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Sunday, March 29, 2026

Menu Plan: Holy Week

The Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem

We have made it. This week is the penultimate week of the year. We are walking the Via Dolorosa with Christ. We live each of those days with Him. It is the busiest, hardest, most challenging week of our year. Meals this week are lighter and simpler, and follow the strictest fasting rules. Traditionally, a full, strict, fast begins on the evening of Maundy (Mandatum - from the new mandate/commandment Jesus gives, as He established the priesthood, the sacraments of the Eucharist and confession), and goes through the end of the Vigil on Saturday, as we await Jesus by the tomb. The events of this week are what give shape to every other week of our year. We have the priesthood, the Eucharist, confession, because of this week. We fast on Wednesdays and Fridays because of Judas' selling Jesus on Wednesday and Christ's crucifixion on Friday. We celebrate a little Paschal feast every Sunday. This week is the most important week in the year. It is such a significant week that it is eight days long. The Sunday of the Resurrection is the eighth day of creation.

The final three days of Holy Week are counted as a single unit, the Triduum, or three days, which are a continuous liturgy. It begins with the liturgy on Maundy Thursday, then with the Good Friday liturgies, venerating the cross and the mourning at the tomb, finishing with the Vigil on Saturday evening, which flows into the Paschal liturgy at midnight.

This week is our first week of spring break, but it is our work week. I am making ready the sheera and leaving it in the fridge, and assembling the baq'lawa to put it in the freezer to bake on the day of the feast, and making the red dye for the eggs. Bright Week is our actual week of "rest" for spring break, by which I mean, our kids sleep in and rest, and I will be making loads of the foods we could not have during the fast. Unfortunately, our Bright Week will have an early morning set of classes for the girls.

Palm Sunday is a slight feast, so we are enjoying fish today! Since our schedule last week was a bit rough, we have a few repeats this week. As this week progresses, our meals get more and more minimal and simple. Nejat is awfully young to fast the strictest fast over the Triduum, so we are encouraging her to try, but to break the fast if necessary. Mariam already knows that, so will make that choice as she must. I pray for a blessed Holy Week and Triduum for you all!

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 @ 9:32 AM 0 comments

Sunday, March 22, 2026

Menu Plan: Passion Sunday and Feast of the Annunciation

We are nearing the end of the fast. Properly, this Sunday is called Passion Sunday, was the beginning of the final week of Lent, with Holy Week being its own separate and distinct observance. Passion Sunday gave the general overview of the last days of Christ's life on earth, while with Palm Sunday, we enter into each day of that final week with Him quite specifically. Unfortunately, in the West, this has largely been relegated to a footnote to Palm Sunday, rather than its own observance. So, right on the heels of celebrating the Hosannas of Christ's triumphal entry, we often slide into the Good Friday narrative. This is a shame; it is jarring, and robs parishioners of the real walk of that final week of His life with Him during Holy week, from Palm Sunday, the first, celebratory, day, the instructive events of Holy Monday and Tuesday, with the fig tree and the annointing with perfume and oil, through His betrayal on Spy Wednesday, His Last Supper and the institution of the priesthood and the Eucharist, His arrest and trial, on Thursday, His crucifixion on Friday, and His rest in the tomb, as He harrowed Hell to free those captive to death on Saturday. We live through the events of that week each year. It seems to me that the modern church seems to think it is too much to ask of her people to take that walk with Him for one week each year. Meanwhile, our calendars and prayer books still show that this is the historic practice and we preserve it in this way only. We will keep His final days in mind this week, meditating on His words and actions, as we prepare for the hard Via Dolorosa we will embark on next Monday.

Passion Sunday marks the last week of Lent, as a summary of what Christ did to rescue us from sin and death, as we ready ourselves to walk each day of the way of sorrow with Him and, in the East, ends with Lazarus Saturday, the first resurrection which points to the greater one. We have begun observing it ourselves, as one of the commemorations that is significant to the life of the Church. Jesus raised Lazarus in anticipation of His own resurrection - and ours. One tradition for Lazarus Saturday is to make sweet, little breads shaped like a man wrapped in linens (Lazarakia). Another is to permit the eating of caviar (fish eggs) as little eggs, before we get to have eggs again on the Paschal feast.

This is the last week of Lent before Holy Week for the West. We end this week with Lazarus Sunday, the small resurrection, before we begin the great journey of Holy Week. Saint Lazarus lived for 30 years more after being raised by Jesus and became the first bishop of Cyprus - he had more work to do. We especially love how Jesus shows us that death is still our enemy with Lazarus. Even though He was about to raise him from the dead, He still wept at Lazarus' death. There was no nonsense about how he had gone to a better place or how he was somehow free of this mortal coil (which is gnostic heresy). He wept. This is because death is the enemy of all and Christ never wanted anyone to die. Raising Lazarus was His last major act before walking the Via Dolorosa of Holy Week, which is why Lazarus is remembered on the Saturday before Palm Sunday.

This week also holds the last major feast before the end of Lent, the Annunciation. I love that the Annunciation closes the week begun by the feast of Saint Joseph, that the heads of the Holy Family are celebrated so closely together. It is Elijah's birthday, and we were always so glad to have everyone celebrating with him on his day. We have always thought about Saint Joseph and the Blessed Virgin taking special care of him.

We have reached the point in Lent that fake cheese seems like a good idea. It isn't, but it seems like it. Until this week, we hadn't bought any fake food, but we caved and got fake mozzarella for some pizzas. They were not great. Besides that, we have only bought some oat milk, which should run out just in time for us to have real dairy. Two more weeks of fasting to go! All joking aside, God has really been growing us this year. We are held in His hands and know that we are not alone. It is teaching us to lean on Him more and pray. It is revealing our own weaknesses and where we need to grow in faith and discipline.

We truly appreciate all the support and prayers from people. We cannot express how much we are being upheld by them. Our church family has been helping with Sunday meals, and doing so much more for us. We are grateful to God for placing so many wonderful people in our lives.

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 @ 11:25 AM 1 comments

Sunday, March 15, 2026

Menu Plan: Laetare Sunday

Laetare Jerusalem: et conventum facite omnes qui diligitis eam: gaudete cum laetitia, qui in tristitia fuistis: ut exsultetis, et satiemini ab uberibus consolationis vestrae.

Be joyful, O Jerusalem: and come together all you that love her: rejoice with joy, you that have been in sorrow: that you may exult, and be filled from the breasts of your consolation.

Laetare is milk-joy Sunday. It is the Mother's Day of the Church, remembering the Church as our Mother and the Blessed Mother herself, who is both the mother of God and of all believers. It is the fourth full week of Lent in the West, and just past the half way point. The austerity of the altar is relieved a little with the adornment of roses, the flower of the Theotokos, and the rose vestments. This is one of the Western Traditions that I would love to see in a unified Church. Much like Forgiveness Vespers from the East and the Imposition of Ashes in the West are both such powerful practices, I think this set of readings and prayers and the reinforcement of the earliest Church teachings on the Church as Mother and devotion to our Blessed Mother are powerfully presented in this little lightening of the fast by permitting dairy.

I arise today through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity, through belief in the Threeness, through confession of the Oneness of the Creator of creation.

Tuesday is the feast of Saint Patrick. We actually have several feasts this week, and then next week have the feast of the Annunciation, a few of which permit us to enjoy fish. There is so much to read about Saint Patrick's life and his confession is available online, as well. We have so much to learn from the lives of our elder brothers and sisters in the faith and we should model our faith on theirs. I encourage you to read about their lives and read their words.

The feast of Saint Joseph is also this week, who is a particular patron of our family. We love the Holy Family, and Rich especially loves Saint Joseph. I love that the feast of Saint Joseph is the first day of the "week" which ends with the feast of the Annunciation. It is fitting that the bethrothed share this week.

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 @ 6:10 AM 0 comments

Sunday, March 08, 2026

Menu Plan: Third Sunday of Lent

We are well into Lent and it is a hard one this year. Sometimes our sacrifices are not what we choose. God is with us, and we see His grace and light in so many ways.

Lent is going so much more quickly than normally for us, too. This year, we are going to have to make our Paschal feast more of a pot luck than we normally do, but I am looking forward to that celebration right now.

The vegan mousaka'a we made last week was fantastic, and I think I will write up how we made it and share it for you one of these days. I don't know when I will be able to share recipes. We are doing all we can to keep life going and normal right now, and still covet your prayers.

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 @ 4:27 PM 0 comments

Sunday, March 01, 2026

Menu Plan: Second Sunday of Lent

Be steadfast, brothers, and do the little things.

We have made it through the first week and a half of Lent, and are on the Second Sunday now. We are hoping for a much less eventful Lent than the way it began!

Rich and I had a chance to take a quick trip to the west side last week, where things have been growing all winter and are in bloom now. It was even sunny while we were there. Rich had to work, but I was able to rest and knit and catch up on some things I have wanted and needed to do. It was a sweet blessing in the middle of a cold and difficult time. We went out to eat at an Indian place, because Indian food is pretty reliable for having vegan or shrimp options without egg and dairy, but then the owners brought us some complimentary gulab jamun, so we ended up breaking the fast, anyway. We went to a local gelato place which had strawberry sorbet, because we were really craving something sweet that was still Lenten. We tried to meet up with a friend from that area, but we called her too late, so she was already busy. That's alright, because we went back to the hotel, watched a few episodes of Grocery Games on Food TV, and fell asleep. We hadn't slept much the night before and had to drive over the pass at 6:00 am.

This week, we have a repeat of last Saturday's meals because I forgot that was the day I was going to be gone most of the day to Purlside Fiber Festival. We had a rather difficult week, and especiallly the last 24 hours between Saturday and Sunday. It isn't something I can share a lot about here, but we covet your prayers. Our life is getting quite a bit more complex right now.

Because of our incident with the water heater last week, I am especially glad for a full pantry and full freezers. We are cooking mostly from those, and only picking up fresh herbs and produce. I tried a new to us recipe for a Thai vegetable stir fry last week that was spectacular, and was also really flexible on the vegetables used, so it was perfect for using what was in our house, instead of seeking new ingredients. My budget for Purlside was significantly reduced because of that, too, but that is alright, for much the same reason. I have a rather full stash, and only one of the three projects I was interested in buying for is likely to be knit this year.

With everything that has been going on, I didn't get the recipes posted. With how this week looks like it will be going, I will be trying to get them posted this week, but I make no promises. Also, because of the situation we have, we may be breaking the fast a little more for some of Lent.

Our parish family is helping us with meals this week, just to make our lives a little easier, and they will be helping more with meals at church, as well. Our family and extended family are really coming together to help us make the best of the difficult situation we find ourselves in right now. We are grateful for their support. Please pray for us and we will continue to pray for 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 @ 2:33 PM 0 comments

Sunday, February 22, 2026

Menu Plan: First Sunday in Lent

There are many beautiful icons of the Temptation of Jesus, but this painting by Duccio captures the essense of our Lenten journey with Christ in the desert. After being driven to the desert to fast for 40 days and be tested (not as a trick or pop quiz, but to model for us and to teach the way we make our spiritual battle), He commands Satan away, with the angels waiting to attend Him.

Our first full week of Lent is upon us. The bright sadness has begun. It is a time of growth, and that is matching our world outside. I'm so proud of Nejat, who kept the entire fast on Ash Wednesday, even though we were planning for her to break it in the evening.

Yesterday, we woke up to our water heater leaking and flooding four rooms in our basement. We got to pay for emergency weekend plumbing and a replacement that was nearly twice the cost it would have been because the state of Washington has outlawed high capacity water heaters for homes, so we had to buy a commercial model. Please pray for us. (Also, if you are a knitter, or know a knitter, I am offering a discount on all my individually sold patterns as a flood sale with the coupon code FLOOD on both Ravelry and PayHip, if you are so inclined to help replenish our emergency fund). The good news is there was a dependable, honest, helpful plumber who was able to bring us the water heater and replace ours in just a few hours. We have water, and it is even hot. Glory to God!

It is Forgiveness Sunday for the Orthodox, so they will join in the fast this week, as well. With most Christians fasting and praying, and even Muslims fasting and praying right now, I am hoping that the world will start to show the effects of praying people. We certainly need it.

We tried two meals this past week which are fabulous for Lent (and other times) and I have shared one of the recipes on the blog already, if you are interested. The paneer musallam recipe I found was a bit sparse, so I shared how I made it, and the sauce itself is completely Lenten, so you could substitute legumes, seared tofu, or vegetables and nuts for the paneer quite easily. It was also super quick to make. The sheet pan chow mein was delicious, too, and took 25 minutes from start to finish. Rich said it sounded like an internet scam recipe, but it was actually tasty and easy to make. It is really flexible about which vegetables you use, so just use what you have. When we made it, I used Chinese egg noodles, more garlic, and added our garlic ginger paste, using only carrots, cabbage, and spring onions (to match the quantity of the recipe) as my vegetables, using the bulb and tougher parts of the spring onion in the baked vegetables and the tender, green parts tossed together with everything at the end, as well as putting the sesame seeds on top when I put the noodles and sauce in the pan in the oven.

Like in previous years, I am cycling through about ten to twelve breakfast meals, just to make my life easier during Lent, and I will be featuring at least one meal using beans, one that is a pasta dish, and one that is a soup or stew each week, both to accomodate our schedule and make Lenten food preparations easier, so it isn't all about the food, allowing me to focus more on prayer and almsgiving. Also, as is our habit, we tend to head to East Asian, Arab, Indian, and other cuisines which already feature vegetarian and vegan dishes, done well, rather than trying to make meat meals appropriate for Lent. Since we don't like to do a lot of meat or dairy substutes (with the exception of coconut milk and cream, which we already use extensively in our cooking), you won't see a lot of that here. Though, by the fifth week of Lent, fake meat starts to sound pretty good!

This week, I am making a recipe my auntie served me and showed me how to make when I was with her in Saudi Arabia, and will share the recipe with you on Saturday. Our church family is taking care of our Sunday dinner tonight, and all I have to bring is a side dish. I am so grateful for that, after our busy week and rough Saturday. Please pray for us, and we will pray for you. May you have a holy and blessed Lent. Good strength and 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 @ 6:46 AM 0 comments

Wednesday, February 18, 2026

Craft On: Ash Wednesday Knitting

I have finished Rich's Defend and Resist cap. I am not sure how I feel about the tassel. I love the red, white and blue in it, but it seems short. So, after I block it, if it hasn't relaxed a little, I will take it out and put a new, longer, tassel on the hat.

After not qualifying for two years in a row, and not even trying last year, I am in again for Sock Madness this year. My goal is to make it as a cheerleader, because then I can modify the patterns as I wish. However, first I have to finish at least one sock. I basically forgot how to read a chart today, and started reading it from the top. The sock is back on track now, and I am happy with the pattern. Most of it is straight forward sock knitting and stranded color work, but there is an interesting heel that will need attention, and the vertical red stripes in the design (which are not there yet) are made by using surface crochet.

At the imposition of ashes today, I worked a little on my surprise project, but I haven't touched Qidyssat Katrin or Mawqid at all today. I think that is on the docket for tomorrow and this weekend.

There hasn't been much progress in Autobiography of Calvin Coolidge, but now that we are finished with our Mardi Gras doughnut feast, and we are having a quiet Ash Wednesday night, I think I'll get more reading time tonight. I did finish A Palm for Mrs. Pollifax, and have started Mrs. Pollifax on Safari. There was one thing that kind of annoyed me about A Palm for Mrs. Pollifax, and that is that the author made up a country in the Arab world, used region/city names from two different countries, instead of just picking one and going with it. All the other locations have been real and historical.


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// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 5:40 PM 0 comments

Sunday, February 15, 2026

Menu Plan: Quinquagesima, Mardi Gras, and Ash Wednesday

We are not aligned with the East in our fast this year. We begin about five days before them this year, because we begin on Ash Wednesday, midweek. Quinquagesima is the 50th day before the Paschal feast for us in the West. We continue to pray, that both East and West will unite to celebrate together every year. The practices of Ash Wednesday are so profound, as are those of Forgiveness Sunday, and I hope that eventually the Church will get her act together and find a way to bring them together in all ways.

I've explained before that xerophagy is the accurate term for Lenten fasting. It means dry eating. We restrict meat, fish, dairy, eggs, oil and wine, which means our food is not as lubricated as normal. There are two strict fast days (no food or nutritive drink) in the West, Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. There is an optional strict fast from the evening after the Maundy Thursday service through the end of the Paschal Vigil. In the East, the first week of Lent, from Clean Monday through their vespers service on Wednesday is supposed to be as strict a fast as possible, with the guidance of a spiritual father or mother, and they share the same Triduum fasting, I believe. Aside from that, the earliest rule of the Church is to eat no meat, no fish (with the exception of shellfish - and because of the expense, we eat them sparingly), no dairy or eggs, no olive oil (all oil in a few jurisdictions), no wine (or alcohol). On Saturdays and Sundays, the rule is relaxed to include olive oil and wine, and on a few significant feast days we are able to eat fish, and one day caviar is permitted (Lazarus Saturday, the day before Palm Sunday, with fish eggs acting as a shadow of the eggs associated with the Resurrection). In the West, we celebrate Laetare Sunday about midway through the fast, and on that day we also eat dairy and egg. None of this is to imply that eating or that any of these foods are bad. They are good things from which we abstain as a discipline to train ourselves, following the example and teaching of our Lord.

This is worship. Worship throughout the Bible, Old Testament and New, always means sacrifice. It is not prayer, though that usually accompanies it. It is not singing hymns and songs, though they may also accompany it. It is not homilies or sermons, though they are edifying. It is sacrifice. The sacrifice that Christ offered for us once for all that we join into in the Eucharist. The sacrifice of something good for our own good in fasting. In the West, penance is emphasized, and while this is absolutely a part of our Lenten journey, fasting, praying, and almsgiving are seen more as a discipline Christ gives us through the Church to grow us spiritually. Young children, the elderly, those who have serious medical conditions, those who are hospitalized, pregnant and nursing women, are all exempt. There is no make-up required for these people. Their fast is considered complete. In all cases, fasting or not, we are to keep our eyes on our own plate. We are not to concern ourselves with how someone else is keeping the fast, unless that person is asking us for assistance or support.

This year, we have drawn down our diet a little more like the East does, so last week was our final week with meat, and this week holds our final few days with fish, eggs and dairy. Because our Sunday evenings are shared with an Anglican parish where we assist, there will be some Sundays with non-Lenten foods, and we will simply thank God for those breaks and enjoy them. I share our meals to encourage and help you to keep this worship. It is a training for ourselves, and an offering we give to God. Like all of these gifts, it is something He gives us first, which we then offer back to Him.

As we prepare for Lent, we must prepare for self-examination. So, in that frame of mind, if I have offended you or wronged you in any way, please forgive me and pray for me, a sinner. As for you readers, I pray that this will be a profitable and Holy Lent for you, however you observe it. Please pray for us, as well. Have a 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 @ 7:28 AM 0 comments

Sunday, April 13, 2025

Menu Plan: Holy Week

The Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem

We have made it. This week is the penultimate week of the year. We are walking the Via Dolorosa with Christ. We live each of those days with Him. It is the busiest, hardest, most challenging week of our year. Meals this week are lighter and simpler, and follow the strictest fasting rules. Traditionally, a full fast begins on the evening of Maundy (Mandatum - from the new mandate/commandment Jesus gives, as He established the priesthood, the sacraments of the Eucharist and confession), and goes through the end of the Vigil on Saturday, as we await Jesus by the tomb. The events of this week are what give shape to every other week of our year. We have the priesthood, the Eucharist, confession, because of this week. We fast on Wednesdays and Fridays because of Judas' selling Jesus on Wednesday and Christ's crucifixion on Friday. We celebrate a little Paschal feast every Sunday. This week is the most important week in the year. It is such a significant week that it is eight days long. The Sunday of the Resurrection is the eighth day of creation.

The final three days of Holy Week are counted as a single unit, the Triduum, or three days, which are a continuous liturgy. It begins with the liturgy on Maundy Thursday, then with the Good Friday liturgies, venerating the cross and the mourning at the tomb, finishing with the Vigil on Saturday evening, which flows into the Paschal liturgy at midnight.

This week is our first week of spring break (though two of the kids are in a biology and geometry class with a hired teacher, and they have class this week), but it is our work week. I have already made the sheera and assembled the baq'lawa and put it in the freezer to bake on the day of the feast, and made the red dye for the eggs, the girls helped me put together the waraq 'ounab, and we have frozen them so we can just cook them on that day, as well. Bright Week is our actual week of "rest" for spring break, by which I mean, our kids sleep in and rest, and I will be making loads of the foods I normally make for the day of the feast.

I pray for a blessed Holy Week and Triduum for you all!

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 @ 12:01 AM 0 comments

Sunday, April 06, 2025

Menu Plan: Passion Sunday

We are nearing the end of the fast. Properly, this Sunday is called Passion Sunday, was the beginning of the final week of Lent, with Holy Week being its own separate and distinct observance. Passion Sunday gave the general overview of the last days of Christ's life on earth, while with Palm Sunday, we enter into each day of that final week with Him quite specifically. Unfortunately, in the West, this has largely been relegated to a footnote to Palm Sunday, rather than its own observance. So, right on the heels of celebrating the Hosannas of Christ's triumphal entry, we often slide into the Good Friday narrative. This is a shame; it is jarring, and robs parishioners of the real walk of that final week of His life with Him during Holy week, from Palm Sunday, the first, celebratory, day, the instructive events of Holy Monday and Tuesday, with the fig tree and the annointing with perfume and oil, through His betrayal on Spy Wednesday, His Last Supper and the institution of the priesthood and the Eucharist, His arrest and trial, on Thursday, His crucifixion on Friday, and His rest in the tomb, as He harrowed Hell to free those captive to death on Saturday. We live through the events of that week each year. It seems to me that the modern church seems to think it is too much to ask of her people to take that walk with Him for one week each year. Meanwhile, our calendars and prayer books still show that this is the historic practice and we preserve it in this way only. We will keep His final days in mind this week, meditating on His words and actions, as we prepare for the hard Via Dolorosa we will embark on next Monday.

Passion Sunday marks the last week of Lent, as a summary of what Christ did to rescue us from sin and death, as we ready ourselves to walk each day of the way of sorrow with Him and, in the East, ends with Lazarus Saturday, the first resurrection which points to the greater one. We have begun observing it ourselves, as one of the commemorations that is significant to the life of the Church. Jesus raised Lazarus in anticipation of His own resurrection - and ours. One tradition for Lazarus Saturday is to make sweet, little breads shaped like a man wrapped in linens (Lazarakia). Another is to permit the eating of caviar (fish eggs) as little eggs, before we get to have eggs again on the Paschal feast.

Saint Lazarus lived for 30 years more after being raised by Jesus and became the first bishop of Cyprus - he had more work to do. We especially love how Jesus shows us that death is still our enemy with Lazarus. Even though He was about to raise him from the dead, He still wept at Lazarus' death. There was no nonsense about how he had gone to a better place or how he was somehow free of this mortal coil (which is gnostic heresy). He wept. This is because death is the enemy of all and Christ never wanted anyone to die. Raising Lazarus was His last major act before walking the Via Dolorosa of Holy Week, which is why Lazarus is remembered on the Saturday before Palm Sunday.

As for our Lent, I am pleased that, with the exception of a few half gallons of almond or oat milk, we have not used any fake dairy or meat or egg the entire time. I don't really count coconut milk, because it is a real ingredient in real historic cuisines and that oat/almond milk is a concession to my husband who adulterates his coffee shamelessly. We have done a better job of eating the many good things that are naturally Lenten. This led to the kids insisting that we skip the tabbouleh this year, since it is composed of vegetables and grains, and they say that is what they eat during Lent and can eat at any other time that isn't a feasting time. I don't know how I feel about that.

In all seriousness, this season has been an incredible time of growth for all of us, as well, though I don't know if all the kids are recognizing it in themselves. I pray that this Lent has been holy and blessed for you and that you have grown in spiritual strength and in love of Christ and His Church. 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 @ 11:48 AM 0 comments

Sunday, March 30, 2025

Menu Plan: Laetare Sunday

Laetare Jerusalem: et conventum facite omnes qui diligitis eam: gaudete cum laetitia, qui in tristitia fuistis: ut exsultetis, et satiemini ab uberibus consolationis vestrae.

Be joyful, O Jerusalem: and come together all you that love her: rejoice with joy, you that have been in sorrow: that you may exult, and be filled from the breasts of your consolation.

Laetare is milk-joy Sunday. It is the Mother's Day of the Church, remembering the Church as our Mother and the Blessed Mother herself, who is both the mother of God and of all believers. The Gospel reading is often that of the feeding of the 5000, the only miracle of Jesus that is presented in each of the Gospels. This year, it is the Prodigal Son. It is the fourth full week of Lent in the West, and just past the half way point. The austerity of the altar is relieved a little with the adornment of roses, the flower of the Theotokos, and the rose vestments. This is one of the Western Traditions that I would love to see in a unified Church. Much like Forgiveness Vespers from the East and the Imposition of Ashes in the West are both such powerful practices, I think this set of readings and prayers and the reinforcement of the earliest Church teachings on the Church as Mother and devotion to our Blessed Mother are powerfully presented in this little lightening of the fast by permitting dairy.

It is looking like rather than preparing the large meal I normally do for the Paschal feast, we might be participating in a potluck instead, which is a little weird after so many years of making everything. The kids are trying to convince me to make everything, anyway, and just serve it during Bright Week. I don't know about making everything, but will try to figure out how to include as much as possible. We would bring the waraq 'ounab (in fact, I will be preparing and freezing them for us to cook on the day of the potluck, probably this weekend) and some laban bi khiyar for sure to the potluck, and perhaps baq'lawa - I'd need to assemble and freeze it ahead of time, and bring a jar of the sheera for the day of baking - and a gluten-free Persian love cake. For breaking the fast after the vigil, I might make sirnica and Italian bacon and romano Pasqua bread to bring with some ham and strawberries and red eggs.

Please pray for us, and we will pray for you. May your Lent strengthen 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 @ 12:56 PM 0 comments

Sunday, March 23, 2025

Menu Plan: Third Sunday in Lent and the Annunciation

This week holds the last major feast before the end of Lent, the Annunciation. I love that the Annunciation closes the week begun by the feast of Saint Joseph, that the heads of the Holy Family are celebrated so closely together. It is Elijah's birthday, and we were always so glad to have everyone celebrating with him on his day. We have always thought about Saint Joseph and the Blessed Virgin taking special care of him.

I had such a whirlwind at the end of last week that I didn't get a chance to post the recipes, so I will be doing that this coming weekend.

Next week begins with Laetare, and that will be a precious break for us before the final push in Lent and Holy Week. It has been a challenging time all around us, both in our family and in the world of those we love. We are, again, trying to focus on simpler meals this week, but especially to focus on the internal life that we need to nurture.

Please pray for us, and we will pray for you. May your Lent strengthen 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 @ 11:47 PM 0 comments

Sunday, March 16, 2025

Menu Plan: Second Sunday in Lent

I arise today through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity, through belief in the Threeness, through confession of the Oneness of the Creator of creation.

Tomorrow is the feast of Saint Patrick. We actually have several feasts this week, and then next week have the feast of the Annunciation, a few of which permit us to enjoy fish. There is so much to read about Saint Patrick's life and his confession is available online, as well. We have so much to learn from the lives of our elder brothers and sisters in the faith and we should model our faith on theirs. I encourage you to read about their lives and read their words.

The feast of Saint Joseph is also this week, who is a particular patron of our family. We love the Holy Family, and Rich especially loves Saint Joseph. I love that the feast of Saint Joseph is the first day of the "week" which ends with the feast of the Annunciation. It is fitting that the bethrothed share this week.

We are eating simpler meals and cooking as much as we can from our pantry and freezers, and filling in with fresh produce. The oranges this year have been fantastic. We certainly appreciate these simple foods so much more during fasting seasons. We are breaking the fast a little this week with some dairy for the feast of Saint Patrick, and we will do the same for the Annunciation. Then, we will have Laetare Sunday two weeks from now. Those breaks are a blessing. They allow us to fast within our strength. We had a little eggplant this past week, but the kids were asking where all the eggplant was, as we were in Lent, and they were looking forward to all the eggplant. So, tonight's dinner is eggplant again, and I'll find another way to fit it into our menu this week or next week.

We are praying quite a bit during this Lent. Between what is going on in Southwest Asia and North Africa, and what is going on in this country, as well as many friends with cancer and other health issues, it is a praying time and Lent is the perfect time for that. Please pray for us, and we will pray for you. May your Lent strengthen 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 @ 11:20 AM 0 comments

Sunday, March 09, 2025

Menu Plan: First Sunday in Lent

There are many beautiful icons of the Temptation of Jesus, but this painting by Duccio captures the essense of our Lenten journey with Christ in the desert. After being driven to the desert to fast for 40 days and be tested (not as a trick or pop quiz, but to model for us and to teach the way we make our spiritual battle), He commands Satan away, with the angels waiting to attend Him.

Our first full week of Lent is upon us, and it is good. The bright sadness has begun. Last week, we were able to take a tiny, overnight, road trip to visit a priest friend and his wife, while Rich did some work meetings. It was great to bring most of our kids with us and just break up the monotony of life right now. Since Rich's meetings didn't start until later in the morning, we could ease into the day and start with morning prayer with them, as well, before we all went our different directions. Spring is springing much more on the west side and it was such an encouragement to our spirits.

Spring is starting to catch up here, too, and Rich is working hard to finish pruning the fruit trees before he loses his chance. I've rearranged some things on the menu, and will post the recipe for the bisilla on the blog this week. Also, this week, we have the first birthday of the year in our household. The kids keep growing up, and it is bittersweet. We love to see the adults they are becoming, but miss their little faces and voices.

Please pray for us, and we will pray for you. May you have a holy and blessed Lent.

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 @ 7:03 AM 0 comments

Sunday, March 02, 2025

Menu Plan: Quinquagesima (Forgiveness Sunday), Mardi Gras, and Ash Wednesday

These are the last moments of meat for us in the West. Today is Forgiveness Sunday in the East, also known as Cheesefare Sunday (farewell to dairy). The Eastern Church will begin Lent tomorrow. We have a couple more days, because we begin on Ash Wednesday, midweek. Quinquagesima is the 50th day before the Paschal feast for us in the West. We celebrate together this year, glory to God, and we continue to pray, that both East and West will unite to celebrate together every year. The practices of Ash Wednesday are so profound, as are those of Forgiveness Sunday, and I hope that eventually the Church will get her act together and find a way to bring them together in all ways.

I've explained before that xerophagy is the accurate term for Lenten fasting. It means dry eating. We restrict meat, fish, dairy, eggs, oil and wine, which means our food is not as lubricated as normal. There are two strict fast days (no food or nutritive drink) in the West, Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. There is an optional strict fast from the evening after the Maundy Thursday service through the end of the Paschal Vigil. In the East, the first week of Lent, from Clean Monday through their vespers service on Wednesday is supposed to be as strict a fast as possible, with the guidance of a spiritual father or mother, and they share the same Triduum fasting, I believe. Aside from that, the earliest rule of the Church is to eat no meat, no fish (with the exception of shellfish - and because of the expense, we eat them sparingly), no dairy or eggs, no olive oil (all oil in a few jurisdictions), no wine (or alcohol). On Saturdays and Sundays, the rule is relaxed to include olive oil and wine, and on a few significant feast days we are able to eat fish, and one day caviar is permitted (Lazarus Saturday, the day before Palm Sunday, with fish eggs acting as a shadow of the eggs associated with the Resurrection). In the West, we celebrate Laetare Sunday about midway through the fast, and on that day we also eat dairy and egg. None of this is to imply that eating or that any of these foods are bad. They are good things from which we abstain as a discipline to train ourselves, following the example and teaching of our Lord.

This is worship. Worship throughout the Bible, Old Testament and New, always means sacrifice. It is not prayer, though that usually accompanies it. It is not singing hymns and songs, though they may also accompany it. It is not homilies or sermons, though they are edifying. It is sacrifice. The sacrifice that Christ offered for us once for all that we join into in the Eucharist. The sacrifice of something good for our own good in fasting. In the West, penance is emphasized, and while this is absolutely a part of our Lenten journey, fasting, praying, and almsgiving are seen more as a discipline Christ gives us through the Church to grow us spiritually. Young children, the elderly, those who have serious medical conditions, those who are hospitalized, pregnant and nursing women, are all exempt. There is no make-up required for these people. Their fast is considered complete. In all cases, fasting or not, we are to keep our eyes on our own plate. We are not to concern ourselves with how someone else is keeping the fast, unless that person is asking us for assistance or support.

Because we serve an Anglican parish on Sundays, we will be relaxing the fasting on Sundays to permit fish, as the parishioners are not required to keep the stricter fasting rules, so you will sometimes see fish on those days. My posts here about how we fast are not meant to show off, they are meants to show the reality of how we live our faith, and (I hope) to give encouragement and meal ideas to those seeking them. Now that all of our children are old enough to keep most or all of the fast, we are trying to live out the Lenten Rule more closely. Nejat is young enough not to be required to keep the fast, so we make sure we plan for her to eat on strict fast days, should she choose that, and she knows that she can eat foods that we cannot if we want to avoid wasting food or if she needs it. However, even she attempts to fast with the Church with us.

As we prepare for Lent, we must prepare for self-examination. So, in that frame of mind, if I have offended you or wronged you in any way, please forgive me and pray for me, a sinner. As for you readers, I pray that this will be a profitable and Holy Lent for you, however you observe it. Please pray for us, as well. Have a 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 @ 8:02 AM 2 comments

Saturday, March 23, 2024

Menu Plan: Holy Week

The Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem

We have made it. This week is the penultimate week of the year. We are walking the Via Dolorosa with Christ. We live each of those days with Him. It is the busiest, hardest, most challenging week of our year. Meals this week are lighter and simpler, and follow the strictest fasting rules. Traditionally, a full fast begins on the evening of Maundy (Mandatum - from the new mandate/commandment Jesus gives, as He established the priesthood, the sacraments of the Eucharist and confession), and goes through the end of the Vigil on Saturday, as we await Jesus by the tomb. The events of this week are what give shape to every other week of our year. We have the priesthood, the Eucharist, confession, because of this week. We fast on Wednesdays and Fridays because of Judas' selling Jesus on Wednesday and Christ's crucifixion on Friday. We celebrate a little Paschal feast every Sunday. This week is the most important week in the year. It is such a significant week that it is eight days long. The Sunday of the Resurrection is the eighth day of creation.

Our school break begins this week, but this first week is for all the services of the week and a lot of preparations in our home for the feast. There is a lot of cooking and cleaning to do besides the spiritual preparations. Next week will be our rest and rejoicing. Since everyone is old enough to participate at some level in the stricter fasts this week, Good Friday will not have meals planned, though Nejat may eat a light meal after the liturgy that day. On Holy Saturday, the two youngest may break their fast a little earlier than the rest of us. Rich has given me a mandate to break the feast a little earlier, so I can taste food as I prepare it. It always feels a little terrible to do that, because everyone else is fasting while I am not, but I try to be discreet, and it is literally tastes, not a whole meal. It is a small sacrifice I can make to ensure our church and family and friends can enjoy an excellent meal for the Paschal feast. What I'm trying to say is not to feel too badly if you cannot keep up with the strictest rules this week. Struggle within your strength.

May you have a blessed Holy Week! Please pray for our strength and health this week. If you are Orthodox, I pray for a continued Holy Lent.

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 @ 9:52 AM 0 comments

Sunday, March 17, 2024

Menu Plan: Passion Sunday

I am a little sad that we are entering the final week of Lent at the time that the East is entering the first week. Properly, this Sunday is called Passion Sunday, was the beginning of the final week of Lent, with Holy Week being its own separate and distinct observance. Passion Sunday gave the general overview of the last days of Christ's life on earth, while with Palm Sunday, we enter into each day of that final week with Him quite specifically. Unfortunately, in the West, this has largely been relegated to a footnote to Palm Sunday, rather than its own observance. So, right on the heels of celebrating the Hosannas of Christ's triumphal entry, we slide into the Good Friday narrative. This is a shame; it is jarring, and robs parishioners of the real walk of that final week of His life with Him during Holy week, from Palm Sunday, the first, instructive events of Holy Monday and Tuesday, with the fig tree and the annointing with perfume and oil, through His betrayal on Spy Wednesday, His Last Supper and the institution of the priesthood and the Eucharist, His arrest and trial, His crucifixion, and His rest in the tomb, as He harrowed Hell to free those captive to death. We live through the events of that week each year. It seems to me that the modern church seems to think it is too much to ask of her people to take that walk with Him for one week each year. Meanwhile, our calendars and prayer books still show that this is the historic practice and we preserve it in this way only. We will keep His final days in mind this week, meditating on His words and actions, as we prepare for the hard Via Dolorosa we will embark on next Monday.

Passion Sunday marks the last week of Lent, as a summary of what Christ did to rescue us from sin and death, as we ready ourselves to walk each day of the way of sorrow with Him and, in the East, ends with Lazarus Saturday, the first resurrection which points to the greater one. We have begun observing it ourselves, as one of the commemorations that is significant to the life of the Church. Jesus raised Lazarus in anticipation of His own resurrection - and ours. One tradition for Lazarus Saturday is to make sweet, little breads shaped like a man wrapped in linens (Lazarakia). Another is to permit the eating of caviar (fish eggs) as little eggs, before we get to have eggs again on the Paschal feast. We will be doing both of those, but it will have to wait until after liturgy, because of that difference in the timing of Lent for East and West.

So, because of the feasts of Saint Patrick and Saint Joseph this week, we get fish twice! Even though our Lent has been interrupted and truncated, in some ways, the relief we are given from the discipline is a blessing. We embrace it and enjoy it. We have a special devotion to Saint Joseph here, Rich even more so, and love him so much. He is Elijah's patron saint, as well, and we love to remember and celebrate him. Our grocery stores had some great deals on fish, too, so we are enjoying a fish pie for Saint Patrick's day after church and a Spanish fish and shellfish stew for Saint Joseph's feast. Rich is planting some peas today, in honor of Saint Patrick.

Now that we are at the end of our fast, I invite you to walk with the Church in these last days of Christ's suffering. Look for a Catholic (especially Traditional Latin or Eastern Rite) or Anglican type church in your area which has actual Holy Week services, and go to them next week. If your church does not observe Passion Sunday, read through the gospel accounts of the Passion and prepare yourself for the daily Via Dolorosa that is to come. Next week, read through the events of each day of Holy Week, beginning with Palm Sunday, and allow them to penetrate your heart and mind. Saturate yourself in them. Pray an hour with Christ in the garden on Maundy Thursday. Fast with Him on Good Friday. Pray at the tomb on Holy Saturday. Prepare yourself for a full rejoicing when He bursts from the tomb. Don't limit it to one day's notice and leave Him. Remember that the Paschaltide begins on the Paschal feast and goes 40 days to the Ascension and another 10 days to Pentecost. Do not let it end with one Sunday. You will find life in His life.

Keep praying for us, and we continue to pray for you. Blessed Lent (and Forgiveness Sunday for our Eastern brethren). Forgive me, a sinner.

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 @ 11:20 AM 0 comments

Sunday, March 10, 2024

Menu Plan: Laetare Sunday

Laetare Jerusalem: et conventum facite omnes qui diligitis eam: gaudete cum laetitia, qui in tristitia fuistis: ut exsultetis, et satiemini ab uberibus consolationis vestrae.

Be joyful, O Jerusalem: and come together all you that love her: rejoice with joy, you that have been in sorrow: that you may exult, and be filled from the breasts of your consolation.

Laetare is milk-joy Sunday. It is the Mother's Day of the Church, remembering the Church as our Mother and the Blessed Mother herself, who is both the mother of God and of all believers. The traditional Gospel reading is that of the feeding of the 5000, the only miracle of Jesus that is presented in each of the Gospels. It is the fourth full week of Lent in the West. The austerity of the altar is relieved a little with the adornment of roses, the flower of the Theotokos, and the rose vestments. This is one of the Western Traditions that I would love to see in a unified Church. Much like Forgiveness Vespers from the East and the Imposition of Ashes in the West are both such powerful practices, I think this set of readings and prayers and the reinforcement of the earliest Church teachings on the Church as Mother and devotion to our Blessed Mother are powerfully presented in this little lightening of the fast.

We enjoyed our dairy today and got to celebrate Amira's birthday, though I think I overdid it, which is definitely not in the spirit of Lent. I'm trying to keep in mind Saint Gregory Palamas' words about the fast, and think of sharing our excess and leftovers with those who fast out of necessity, rather than choice. Even our prayers at church tonight echoed that, with prayers for those who fast because of war, famine, homelessness, or illness. Our fast is voluntary, theirs is not, and we must remember them in action, not simply in our thoughts. Next week is Passion Sunday, and then Palm Sunday follows that, which is a little startling. This year Lent has gone by so quickly - in all probability, it feels that way because of the break we took with the wedding and so forth. We are more than half way through Lent.

Evil DST is upon us again, and I really wish we could just ignore it. Workplaces can shift their hours, so can schools and activities, and we can just all go on in rational, real time. On the plus side, we had the winds of spring come through this weekend, and that gives me hope that we will find ourselves outside of winter misery sooner than later.

We found an incredible number of deals on excellent produce this past week, and we are enjoying that bounty. Again, this is just one of the ways that God shows His care for us. My favorite kind of pear is the Comice, and our Grocery Outlet had them for $0.79 a pound, which is a price I rarely see on other kinds of pears, let alone more "specialty" ones. We should be able to enjoy all the apples, oranges, pears, tangelos, and other produce I found for at least two weeks. We had to adjust our menu once last week, so we have a repeat this week, but I am looking forward to it, as well.

We are now in the last part of Lent, as I said, and preparing our hearts and homes for the Resurrection. I am looking forward to it so much. It is the highest feast of the Church year and my favorite holiday of all time. I wish we were celebrating together with the East. That is the only sorrow in it. My Bible study only has two more sections in it, so we will finish up with it the week before Holy Week, and be able to take our break, then begin again with another study.

Keep praying for us, and we continue to pray for you. Blessed Lent (and beginnings of Lent for our Eastern brethren).

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 @ 8:42 PM 0 comments

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