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Sunday, September 06, 2026

Menu Plan: September 6 - 12

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, August 23, 2026

Menu Plan: End of Summer

What a week! Fair is over, and we can feel the winds of change, right on schedule, bringing winter to us. That is sad every time. I wish we had a real autumn here. Every year it has been harder and harder to get volunteers for our community club's booth, and this year was the worst, by far. It was basically us and one other family doing most of the work, with several other people who came to help, but times when we needed four or five people there, and only had two. It was pretty brutal. We aren't quite finished, as there is still clean up, but we are looking forward to a non-fair week.

We have two family birthdays this week, though only one in the house. We still haven't decided on the dessert, so when we have that set, I will update the menu.

Our little garden is still blessing us. Considering that we thought we wouldn't have a garden this year, with all the turmoil, I am so grateful for how well it is treating us. A lot of our meals are featuring produce from our garden. We do have a bunch of repeat meals this week, simply because of how fair schedules went.

We are heading into September, and we are still trying to eat down our freezers. I will do another Shelftember challenge. Our hope is that we can make room in the freezers for a mutton and a steer. We also want to butcher quite a few of our ducks, turkeys, and geese, which will set us up for the year with fresh, healthful meat for our family and church family.

Yet again, I have cause to thank God for our parish family. They have been so supportive and kind, and are helping with the meal this week. Some of the food we are bringing was from another church meal and was in our freezers, so we can just heat it and serve it tonight. This also clears room in our freezer, so I am grateful for that, too.

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 @ 12:58 PM 0 comments

Sunday, August 16, 2026

Menu Plan: August 16 - 22

Last week, we were able to take a quick trip down and back to visit Dominic and Shawn for Winnie's first birthday. It was a whirlwind, but delightful. She is taking her first steps and her other grandmother gave her a new set of wheels, pink with light up wheels in the rear. We kind of had to do a stealth visit, because there wasn't time to see anyone else while we were there. Good thing we have a peaceful, quiet week this week! (Not at all).

One of the things we did while we were down there, was to pick blackberries and plums from our dear friends' yard. I am trying not to just eat all the blackberries myself, but perhaps I will make a little crisp or something for us tomorrow. I'm hoping we will get a chance for a longer trip down, both to see the kids again, but also to see other friends and family.

Speaking of tomorrow, fair week officially begins tomorrow. We are all taking our turns on shifts at the fair booth, so it's a bit of a revolving door here all week. A few people t home, a few people at fair, then trading places. Because of our trip, we missed the last window to put in most fair entries. However, we will be entering some baked goods and plants and herbs, though.

Jerome's birthday is this week, but with fair, I'm not sure how that will go. Then, next week, we have two birthdays, between Mariam and Shawn. That is now four birthdays in August! With our daughters in law and granddaughters, we now have one birthday in January, two in March, one in May, two in June, two in July, four in August, two in October, and one in December. Birthday season now runs the whole year.

Thank God for our parish family. I knew we would be exhausted from our road trip, and so they took care of the meal at church for us. It was so delicious, and all we did was bring some corn to boil and some butter. This is another exhausting week for us, and I have a freezer meal ready for church next week, but we are still going to be pretty bone weary when that comes. The smoke has lifted a little, so we can breathe a little more easily, but we are a little more stuffed up back home than we were while visiting the kids.

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 @ 6:49 PM 0 comments

Sunday, August 09, 2026

Menu Plan: 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.

The feast isn't until Saturday. 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.

Inevitably, 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?

Last week, Rich and I were able to go to East Wenatchee's Havana Nights for dancing. The smoke had cleared enough that it was safe to be outdoors. We had been in Wenatchee earlier in the week when you couldn't even see the hills across the river, or the river itself. This week holds a wonderful day for us, as well, with Winnie's birthday. We are so excited for her first birthday! We also have an opportunity to have a visit with some of our kids' godparents, and are looking forward to that, as well. As next week is going to be a busy week with fair, I am really hoping we get a chance to rest up in preparation for it this week.

Speaking of needing rest, please continue to pray for our family. Our life is really catching up with us, and we are just bone weary, exhausted all the time. We are forgetting important things and missing things that need to be done. It's wearing on us more and more. Please pray for our whole area. There are at least 40 fires burning all around us. The smoke is pretty bad, though not the worst we've ever seen here. Pray for the families and business who have been displaced, and for the firefighters.

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 @ 12:51 PM 0 comments

Sunday, August 02, 2026

Menu Plan: August 2 - 8

Technically, the Dormition fast has already begun. 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. We are all under so much pressure, and all coping as best as we can, and right now, I think our fast is surving it and deepening our prayers. So, please forgive me for the poor example in our menus.

Our gleaning club and garden are keeping us in beautiful, fresh produce, and we are enjoying that. We haven't had the time for a lot of preserving, but we have watermelon, peaches, apples, plums and pluots, tomatoes, peppers, garlic, salad greens, herbs, onions, fresh peas, arugula, all sorts of lovely things to eat. The winds have been coming, and with it some cold, which makes us concerned for how early winter will come, and what kind of winter we'll have, but also because of its impact on fires and our fire season. Please pray for our area, as there are so many fires, with homes lost, and lots of destruction and smoke. It is hard for the farmers and their animals as well as families.

This week holds the feast of the Transfiguration, which is also the anniversary of the loss of our sweet grandson. As hard as that memory is, I do love that it is always going to be tied with our Lord's revelation and display of how this world and the next is not strictly separated. 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 two 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. Glory to God in His saints!

We've had a lot of losses in our circle lately. Just in the past ten days we have had two memorials for men who left their wives as widows. One, who was 82, and one who was 33, leaving a young wife (one of our older children's friends) and a year old son. Lord have mercy on them. Please pray for these men and for their families. They do not have a lot of people who will pray for their dead.

Our sweet neighbors flagged us down the evening after their father's memorial, when we were coming home from our other errands, to bring us leftovers from the memorial and that is providing the meal for our church tonight. The folks from church will bring accompaniments to go with the smoked turkey, baked potatoes, and so on, and the meal I had planned for today will be put out on another Sunday this month, which gives me more relief. I had absolutely no cooking to do today, and got to truly rest, after a lovely brunch that Rich made for us. Our parish family is still taking their desire to lift as many burdens as they can from us quite seriously. We have people providing meals, cooking on Sundays for church, driving me to events I need to attend in other towns when I'm not up for the longer drives, offering us places to stay when we need a respite, giving our kids a fun place to go so they don't have to sit in the sorrow we are enduring. We cannot thank them enough. Please pray for us, but also for them, that they would be blessed and relieved as they have done for us.

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 @ 12:10 PM 1 comments

Sunday, July 26, 2026

Menu Plan: July 26 - August 1

Our quiet weekend away for my birthday turned into something a little bigger. We were heading over to dance on Alki Beach, at an organized salsa and bachata on the beach event, anyway. Besides Nordstrom holding their annual sale to coincide with my birthday each year (thank you!), Bite of Seattle was going on, so we were able to go eat lots of cool foods, watch cooking demonstrations and listen to music while we were over there, too. We were not at Bite when the shooting happened, and we are praying for the victims and all the people who were there and terrified. Rich rented a cute little beach bungalow, and we got to ease into our mornings, and walk along the beach or to restaurants, and since our church has liturgy in the evening, we could even take Sunday morning much more quietly. Some dear friends here in town took the kids who are still at home so they could be with friends instead of alone, and that made it a fun weekend for them, too.

We have a couple dinners out this week, one without the kids, and the other including them. They get to come to the survivor dinner after airshow, and be appreciated for all their hard work, too.

We are approaching the Dormition Fast, and with having the granddaughters over more and all the stress in our lives, I think we are going to be more lax this year, as we were with the Apostles' Fast. We don't know if this is a season in which we need to be easier on ourselves, or if we would benefit from fasting more. The burden of what we are carrying right now feels like a big fast, all the time.

We are starting to reap the benefits of the growing season here, and had delightful salads from our own lettuce, cucumbers, peppers, and garlic, we've been cooking up arugula from our garden, have loads of peaches through our gleaning club that are just perfection, plus beets galore for salads and braises and gratins and pickles that Rich was able to glean from a local farmer with them. Our farmers' market has blessed us with lovely tiny zucchini, pie cherries (which we pitted and froze for later, not having time to cook them up right now), plums, tomatoes, eggplant, tomatillos, and raspberries. It is the best time of year here.

Our 250th Anniversary of our country Melting Pot-Luck is this weekend, and I am looking forward to that. It is fantastic to taste the foods of other people's heritage and get to know the people in our area more. Yet again, our parish family is taking care of the meal for tonight. We told them of our birthday plans, and they all stepped up to help. We could not be more 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 @ 1:50 PM 0 comments

Sunday, July 19, 2026

Menu Plan: July 19 - 25

They say it's your birthday! It's my birthday too, yeah!

My 50th birthday is this week. Rich wanted to do something big for it, but we are both so exhausted, and it just sounded like a lot of work, no matter how fun it might end up being for me. So, instead, he took the day off for my birthday, and we are going to go to a salsa dance on the beach and spend some time window shopping at cute, kitchsy places, and having a fun, easy going time. I'm not huge on big gifts or big parties for my birthday, I really just want people who know me well to remember and wish me a happy birthday.

This week begins with a neighborhood picnic where we will grill all sorts of meats and delicious things and share with our neighborhood. Besides my birthday, though, we have a fairly low key schedule, which is much needed. There is so much to catch up on here, with all the extra things going on in our lives. Please keep us in your prayers, still. It's been a little discouraging lately.

A set of friends from church is coming with pizzas for us this week, as they said they could see we needed blessings and rest. God bless them. We are grateful for all the support we've had. We are all so exhausted from all these challenges, and it feels like we are always tired.

Again, I have reason to bless my parish family this week. One family is taking care of the bulk of dinner for church, and the rest of the parish are bringing things to go with that meal.

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 @ 11:50 AM 2 comments

Sunday, July 12, 2026

Menu Plan: July 12 - 18

We get to do some fun things this week, which makes up for a lot of hard weeks over the past couple months. It is also the 32nd anniversary of Rich and my first meeting on Wednesday. We're going to get some seafood and drinks, and celebrate. The place we are planning to go often has live music, though I doubt they will in the middle of the week.

You will see that leftover cake features on our menu quite a bit this week. Who knew that with four kids out of the house we would have leftover cake? Even bringing it to church Sunday, and sharing with others, we are still eating the remainder of three cakes. Three. Cakes. I'm going to have to start sending baked goods to Rich's work now.

The problem is that I want to bake more things this week. Our freezers are full, and we are not eating as much as we used to eat. So, I need a new plan. I should start serving bread with each meal, like we did when I was a kid. There wasn't a meal without bread and butter. Then, we have the issue of the cost of butter. On the plus side, our freezers are also full of butter, so we bought it at a lower price and it will free up freezer space. Hmmm. . .

Thanks be to God for our parish family. They have been so wonderful about either supplying or supplementing the meals at church, to lift the burden on us while we are going through such a hard time. I could not be more 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 @ 7:35 PM 0 comments

Sunday, July 05, 2026

Menu Plan: July 5 - 11

It is another family birthday this week. We have to postpone the party so we are having a smaller family dinner this week.

A lot of this past week was quite upside down, as we had the granddaughters while their cousin was born and coming home. It's been quite a while since we had two little people living here, and we are tired. It was delightful to have them here, but we are well aware why it is that young people have babies.

Because of that shift in our week, we moved some meals to this week, and some to later times this summer. Sadly, we won't have the girls here most of this week, but we will go back to our frequent visits, rather than having them live here with us. The recipe round up will be finished this week.

There have been a few disappointments this week, with the other issues going on, and that has been a little discouraging. We continue in prayer, and try to remember to give our burdens to God whose yoke is easy and burden is light.

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 @ 7:09 PM 0 comments

Sunday, June 28, 2026

Menu Plan: June 28 - July 4

First-enthroned of the apostles, teachers of the universe: Entreat the Master of all to grant peace to the world, and to our souls great mercy!

Tomorrow is the feast of Saints Peter and Paul. They are celebrated together, to show their unity, the unity of the Apostles and the Church. They gave us the Church. Glory to God! With this feast, we now return to ordinary time until the Dormition Fast.

We didn't really keep the Apostles' Fast this year. Our life has been too challenging, and we just feel a bit weaker. I don't know if we will even be able to keep the Dormition Fast. We already do it a little more lightly, and if we have little with us, I might do that on a lighter scale.

It is the last few days of June already. This month, this year, has been racing. We are approaching the 250th anniversary of our Independence as a country. I was born in the Bicentennial. I was a few weeks late for the actual day. The number one song the week I was born was American Girl by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. I am a patriotic person; I love our country; I love celebrating our country and its ideals. Those are the things I am presenting to lay the tracks for what I am about to say. I'm having a very hard time being excited about this big celebration. It's one thing to acknowledge that between the genocide of Native Americans and the land built on the backs of slaves, our years of second class citizenship for those former slaves and for other people we needed to come to our country to build railroads and do the work we wouldn't, while we promised a better life, that our country was an ideal rarely met. It is another to see people I know, not just random people out there, who are now making all the same justifications and arguments that were made to support all of those awful things in those events. With how our administration is treating its own people, with how we treated people coming here for the World Cup who were of the "wrong" color or nationality or religion, with how we have been waging war, I just can't look to the ideal as well as I did before. The people I know are actively supporting the opposite of that ideal, and it hurts a bit. It's easy to say it's just talking heads or politicians until the people you called your friends are saying and supporting it. Normally, I don't share much politically here, so I may regret saying this, but there it is.

Last year, rather than just complain, or mope, I planned a Melting Pot-Luck to celebrate our Independence Day, and I wanted to do that again this year. However, with all that has been going on in our family, with all the extra responsibilities, plus the deep sorrow I am having regarding our socio-political environment, I just don't feel up to it. I may put feelers out to do it later this month. Maybe the weekend of my birthday, so we can have a late 250th celebration of what our country should be. I try to focus on good things I can do, rather than just complaining, and I try to look for things for which to be grateful, rather than to regret. I'm trying to keep doing that.

In other news, the baby still isn't here. Please pray for that new baby and their family, also for us, as we will be caring for their children while they are doing the important work of bringing a new life into our world. Our schedule last week was brutal, so there are repeats of our meals for this week.

Tonight at church, there is another thing for which I can be grateful. A family from the mission Orthodox church here moved last fall, and gave us a lot of what was in their freezers. Their lovely, homemade pasta sauce is being used in dinner tonight to feed our parish after Evening Prayer. Things are tight for so many people in our country, and getting tighter, and we have never had to worry about how to feed our own family, or how to feed other people, and for that I am truly grateful. God has always provided for us, between Rich's work, wonderful connections with grocers and farmers, and the generosity of people who look out for our parish. The people at the parish here have also given so generously of their time, talent, and treasure to help our parish and our family in this challenging time.

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 @ 12:55 PM 0 comments

Sunday, June 21, 2026

Menu Plan: June 21 - 27

This week was our first week without any airshow or other outside events. However, we were on baby watch for the last part of last week and still are this week, for our granddaughters' new cousin. We are very close, and they could use your prayers.

Over the past couple weeks, I have become a futbol fan. I've been watching the world cup, and keeping track of teams and wins. It's been easier for me to figure out the rules and how play is going while I watch, than American football. I still don't really know much about it, but I'm learning. We are basically rooting for our favorite countries and countries of our ethnic background, though. Since Rich has been to both Panama and Croatia and loved both, I asked which team he was rooting for in their match, and he said Croatia all the way.

Speaking of Croatia, it is their Independence Day this week, and we are celebrating by making food from their country. I really wish we could go there again, and one day we will.

Even without the airshow events, it is still paying us back for our work. The dinner for church was largely provided by leftovers from airshow dinners, which were in our freezer, and an Austrian/German/Croatian cake for Father's Day that I made for Rich. That cake matched much of his ethnic background, as well as the country we have adopted as our new homeland, one day.

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 @ 12:12 PM 0 comments

Sunday, June 14, 2026

Menu Plan: June 14 - 20

I don't know why I plan any meals during airshow week. We always end up with leftovers from volunteer meals or events in the evening or other things like that and don't really eat at home. I shouldn't even buy groceries for that week. Even this week is laden with leftovers from last week that can either last in our fridge or are in our freezer for later this week.

Aside from the exhaustion and busy-ness of airshow this week, we also had some other important events. Unfortunately, they didn't go as we would have wished, and so that was disappointing and exhausting in its own right. Rich's birthday is this week, and we were hoping for good news for his birthday. Please keep praying for our family.

Our parish family has been coming through for us in amazing ways. Tonight's dinner is provided by them, we are only bringing some melons I picked up on my unnecessary grocery trip last 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 @ 11:59 AM 0 comments

Sunday, June 07, 2026

Menu Plan: Corpus Christi

"Come together in common, one and all without exception in charity, in one faith and in one Jesus Christ, who is of the race of David according to the flesh, the son of man, and the Son of God, so that with undivided mind you may obey the bishop and the priests, and break one Bread which is the medicine of immortality and the antidote against death, enabling us to live forever in Jesus Christ."

- Saint Ignatius' Letter to the Ephesians, paragraph 20, written c. A.D. 80-110

“Take note of those who hold heterodox [heretical] opinions on the grace of Jesus Christ which has come to us, and see how contrary their opinions are to the mind of God. . . . They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer because they do not confess that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ, flesh which suffered for our sins and which that Father, in his goodness, raised up again. They who deny the gift of God are perishing in their disputes”

- Saint Ignatius' Letter to the Smyrnaeans 6:2-7:1, written c. A.D. 110

St. Ignatius became the third bishop of Antioch, succeeding St. Evodius, who was the immediate successor of St. Peter. He was a first hand witness of Christ as a child, heard St. John preach when he was a boy, and later became a disciple to him, he was a close friend of St. Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, who also was a direct student of Saint John the Evangelist. Seven of his letters written to various Christian communities have been preserved. Eventually, he received the martyr's crown as he was thrown to wild beasts in the arena. He was both a first hand witness of Christ, as well as a direct successor of the Apostles and Apostolic Fathers. His testimony about the Church and the faith are powerful. It is because of the many who took exception to his teachings, who wanted to disprove his existence, or invalidate his writings, that we actually have so much of his work. The more they dug, the more they authenticated his work.

Corpus Christi is another Western, fairly modern, feast, and we unapologetically adore it. It is the celebration of the Real Presence of the Body of Christ in the world. It is a feast of His glorious body, both literal in the Eucharist, and figurative in the Church. I'm not sure if we will be having a procession today, but that is one of my favorite things we do on this day. You have the people, who are symbolically the Body of Christ on earth, displaying, proclaiming and celebrating the Eucharist, which is actually the Body of Christ on earth. We pray and sing hymns and proclaim in word and action that Christ is alive and here with us. He offers Himself in the Eucharist as a gift to us, a medicine for sin and for our salvation. Glory to God!

It is airshow week and incredibly busy. We also have a day full for our family trial and are hoping for excellent news. Please pray fervently, especially Wednesday and Thursday.

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 @ 11:06 AM 0 comments

Saturday, June 06, 2026

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. Because we are a week apart this year, ironically, we are celebrating Trinity Sunday on the same day. 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.

This week, appropriately, we ordained a new priest for our local church. Rich and I have been helping here for years, as a stop gap, to get this little parish to a place where they are served by dedicated clergy. Of course, we are still assisting, but this is a major waypoint for this parish, and we are rejoicing. Our church had the meal largely catered by a wonderful local restaurant, and a few of us women provided the desserts. I found out that crème brulée requires 80 eggs, three gallons of cream, and nine cups of sugar.

This has been a busy week for so many reasons this week. That is why this is posted so late. Friday ws a major point in the troubles our family has been enduring. We have been praying and were able to bring 32 people to be with us, praying, and being witnesses, in support of our family. That was a high moment. We were not prepared for a hold, though, and have to wait until next week to know the full outcome of this. Please keep praying.

The good news is that, aside from our kids' godparents coming from my home town, a clergy couple from our old hometown, former priests from this area returning to come in support, friends and neighbors, our local adult kids, even Dominic and Shawn came with Winnie (who behaved perfectly as we sat and observed and prayed). We had four priests, a deacon, and a retired pastor there. We had a retired firefighter/EMT, and a retired reserve police officer. We had business owners, homemakers, future lawyers (he ought to be a lawyer by the end of this year), friends of our kids, neighbors, everyone you can think of - and every age from nine months to 83 years old. Dominic, Shawn and Winnie stayed the weekend, and we were able to decompress and rest from a very exhausting experience. I made cinnamon rolls to bring with us to either celebrate, or to commiserate. It was kind of in between, but that was what made up our dinner Friday.

Next week is also a huge, busy week for us, and we are all starting to feel a lot of this in our health, so please pray for our strength. Since we have been slammed for the past few weeks, with no relief for another week and a half, the recipes are on hold. I will get them posted as soon as I can.

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 @ 8:29 AM 0 comments

Sunday, May 24, 2026

Menu Plan: Pentecost Week

Alleluia! The Spirit of the Lord fills the world! Oh come, let us adore Him. Alleluia!

This is the second highest feast of the Church year, the birthday of the Church, herself. It is the undoing of Babel, the empowering by the Holy Spirit of the Apostles to spread the Church throughout the world to every people, tribe, tongue and nation, and the first glimmer of the Holy City that is to come. On Pentecost, the first law was given, and on the new Pentecost, the lasting law was given. Glory to God!

Because of Pentecost, this is a fast free week. That's convenient, because the kids have a homeschool dance to attend and they don't have to try to pick their way though the food there. Depending on how this week goes, I will be trying to making more pickles. Or we will just be eating a ton of asparagus before it dries out too much, and hope last year's supply is enough to get us through next year.

Our Tongues of Flame Barbecue was another success. We had a lot of delicious food and a lot of fun. Again, I am so thankful to our Parish family for their contributions and assistance. We have a busy week coming up, too, not just during the week, but next weekend our deacon is going to be ordained a priest, and we will have quite the full house at church.

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 @ 10:21 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, May 10, 2026

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. We begin the normal fast after Ascension Day, then we will have the celebration of Pentecost, the birthday of the Church.

Today is Mother's Day and all I wanted was rest and not to be responsible for everything. So, Rich and the kids are putting together a brunch for me, and cleaning it up, too. We have evening church and dinner after that. I meant to order myself a new knitting tool as a treat a couple weeks ago, but forgot, so we will do that tonight.

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.

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

Sunday, May 03, 2026

Menu Plan: May 3 - 9

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

It's the Dominic and Shawn show this week! I planned meals that I thought would be simpler for them to make this week, in the hopes that I wouldn't burden them more than the drive and looking after teenage girls already will.

In the meantime, Rich, Elijah and I are soaking up the sun in LA. Of course, there is sun at home, too, but we have sun and ocean and beach. By the end of the week, we will be home again, and a long time friend of Rich's (and now mine) is coming through the area with her husband, so we will get to see her for the first time in at least a decade.

Again, everyone is pulling together and helping us do what needs to be done during this time, and lifting our own burdens so generously and beautifully. Our church is taking care of dinner entirely while we are away. They are looking out for our kids and us, without seeking any thanks at all.

We so appreciate your prayers and love. We could not walk this road without the prayer support and material support we have been given by people we know well, and who hardly know us at 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 @ 11:02 AM 0 comments

Sunday, April 26, 2026

Menu Plan: April 26 - May 2


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 Myrrh Bearing Women. In both, He shows His care for us, and how our care for Him is hallowed. That is my meditation this week.

We had a rather busy week this past week, and another busy week of preparation this week. Our friends and family have really come together and brought us so much in support, friendship, and love.

Rich and I have an upcoming trip to Los Angeles with Elijah, as kind of a reward for how much work he has been doing at our home for the past year, much of it without being asked or prompted. He has done so much, quietly, without asking for recognition, and we really wanted to both give him a break and some well needed recognition for all he has done. Dominic and Shawn are coming up to help the girls at home while we are gone, and then we will get to have some time with them, as well. That trip will begin and end with something wonderful, and we are looking forward to it.

This week, however, we will be doing a lot of prep work here at the house, both for our normal quotidian and weekly routines and for our upcoming trip. We're trying to keep on keeping on in the face of our challenges and as the end of the school year comes up more quickly than we anticipate (every year!). Our gleaning season has started again, and we have our first load of asparagus. This week we are cooking a lot of asparagus, but also we are going to make at least some jars of pickled asparagus, which is really our favorite way of eating them as preserved foods. We're just not huge fans of frozen asparagus and definitely not canned. If you have other suggestions for preserving for us to try, I am all ears.

Our parish family is, once again, coming in and holding our family up in strength. They are providing a wonderful dinner from one of our favorite places to eat in town, and some sides and extras to stretch it, as well. God is good. His people are answering the call to serve. We are grateful.

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 @ 12:16 PM 0 comments

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