, but that we all will rise. Also, we know now, as they didn't then, that all women bear the DNA of each and every child borne to them in their bodies forever. So, by raising His mother, our Lord made sure that His resurrection was complete on this earth. If this had not happened, then He would not be completely risen. What a wonder and miracle! Science, archaelogy, history, always vindicate the Church and her teachings.

So many times, when people deny honor to the Theotokos, it is really a dishonor to the Lord. Even denying her the title Theotokos ends up declaring that Christ was either not God in her womb, or that He is not God incarnate. It is often not intentional, but I think a good question to ask oneself when putting her "in her place" is what does this mean about Christ and His divinity? If it ends up dishonoring Him, calling His divinity into question, or lessening Him, it isn't a good thing. Likewise, so many people say that there is too much honor given her, without actually considering whether or not they honor her enough or even at all. What is just the right amount of honor? Surely it isn't debasing the woman who bore and raised our Lord? Jesus was born a Jew and fulfilled the law. He loved and honored His mother, and as we could not have had Him without her, why would we want that, instead of following His example?

The Archangel Gabriel in the Gospel of Luke hails her and says that God calls her blessed. Her cousin Elizabeth's unborn son, Saint John the Forerunner, leaps at the sound of Mary's voice, and by this does Elizabeth know and proclaim that Mary is the Mother of her Lord. Mary replies by saying that ALL generations will call her blessed. It is in the Scriptures that we are to bless her, that God Himself magnifies her, so why should we not do the same? How can we do less?

We are still swimming in produce and leftovers. We have boxes of produce all over our house right now, as we preserve and use it for the family. This will be a little more difficult this week, because we have fair, and because we have a complicated medical procedure coming up, too. Please pray for all of us this week.

The fast ends this week, and we are fasting within our strength, but poor Jerome will really be fasting at the end of this week, and especially needs your prayers. Our family diet is going to change substantially for a little while, as he will be on a soft food diet for nearly two months.

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.

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// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 11:46 PM 0 comments

Monday, August 04, 2025

Menu Plan: August 3 - 9 Dormition Fast and Feast of the Transfiguration

During the Dormition fast, I join with others to dedicate our prayers toward the end of abortion - not only in law, but also in practice - that nobody would ever feel the need to resort to this. This week holds the feast of the Transfiguration, also. I love the Transfiguration! We have the Trinity demonstrated in the voice of the Father and the uncreated light of the Spirit which overshadows the mountain, we have the communion of saints demonstrated and modeled (Jesus calls on not only Elijah, who never died, but Moses, in the presence of the Apostles - who know exactly who they are - and shows them that they can be called on in this world) to us, and we have a Theophany, a demonstration of the divinity of Christ. Saint Peter's statement about building tablernacles is not only an impetuous statement of someone not knowing what to say. It shows that Saint Peter connects what he witnesses with the Feast of Tabernacles, which is the feast of the coming Kingdom. He sees this as a sign of the Kingdom appearing on earth. On this feast, the Jewish people build booths to serve as symbols of God's dwelling among the just in the Kingdom. Moses represents the law and all who have died, and Elijah, the prophets and all who are alive in Christ, as Elijah never experienced death. Both of these men are immediately recognizeable by Saints Peter, James and John. They know them, because the saints are available to us on earth. They can hear Jesus talking to them, and Jesus gives them an example of communicating with the saints. This is one of the major feasts of the Church year, and it is a poverty to neglect or ignore it.

We are swimming in fresh produce, tons of fruit and vegetables, and it is a blessing. Loads of preservation going on here, and loads of delicious food. We are blessed to live in a growing area. There will be more canning and drying and freezing through October. God is truly caring for us, and we are trying to steward that gift.

Again, don't be surprised by the eggs and dairy in our menus this week. We do take the Dormition fast a little bit more lightly, as we are growing into it. We also may break it on Sundays, as we serve a parish that doesn't necessarily keep the fast. We are blessed with a fish day this week, and I am happy for that. We rejoice in our fast and are so grateful for the wonderful things we can have and the focus it gives us for prayer and for study. It is not too late to start the fast, and it is never something you need to do all the way if you are unable. Start to climb the mountain; God will meet you there. The fast is a gift He gives us, not something we give Him.

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.

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// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 8:26 PM 0 comments

Sunday, July 27, 2025

Menu Plan: July 27 - August 2

I tried my experiment with the cherries, and while the cherry "butter" didn't exactly work the way I expected, it did taste good and I think will be perfect as the filling for baked goods. The texture of the cherry butter just never was exactly right, because of the skins, I think. However, the flavor was awesome, so if you don't expect it to be a "buttery" spread, I think it will be lovely. I also did find out that you can pressure can caponata, so after making double my recipe, I canned four quarts and a pint of it, which is now shelf stable and not taking up room in our fridge or freezer.

My sweet Rich is taking a day off for us to can peaches. We still have four boxes of peaches, and while we are enjoying them, it will be good to have them for the winter.

For my birthday, I did try the duck shawerma, and it was fantastic. Now I think that duck is the best choice for shawerma. We will have to try it with some of our geese next.

My experiment with the vegan oatmeal muffins was not nearly as successful. I have a recipe for Lenten muffins and a recipe for leftover oatmeal muffins and I tried to merge them. They imploded. The kids liked how they tasted, though so I think I will keep messing with it to get the right texture.

We are deep in the harvest season, and we have an opportunity to get a whole lot of garlic this week, too. we are still trying to figure out what else to do with the cherries. I suggested brandied cherries, but that seems more like a gift idea, because how many times can we eat that? Perhaps I can put up some cherry pie filling, we would eat that more. I may also try a Spanish recipe for a savory pickled cherry. Our house is kind of covered with produce, but it seems like God is taking care of us for what might be a challenging winter.

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.

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// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 9:46 AM 0 comments

Sunday, July 20, 2025

Menu Plan: July 20 - 26

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!

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.

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// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 10:52 AM 0 comments

Sunday, July 13, 2025

Menu Plan: July 13 - 19

The kids are all home again this week, which is wonderful. The night they returned we just happened to pass a street cart taqueria, and on the way back, we grabbed tacos for everyone, while I practiced by broken Spanish. It was nearly midnight when we got home, so we broke the Friday fast with amazing tacos and chiles and salsas.

The heat is ramping up again, and we have installed our first portable air conditioning unit. We have two more to put in, but we only have one day of temperatures predicted to be at 100˚. There is only one appointment out of the house this week, and one grocery day, unfortunately on two different days, but that allows me to attempt again to get some preserving done when the temperatures drop into the 80s. Last week, I was kind of knocked out with a summer cold, which is especially insulting, and my mornings alone were spent resting, for the most part, and doing basic homemaking tasks.

It is abundance time in the farmer's market and with our gleaning club. Our garden is still producing earlier season foods because we live in a cooler microclimate. The plan is to try my experiment, using my method for fruit butter and jelly with the abundance of cherries we have. I plan to use almost no pectin, just because of how much the cherries gel on their own. We also have some asparagus that is on the edge of drying out, that I am going to try to pickle, just for our use. We will mark the jars, so if they don't hydrate enough with the brine, we know just to use them ourselves. We also have a ton of apricots, and I am thinking of making apricot syrup and preserves. If we still have a lot after that, I might make some basic canned apricot halves, which will come in handy in the fall and winter (I make a fantastic cream cheese and fruit stuffed French toast which would be lovely with apricots). Our peaches are a little too ripe for most preserving, so I am thinking we might just eat a lot and maybe make a crisp or pie - or ice cream! In fact, I might make an apricot pie with out beautiful apricots, too. I might set the kids to drying some of the apples we have, as they just devour those as snacks in the winter.

This week also holds the 31st anniversary of Rich and me meeting. We are going to have a small dinner at an Italian place near us and dance at least once. It's hard to believe that it's been over 30 years since we met. I am not one of those people who thinks she is not her age. I am nearly 49. At the same time, it seems unbelievable that so much time has passed since that fateful dance.

The challenge last week was that, even with making much smaller meals, with only two to four people eating at each meal, and the heat being as high as it was, supressing our appetites, we had so much food leftover. Once the kids returned, they helped us use up most of that food, but there is still a little left in the refrigerator, but now we have enough folks here to eat them up as lunches. Our meals this week are still going to be a little scaled back, because of the heat, but a bit more than last week. There might still be meal juggling because of those lowered appetites, but we will discover that by next week.

Our Melting Pot-Luck last week wasn't huge, but it was a great success, and the folks there wanted us to do it more often, so we are planning on holding them quarterly now. We had foods from Norway, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Denmark, Russia, Bangladesh, and more. It was delightful. We are eating around the world this week, too. We are eating from Louisiana, Mexico, Persia, Lebanon, Morocco, Korea, France, Palestine, China, Spain, and Italy. It's all jumbled together each day, and sometimes each meal, and that is wonderful, and just like our country.

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.

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// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 9:54 AM 0 comments

Sunday, June 15, 2025

Menu Plan: Trinity Sunday

Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, one God; Oh come, let us adore Him.

This is one of a few truly Western feasts that I truly revel in and wish were shared by both lungs of the Church. I know that I "read" more Eastern, but in these I am firmly Western. This is a feast that I think should be enthusiastically embraced by all of the Church. It is a theological feast. It celebrates what we believe. We believe in, rejoice in, and love the Trinity! In the east, it is celebrated along with Pentecost, however, it is a principal feast in the west. Prior to the Great Schism, it was a secondary feast and relatively minor observance. It came about around the time of the Arian heresy, which was repudiated by the Nicene and Constantinople Councils in the Nicene Creed. Around this time, there were prefaces and prayers written and proclaimed in churches on Sundays which emphasized orthodox Christian faith, and those for the Holy Trinity were said the Sunday after Pentecost in some areas, in other areas, it was the Sunday before Advent. It was emphasized to counter the erroneous teachings of the day, and was elevated in the west to primary first class status in 1911, again to counter heretical teaching. In the east, while it is not primary, in the quite the same way, it is the first of the three day observance of Pentecost, and is also called Trinity Sunday. Each of those three days emphasizes different parts of the faith that is born that day, and the first is Trinity. I pray one day it will be observed in unbroken community. God is unity (one God) and community (three Persons) and has created all people to be in one in community. God shows us this community in Himself so we can be an image of Him in the world.

As it is Father's Day, I am making strawberry shortcake at Rich's request, but the church is taking care of most of dinner. I am so grateful for that help. Rich's (and Dominic's) birthday is this week, too, but sadly he has to be away for a work related event, so we are celebrating his birthday the night before. This is such a busy week for all of us. It is the beginning of air show prep and the air show, and all of us contribute to that. Our sweet parishioners are also taking care of dinner next Sunday so our family can rest, as well.

We have been blessed through our gleaning club, as well as deals at the store, and have an abundance of fresh produce to enjoy, our garden is starting to produce things like peas and rhubarb and greens and herbs, and it is a good time to be living in this desert. Flowers and trees are blooming, green things are growing, and the world is alive! This also means that besides getting ready for not just air show, but a couple kids visiting out of town, family coming for Independence Day, church camp, and more birthdays, we also have a little preserving going on and I plan on stock making this week to clear our freezers a bit.

For the rest of you, I hope you can celebrate your father, or husband, this Father's Day. I pray you revel in the truth of God's identity today, and always. Blessed Feast!

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).

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// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 7:24 AM 0 comments

Sunday, June 01, 2025

Menu Plan: June 1 - 7 (Ascension Octave and Novena to the Holy Spirit)

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!

I was noticing that over the past few years, the local weather pattern around Ascension and Pentecost is actually quite similar, regardless of which part of the spring it falls. We had a hotter week last week, and it is cooling a bit with wind this week.

We had an event last week which I forgot about when I was menu planning (it didn't make it on the calendar) and so we have a meal this week from last week. Also, I moved another breakfast from last week to this week. Because of family church schedules (we have some kids who go to an Orthodox service on Sundays), I am now planning the glutenous breakfasts for Sunday mornings, as we have a shorter fasting time for our evening Eucharist. Saturdays will be big, fancier, egg dishes from here on out, I think.

As we approach Pentecost, I am filled with gratitude to the Church. I always appreciate Apostolic authority, but I am especially glad for it now. Without it, after all, we couldn't eat bacon, or cheeseburgers, or crab! As we grow in faith, I see how important it is to have it. There is so much confusion in the modern world, and the clarity brought by the Church is so valuable. God has undone the confusion of Babel for us, and it is our vocation to follow Him.

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).

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// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 9:24 AM 0 comments

Sunday, May 25, 2025

Menu Plan: Week of the Ascension

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

Christ has Ascended! From Earth to Heaven! Alleluia!

The Paschal season is winding down. We have Rogation days this week, the Feast of the Ascension, then the novena to the Holy Spirit begins on Friday. We are going to try to fly a kite and find a higher spot to eat for the Ascension. Please pray with us.

Our schedule was a little up and down last week, so we moved some of the meals to this week and did different meals last week. Friday, we had a chance to go to a free concert at the lake, and so we brought a picnic of falafel and khoubz and other fixings. We had so many leftovers that the meal I initially planned for Monday is moved later in June, and we are eating leftovers tomorrow.

We are slowing back down to ordinary time. In just two weeks, we will celebrate Pentecost (the second highest feast of the Church year), and have another fast free week. Then, it is back to the quotidian. I'm not sorry for that.

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).

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// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 8:33 AM 0 comments

Sunday, May 18, 2025

Menu Plan: May 18 - 24

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

We will be eating loads more asparagus this week, as it is asparagus season. I still have more pickling to do, also. A friend says her family has successfully frozen it, and we are going to try a little, ourselves. A friend has also given us loads of rhubarb, so I am making several kinds of rhubarb desserts (most of which were supposed to be made last week). Actually a few things from last week are on this week's menu.

Our church is generously providing most of the dinner for after church tonight, which is a huge gift to us. It's been a rather busy time, and we have another busy week ahead of us, and this is part of how they are helping.

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).

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// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 7:16 AM 0 comments

Sunday, May 11, 2025

Menu Plan: Good Shepherd Sunday


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.

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).

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// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 11:43 AM 0 comments

Sunday, December 08, 2024

Menu Plan: Second Sunday of Advent - Love

I know the picture says peace. We don't know why. Peace is the last Sunday.

We are in the second week of Advent and this week has fewer major feasts. It is still during the lighter part of the fast, however. It has been a good Advent thusfar. It seems more preparatory, and everyone is doing well, I think. We haven't even started our Jesse Tree meditations, though we are doing our Advent wreath and readings each night.

The weather, on the other hand, is atrocious. The cold has finally set in and we had freezing rain, plus a few light snow days. I am counting the days until spring, already, though I should be grateful for the milder winter we've had. It is regularly about 20 to 30 degrees warmer during the day than it normally is at this time of year. It's just that that is still frigid.

Rich is helping me re-inventory our home and also make room in freezers, so we can finally get those muscovies butchered. That will help in multiple ways. Also, a former commissioner here mailed some Meyer lemons from his new home to us, and I am going to use every bit of them, if I can. Aside from what you see here, all of them will be zested and the zest added to sugar and salt, separately, for fun seasonings later. Blessed fast!

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.

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// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 3:22 AM 0 comments

Sunday, December 01, 2024

Menu Plan: First Sunday of Advent - Hope

Blessed Fast! Happy New Year! Advent is shorter again this year, and later than normal.

Because of our evening church situation, we are a bit more lax on the fast on Sundays than we otherwise might be. You may see dairy on weekends and major feasts. Also, the Advent fast is a little lighter, in general, as there are many fish days, and more wine and oil days. We try to fast within our strength and do the best we can, knowing that the point is the spiritual training and not the fast itself. The fast was given to us as an exercise and blessing. The only reason I share how we fast is so you know what to expect from meals and recipes during this time, if you are looking for ideas, or if you need to avoid some of the things we will be eating.

The West's fast is more lenient and shorter than the East's, anyway. Our family walks the line between those. Our general rule is close to the Orthodox, but we will relax more for Saints Barbara and Nicholas, including egg and dairy those days, and on Sundays, except for the final two weeks of Advent. We will be avoiding meat, fish (most days), eggs and dairy (with the exceptions I mentioned already), wine and olive oil on most weekdays. Shellfish is always permitted, so when we find that at a good price, we definitely eat it. I share this with you as an encouragement. We strive within our strength, and our family situation. We have discussed how to handle this with our priests and our local priests, and are considering also people we feed who don't generally follow the fast as much. Fasting and abstinence are such good tools that God gives us through the Church, and I encourage you to try to fast with the Church. It is not as useful to pick and choose, but rather to strive for your church's rule with such accomodations as necessary for health, age, and situation. Talk to your priest. If you don't have a priest, find one and talk to him.

This week has three major feast days in it, which makes the entrance into Advent a little easier. This is a blessing to us. Another blessing is that our tomatoes that were pulled from the garden and put in our honey room are still ripening and so we are still getting fresh tomatoes. That is a treat in December. Our home is well stocked and we will not have to buy a lot of groceries, except for some produce, dairy products, and cleaning and pet supplies. That will make our life simpler, as well. One of the ways the fast teaches us is by forcing us to pare down our lives a little.

Please pray for a holy Advent for us. I pray that your fast will be fruitful, and that you welcome the Christ Child in your heart and home, and prepare for His coming in glory!

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.

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// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 7:47 AM 0 comments

Sunday, November 17, 2024

Menu Plan: Second Sunday Before Advent

It is almost the New Year in the Western Church! Next Sunday is the Feast of Christ the King and stir up Sunday, so I will be gathering ingredients to prepare for our Christmas cake.

We, again, had some schedule shifts last week, so there are a couple repeats this week. Because our co-op is finished for the season, we have more time freed up, which I am honestly glad to have. Our week begins with a visit from the bishop of our diocese in the Anglican Church where Rich helps serve. We are really happy to have his support and visit with him.

This is our last week before Thanksgiving, and since I dry brine ours, I need to get one out of the freezer so we can do that with enough time for it to be properly seasoned and ready for roasting on Thanksgiving. I also will be roasting some of our own turkey parts (necks and so on) to turn into extra stock for gravy. Some of the preparation I can do this week includes making the sweet potato rolls up to shaping, then freeze them, so they only have to thaw and rise, then be baked after the turkey is out of the oven.

For those of you who have been praying for our family in our troubles, may I please offer great thanks? We have had some wonderful moments of hope and encourgement over these past few weeks. There is still a long road to travel, but it has been good to have some obvious improvement. Thank you.

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.

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// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 10:41 AM 0 comments

Sunday, November 10, 2024

Menu Plan: Third Sunday before Advent

We are in the countdown to the Feast of the Nativity now. It is three weeks from the New Year in the Western Calendar, and the beginning of the fast (at the end of this week) on the Eastern Calendar (unless you are Old Calendar). It is time. We need this time of prayer, self-examination, fasting, confession, and almsgiving. I don't know about you, but I don't think I do enough of any of that. Tomorrow is also the feast of Saint Martin of Tours, a Christian Roman soldier and, later, bishop. His charity and faith are inspiring.

Last week, Rich made sure I could go on a two day spiritual retreat to learn about women saints. It was fantastic! I was hosted by a couple families from the church, who fed me beautifully, and were so generous in their hospitality. I learned so much, had the time and space to pray well, and really gained a great deal.

Because of that absence, though, I had not prepared some of the things necessary for our Saturday dinner and forgot to ask the family to do it while I was away, so we just did it Saturday, switched dinners with tomorrow's, and we will have the pork belly tacos tomorrow night. The younger kids want to do the lantern walk again, and the weather isn't so frigid and windy, so I think we will do it.

I'm kind of trying to streamline breakfasts now. You will see a lot of repeats on breakfasts over the next few weeks and months. I'm mostly rotating through several easy, quick breakfasts. We are having more complex or interesting breakfasts on weekends, though. Our meals will be slowly turning into abstinent and fasting more frequently. Fortunately, fish is permitted during most of this fast. If you do not observe Advent or the Nativity Fast in advance of the feast of the Nativity, may I encourage you to dig a little into either Western or Eastern Tradition about it, and slowly start praying, fasting, offering alms, and putting that with the study of the Holy Family, the Incarnation, and prepare yourself for His coming? Then, you can celebrate fully for all of the Christmas season (which begins late Christmas Eve, and ends on February 2).

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.

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// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 12:45 PM 0 comments

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