I wanted to knit a lot more this weekend than I did. However, Rich wanted to give me a birthday weekend with nobody to carry, as he said. We filled it with excellent food and cooking demonstrations at the Bite of Seattle (two days before the shooting, and we are praying for all the victims), a gorgeous day of dancing salsa and bachata on Alki beach, a phenomenal meal at Driftwood, walking on the beach, quiet conversation, raucous laughter, and lots of rest. It really was what I needed after the past five months we've been enduring. So, I don't really have a progress photo for you.

However, I do have a new pattern for you that is a great quick project for the summer, as a card or framed picture for a special occasion. A beta knitter even made it as a face cloth. Warda is available on PayHip, Ravelry, and will shortly be available on LoveCrafts. As an introductory incentive, there is a coupon code, valid on both PayHip and Ravelry, WardaIntro, for 25% off the price through the end of the day August 5, 2026. Also, for the next couple days, as my 50th birthday gift to you, you can use the code HalfaCentury on both PayHip and Ravelry to receive 50% off of ONE pattern available for individual sale. That coupon is available through the end of the day, July 31, 2026.

Though I only got into the Autobiography of Calvin Coolidge for another few pages, I finished Last Wool and Testament!

Linking to Unraveled Wednesday

If you would like to receive updates and early notice of new patterns, beta knitting opportunities, and great discounts (plus pictures of new yarns, new tools, fun places, neat hints, book ideas, recipes and more) each month, please subscribe to 1,001 Knits. My best, and sometimes my only, discounts go to my subscribers.

Labels: Around the World Stitch Along, Books, Design, FOs, Homemaking, Knitting, Patterns, Romance and Relationship, WIP, Yarn Along

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 6:27 PM 0 comments

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.

• Sunday - Feast of Saint Anne, mother of the Theotokos
  Breakfast: Leftover Cake, Bacon, Mixed Berries, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Pot of Beans with Chard and Turkey, Shrimp Ceviche with Tortilla Chips, Garlic Bread, Fruit
• Monday
  Breakfast: Leftovers, Milk, Tea and Coffee
  Dinner: Smoked Cheddar Macaroni and Cheese, Butterflied Tempura Shrimp, Meatballs, Fruit Plate
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Leftovers, Milk, Tea and Coffee
  Dinner: Airshow Survivors' Dinner
• Wednesday - Feast of Saints Mary and Martha
  Breakfast: Toast with Peanut Butter and Honey, Plums and Pluots, Tea and Coffee
  Dinner: Tomato and Eggplant Sauce with Pasta, Garlic Arugula with Lemon, Fruit Plate
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Cinnamon Nut Raisin Bread with Cream Cheese, Pears, Milky Coffee
  Dinner: Cafeteria Pizza, Salad, Fruit Plate
• Friday - Feast of Saint Joseph of Arimathea
  Breakfast: Potato and Vegetable Hash Breakfast Burritos with Salsa, Peaches, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Vegetarian Waraq 'Ounab, Rice, Duqqus, Strawberry Sorbet*
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Syrian Rice Pudding, Sliced Oranges, Tea and Coffee
  Dinner: Leftovers from Melting Pot-Luck

Labels: Church Year, Faith and Morality, Family, Homemaking, Menu Plans, Prayer Requests, Romance and Relationship, Tales from the Kitchen

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 1:50 PM 0 comments

I am basically finished with the base on the coffee cozy, but now I am a little worried I won't have enough yarn to finish it. I might have a UFO that I wanted to frog anyway in this yarn, though. If I can find that, I will be fine.

There should be a lot of knitting time for my birthday, because we are going to get quite a bit of driving when we go dancing. I'm super excited for the dance and the time with Rich in the car while I knit and we talk (and he drives).

Autobiography of Calvin Coolidge is sitting on my nightstand, but I am hoping to get inside it tonight. I'm nearly finished with Last Wool and Testament, which is another happy, little, knitting murder and I'm waiting for the library to bring me Mrs. Pollifax and the Golden Triangle. I started reading the series before Rich, and now he is ahead of me in this book because he listens to it and got the audio version quicker than I did the print version.

Linking to Unraveled Wednesday

If you would like to receive updates and early notice of new patterns, beta knitting opportunities, and great discounts (plus pictures of new yarns, new tools, fun places, neat hints, book ideas, recipes and more) each month, please subscribe to 1,001 Knits. My best, and sometimes my only, discounts go to my subscribers.

Labels: Around the World Stitch Along, Birthday, Books, Design, Family, Homemaking, Knitting, Romance and Relationship, WIP, Yarn Along

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 8:50 PM 0 comments

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.

• Sunday - Feast of Saint Vincent de Paul
  Breakfast: Sausage, Egg and Cheese English Muffins, Tea and Coffee
  Dinner: Chicken Fajitas, Sides/Salads/Fruit/Desserts brought by Parish
• Monday
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with Cheese, Toast, Peaches, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Friends Bringing Pizza, Green Salad, Zlevanka
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Chilaquiles Rojas, Cubed Canary Melon, Tea and Coffee
  Dinner: Chile Verde Pork, Salsa Rice, Flour Tortillas, Plums
• Wednesday - Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene
  Breakfast: Potato and Vegetable Hash Breakfast Burritos, Sliced Melon, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Zucchini and Scallop Stirfry, Rice, Sliced Oranges
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Cinnamon Nut Raisin Bread with Cream Cheese, Plums, Milky Coffee
  Dinner: Broiled Bratwursts, Jalapeno Corn Pudding, Sautéed Arugula with Onions and Lemon, Sliced Peaches
• Friday
  Breakfast: 'Ijja, Khoubz Araby, Duqqus, Mixed Berries, Sahlab and Coffee
  Dinner: Fried Fish, Tartar Sauce, Coleslaw, Potato Wedges, Mascarpone Berry Cake
• Saturday - Feast of Saint James the Apostle
  Breakfast: Sweet Potato, Pepper, and Onion Hash, Fruit Plate, Milky Tea with Honey, Mint and Rosewater
  Dinner: German Sausage and Potato Bake with Sauerkraut, Leftover Cake

Labels: Birthday, Church Year, Faith and Morality, Family, Homemaking, Menu Plans, Prayer Requests, Romance and Relationship, Tales from the Kitchen

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 11:50 AM 2 comments

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.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Leftover Cake, Strawberries and Raspberries, Ham, Pink Lemonade
  Dinner: Turkey Vegetable Soup with Rice, Arugula Salad, Sides/Salads/Fruit/Desserts brought by Parish
• Monday - Feast of Saint Veronica
  Breakfast: Leftovers, Tea and Coffee
  Dinner: Ham Sandwiches, Pickled Asparagus, Fruit Plate
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Battatas ou Bayd, Toast, Sliced Apples, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Meatloaf, Scalloped Potatoes, Steam Sautéed Peas and Carrots with Garlic and Dill, Leftover Cake
• Wednesday - Feast of Saints Bonaventure and Swithun
  Breakfast: Breakfast Potato Hash, Sliced Apples, Mint Tea with Rosewater and Honey
  Dinner: Oven Sesame Vegetable Chow Mein, Mandarin Oranges
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Mana'eesh bi Za'atar ou Joubneh, Sliced Oranges, Tea with Mint and Rosewater
  Dinner: Baked Pork Chops, Sautéed Arugula and Garlic, Lemon Pasta, Leftover Cake
• Friday
  Breakfast: Lenten French Toast, Sliced Apples, Tea with Honey, and Coffee
  Dinner: Kusheri, Green Salad, Fruit Plate
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Best Coffee Cake, Bacon, Hard Boiled Eggs, Tea and Coffee
  Dinner: Leftovers

Labels: Church Year, Faith and Morality, Family, Homemaking, Menu Plans, Prayer Requests, Romance and Relationship, Tales from the Kitchen

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 7:35 PM 0 comments

It is now Sexagesima Sunday, which just means sixty and refers to the fact that we are within about 60 days of the end of the feast. It is with excitement that we greet Lent, however, even if it is a challenge.

I wrote this a couple years ago, but neither Rich nor I grew up with this pattern of fasting and feasting (though with my Muslim upbringing, it was more familiar to me - just with one month of fasting, rather than four seasons of it and a biweekly observance), but now we cannot imagine our lives without it. What is foreign to us now is the idea that our every day, week, month, year, would not be marked by a remembrance of the events in Christ's life. Even though all of us are aware that doing so is not the norm for most Americans, or people in the West, it is always a surprise to the kids when they find that people are eating meat on a Wednesday or Friday, or when they wish someone a Merry Christmas or Happy Easter the day after the feast and have someone answer that it is over. It is a poverty that they don't mark the time this way, and for all the challenges the fasting and feasting can bring, it is such a gift to us, that we can make even what we put in our mouths part of our devotion and worship of God. It imbues meal times, weekly scheduling, all of it, with the spiritual. It is hard and good - perhaps more good because it is sometimes hard.

It is like the Old Testament admonitions in Exodus and Joshua to do something specifically so your children will ask why and what it means. Talking about Wednesdays, Fridays, Advent and Lent, and why we eat differently then, brings the conversations up about Jesus, His betrayal, His Crucifixion, His Incarnation, His Resurrection. It makes every moment of our lives tied to the life of the Church and the life of Christ. In truth, I am sad for Christians who don't do this out of a mistaken aversion to following rules.

Again, the Lenten "rule" is for each of us and not something to advertise or hammer over someone else's head. It isn't a sin to neglect the fast, so much as it is a pity. It means we won't be so prepared. My hope is that our menu plans and the recipes I share help others get ideas and perhaps be encouraged in their struggle. Above all, I pray that you take advantage of these exercises God grants us through His Church.

Because Valentine's Day is before Lent this year, we can celebrate with a little more festivity. Because we are older and don't like crowds, we are doing that for lunch instead of dinner out with everyone else and overpriced smarminess. It will be good to have a date together, though, because we've been dealing with a lot in our health and family that is just hard.

We've had a challenging month. There is a lot to pray for us, though most of it we cannot share. Just think of us in prayer, because God knows best.

• Sunday - Sexagesima
  Breakfast: Biscuit Breakfast Sandwiches, Sliced Pears, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Lamb Rogan Josh and Rice, Parish bringing Side Dishes/Salads/Fruit/Desserts
• Monday
  Breakfast: Cottage Cheese with Za'atar and Olive Oil, Toast, Olives, Chopped Tomatoes, Mandarin Oranges, Coffee and Tea
  Dinner: Creamy Pork Chops, Rouz Ma'amar*, Arugula and Cucumber Salad, Sliced Pears
• Tuesday - Feast of Saint Scolastica
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with Cheese, Toast, Sliced Oranges, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Sujuk Rolls, Harissa, Taratoor, Toum, Leftover Salad, Sliced Oranges
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Potato and Vegetable Breakfast Burritos, Prize Winning Roasted Tomato Salsa, Mandarin Oranges, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Quick Sesame Noodles with Panfried Mixed Shellfish, Fruit Plate
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Salatat Battatas ou Bayd, Tamis, Sliced Pears, Milk, Tea and Coffee
  Dinner: Poblano Cornbread Casserole with Chorizo, Quick and Dirty Mexican Rice, Brown Butter Ginger Chews, Orange Cranberry Cookies
• Friday
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast with Honey, Sliced Oranges, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Stir Fried Vegetables and Cashews, Jasmine Rice, Fruit
• Saturday - Feast of Saints Cyril and Methodius and Valentine
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs, Sausage Patties, Toast, Mandarin Oranges, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Kabuli Pulao, Duqqus, Laban bi Chiyar, Orange Rum Cake

Labels: Church Year, Faith and Morality, Family, Homemaking, Menu Plans, Prayer Requests, Romance and Relationship, Sexagesima, Tales from the Kitchen

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 5:02 AM 0 comments

Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

We are still joyously celebrating the Nativity Feast! I hope you are, too. Christmas is far from over and has, in fact, just begun. The feast begins on Christmas Eve and goes through the Feast of the Theophany/Epiphany, and the season goes through the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord and Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Because I am just returned from overseas, we are making things a little simpler this year than we normally do, though still very celebratory.

We are also celebrating our 29th wedding anniversary this year! This is the end of our 29th year, and we begin the New Year with the first day of our 30th year of marriage. I am so blessed to be married to my best friend and the beloved of my heart. We are having a New Year's Eve dance for our celebration this year.

Next week, we will be celebrating Old Calendar Christmas with Dominic, Shawn, and Winnie, along with Shawn's parents and brothers, and we are so excited to see all of them. Christmas movies are being watched, Christmas music is being played, and we will have wonderful meals and treats to share with them, as well as the gifts to exchange. May you enjoy and be blessed in the Feast of the Nativity and the joy of the New Year.

• Sunday - Fourth Day of Christmas, Feast of the Holy Family, and Memorial of Holy Innocents
  Breakfast: Leftovers, Milk, Tea and Coffee
  Dinner: Pizza, Salads, Mandarin Oranges, Chex Mix, Ma'amoul from Egypt, Basbousa from Egypt, Cookies, Ice Cream
• Monday - Feast of Thomas à Becket
  Breakfast: Creamed Eggs, Toast Fingers, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Herb Roasted Pork Loin, Roasted Jerusalem Artichokes, Beet Gratin, Leftover Desserts
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Leftovers, Coffee, Tea and Milk
  Dinner: White Enchiladas, Salsa Rice, Christmas Pineapple with Ice Cream
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Migas (using leftovers), Leftover Pineapple, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Eggs in Purgatory and Sausage, Bread, Leftover Desserts
• Thursday - Feast of the Circumcision and Holy Name of Our Lord
  Breakfast: Leftovers, Coffee and Eggnog
  Dinner: Pork Chops, Horseradish-Dill Potato Pancakes, Steam Sautéed Carrots with Garlic and Dill, Leftover Desserts
• Friday - Feast of Saint Basil
  Breakfast: Cinnamon Rolls/GF Cinnamon Cake for Jerome, Bacon, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Double Decker Grilled Reubens* (GF bread for Jerome), Pickles, Rosewater Almond Tea Cookies, Pistachio and Cardamom Crescents
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Shakshouka, Bread, Mandarin Oranges, Mint and Rose Tea, Coffee
  Dinner: Lebanese Roasted Stuffed Onions, Rice, Mafrouka

Labels: Christmas, Church Year, Faith and Morality, Family, Homemaking, Keeping the Feast, Menu Plans, Nativity, New Year's, Romance and Relationship, Tales from the Kitchen

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 12:28 PM 0 comments

We have another busy week ahead of us. Tuesday is the anniversary of our first date, and Rich and I will have our own celebration. It's been 31 years! There is also a set of meetings Rich has out of town, and I will be coming with him for the day and get some knitting time in as well as running errands in places we don't have here. Sadly, one of our events this week is the memorial for a dear man who was involved in the air show here. He is missed by all who know him.

Harvest season is wrapping up here, and we are so blessed. I've made and canned enough salsa for us for about three months, and I will be making more this week. The weather has turned, though, and we wake up cold now. I'm trying to appreciate that we had such a long and beautiful fall, but the winter is creeping in now.

We attended the Anglican Diocesan Synod and returned yesterday in time to attend our pregnancy resource center dinner. What an inspiring speaker we had! We are so encouraged and continue to pray for those in crisis pregnancies.

We so appreciate your prayers for Jerome. This surgery was much less complicated and went more smoothly, but it is still surgery, exhausting, and comes with its own privations and difficulties. Please pray for him any time you think of us.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Yogurt and Jam, Cornbread, Grapes, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Hot Chicken Salad, Parish brings Sides/Salads/Fruit/Desserts
• Monday
  Breakfast: Granola Bars and Yogurt, Plums, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: H'ejazi Mqalqal, Roasted Cauliflower, Rice, Duqqus, Sliced Nectarines
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Salatat Battatas ou Bayd, Tamis or Persian Barbari Bread, Strawberry Yogurt for Jerome, Plums, Milk, Tea and Coffee
  Dinner: Saleeq, Steam Sautéed Carrots with Garlic and Dill, Nectarines
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Tomato Toast, Fruit Plate, Tea and Coffee
  Dinner: Tomato Dal, Spiced Roasted Cauliflower, Basmati Rice, Sliced Watermelon
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Sausage and Vegetable Breakfast Hash, Plums, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Split Pea Soup with Ham, Tri-Colored Braided Bread, Fruit Plate (Apricot Sauce for Jerome)
• Friday
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast and Honey (Strawberry Yogurt for Jerome), Sliced Apples, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Persian Eggplant Stew, Rice, Sliced Watermelon
• Saturday - Feast of Saint Luke the Evangelist
  Breakfast: Yogurt and Jam, Toast, Fruit Plate, Milk and Tea
  Dinner: Green Chile Pork Stew, Rice, Plums (Applesauce for Jerome)

Labels: Church Year, Family, Homemaking, Menu Plans, Prayer Requests, Romance and Relationship, Tales from the Kitchen

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 10:20 AM 0 comments

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

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

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

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

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

• Sunday - Feast of Saint Veronica
  Breakfast: Fried Eggs, Toast, Sliced Honeydew, Peaches and Apples, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Gumbo, Rice, Pepper Vinegar, Scallions, Apricots, with Parishioners bringing Sides/Salads/Desserts
• Monday - Feast of Aquila the Apostle among the 70
  Breakfast: Migas, Sliced Honeydew, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Khoresh Badenjan, Sabzi Polo, Persian Chopped Salad, Peaches
• Tuesday - Feast of Saints Bonaventure and Swithun
  Breakfast: Salatat Battatas ou Bayd, Tamis, Apricots, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Korean Style Beef with Zucchini, Jasmine Rice, Cherries
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Sweet Potato and Vegetable Breakfast Hash, Sliced Apples, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Ratatouille, Garlic Pasta (GF for Jerome), Apricots
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Mthouamat Banadora, Quick Persian Barbari Bread, Rainier Cherries, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Pork Stir Fry wih Zucchini and Asparagus, Jasmine Rice, Peaches
• Friday
  Breakfast: Oatmeal with Chopped Apples, Raisins, Brown Sugar and Cinnamon, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Spanish Poor Man's Potatoes, Spanish Farmer's Rice, Green Salad, Fruit Plate
• Saturday - Feast of Saints Vincent de Paul and Macrina
  Breakfast: Bacon Stuffed Savory Griddle Cakes, Oranges, Sahlab, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Pasta (GF for Jerome) with Bolognese Sauce, Green Salad, Cherries

Labels: Church Year, Family, Homemaking, Homesteading, Menu Plans, Romance and Relationship, Tales from the Kitchen

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

55 Fabulous things about Rich

• 1. He smiles at me like there is nobody else in the world with us.
• 2. He has taught our sons how to love their wives.
• 3. He is a hard worker.
• 4. He has made sure I can always feel secure in his love.
• 5. He is faithful to God.
• 6. He is faithful to me.
• 7. He is faithful to our family.
• 8. He slows me down to see the beauty in the world.
• 9. He is not critical.
• 10. However, when he needs to correct, it is always clear that it is from a desire for good, and not to scold or shame.
• 11. He remembers.
• 12. He kisses me like he did when we were first going out together.
• 13. He still dances.
• 14. He makes me laugh like nobody else can.
• 15. He figures out what I mean when I tell a joke badly, and laughs with me.
• 16. He makes sure his desert flower is never too cold (as much as is humanly possible).
• 17. He always shares something tasty he has had to eat.
• 18. He loves my cooking and lets me know it.
• 19. He is always learning.
• 20. He takes me seriously.
• 21. He is willing to be vulnerable with me.
• 22. He is trustworthy.
• 23. He is encouraging.
• 24. He makes sure everyone thinks well of me by how he speaks.
• 25. He does not air our disputes with anyone.
• 26. He is quick to apologize or admit fault when it is there.
• 27. He knows everything I hate about myself, and loves those things.
• 28. He encourages other men to be good husbands and fathers by his example and way of speaking.
• 29. He is the best weatherman out there.
• 30. He sacrifices a lot that he thinks I don't notice, and more that I will probably never know about.
• 31. He shows appreciation for what I do.
• 32. He never acts too cool to like me.
• 33. He holds our marriage with strength and gentleness.
• 34. He holds himself to high standards.
• 35. He can say a million things to me without saying a word.
• 36. He loves God's people.
• 37. He prays for our family.
• 38. He listens to the lives of the saints to model his life on them.
• 39. He takes the time to learn about my activities so he can discuss them with me with some knowledge.
• 40. He proofreads my patterns for grammar and syntax errors.
• 41. He is my photographer and does it for free.
• 42. He always wants to travel with me.
• 43. He works to make sure that all of our goals are achievable.
• 44. He counts my goals as equal to his.
• 45. He seeks my counsel.
• 46. He listens deeply.
• 47. He knows me, even in the littlest things.
• 48. He finds people and their stories interesting.
• 49. He loves to explore the world.
• 50. He seeks beauty.
• 51. He truly shows respect for people, even, especially when he disagrees with them.
• 52. He taught me what it looks like to forgive.
• 53. He is always generous with me.
• 54. He leads with humility.
• 55. He communicates well.

Labels: Birthday, Family, Romance and Relationship

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 11:53 PM 0 comments

Please remind me that I will not remember what my scribbles and cross outs meant the next time I want to put off writing a pattern in my template. I have spent nearly two weeks on something that should have taken two or three days, and on top of that, I still have to decipher the pattern into intelligible English for others to use. But, the knitting is nearly finished, and I do love the project. Since Rich is my normal photographer, we have to figure out how we are going to take modeled shots of this mitten trio. Any suggestions?

Rich asked if I thought I would have these finished and blocked by our Valentine's date. It's slightly possible, but unlikely. However, I would love to be able to wear them out as we walk, and I love that he was looking forward to that.

So, I haven't read much in The Dress Doctor at all. We ended up with a rather challenging, busy, going everywhere kind of week. This hasn't been great for my read a real book at night plan. I finished Très Lèches and started the next one in the series, Baked Alaska. I have a kind of morbid curiosity with these books. We are more than halfway though Pride and Prejudice, and it is delightful sharing the humor and revelation with my kids. I do not think I will read Lady Susan to them, though if they want to read it, that will be their choice.

Linking to Unraveled Wednesday

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Labels: Books, Design, Homemaking, Knitting, Patterns, Romance and Relationship, WIP, Yarn Along

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 3:23 PM 0 comments

We are in a brief respite of ordinary time - no major fasts or feasts. We are approaching Lent, in about a month, but for now are living in what is the normal, quotidian, routine. There is a little feast for Saint Valentine in the west this week, but as it is a Friday and Rich and I don't want to bother with breaking the fast or fitting in with the crowds, we think we will go out on a different day instead. There is a new Indian restaurant in town, and aside from wanting to try it, anyway (we've heard excellent things about the food there), we want to give as many immigrant and minority businesses our money right now.

This week's menu is making use of our freezer supplies, pantry stash, as well as the produce we have found on sale. There is a lot going on this week, and we had to switch this Saturday's dinner with last Saturday's, because the kids are making it. There's a certain aptness to serving German sausage and a Persian cake on that day. At least, in our house, there is.

This is one of the coldest weeks of the year, and we are getting through it as best we can. I am rooting for the spring and sunshine with all my might.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Waffles with Struesel Crumble and Butter Sauce, Bacon, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Pizza, Sides/Salads/Fruit brought by Parishioners, Kar' Assaly (Egyptian Pumkin Custard Pie)
• Monday - Feast of Saint Scholastica
  Breakfast: Chorizo and Sweet Potato Hash, Toast, Sliced Oranges, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Fish Bites (Tuna Burger for Jerome), Tartar Sauce*, Roasted Onions and Squash, Sliced Apples
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Wheateena with Cinnamon, Brown Sugar and Milk, (Cheese Grits for Jerome), Sliced Apples, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Pressure Cooker Dakbokkeumtang (Spicy Korean Chicken Stew), Jasmine Rice, Kimchi, Mandarin Oranges
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Oatmeal with Brown Sugar and Raisins, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Clam Strips with Cocktail Sauce, Crab Cakes, Baked Potatoes, Orange Slices
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Cottage Cheese Blueberry Bake with Yogurt and Honey, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Lengua Tacos, Salsa, Cabbage and Carrot Slaw, Mango Cubes with Lime Dressing
• Friday
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast with Honey (GF for Jerome), Sliced Apples, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Vegan Harira, Harissa, Tamis, Chopped Mediterranean Salad, Cubed Pineapple
• Saturday - Feast of Saint Onesimus
  Breakfast: Sour Milk Griddle Cakes (GF for Jerome) with Raspberry Syrup, Sausages, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Broiled Bratwursts, Sauerkraut and Onions, Baked Potatoes with Butter and Sour Cream, Gluten Free Persian Love Cake

Labels: Church Year, Faith and Morality, Homemaking, Menu Plans, Romance and Relationship, Tales from the Kitchen

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 8:51 AM 0 comments

Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

Our 12 Days of Christmas were a little turned upside down, but in the best way possible. Madelyn was born about three weeks early, but all well and Autumn is doing well, also.

Because of that change of events, our whole weekend suddenly became babysitting Amelia, and no sleep for us. Our church family came through amazingly and took over the dinner after church, as well as providing some meals and treats for Alexander and Autumn for when they come home. I will be setting up a meal train for them, for when they head home after their first night here.

This week is a busy week for us, as it is our wedding anniversary as well as New Year's Eve and Day. Rich already had our anniversary and New Year's Day off, but because of our exhaustion took Monday off, too. Hooray!

• Sunday - First Sunday after the Nativity, Feasts of the Holy Family and Thomas à Becket
  Breakfast: Leftovers, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Turkey Sausage Soup, Mexican Lentils with Chorizo, Assorted Cheeses and Breads, Oranges, Wine, Cookies
• Monday
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs and Cheese, Fried Pork, Sliced Oranges, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Pot Roast with Mustard and Horseradish Gravy, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Cranberry Apple Sauce, Orange Honey Cake
• Tuesday - Our Anniversary!
  Breakfast: Norwegian Griddle Cakes with Buttercream (Gluten free for Jerome, Sausages, Mandarin Oranges, Milk, Tea, and Coffee
  Dinner: Crab Linguine with Lemon Cream Sauce, Green Salad, Eggnog, Prosecco, Dark Chocolate Cherry Cookies, Chocolate Cranberry Walnut Cookies
• Wednesday - Feast of the Holy Name and Circumcision of Our Lord
  Breakfast: Biscuit Breakfast Sandwiches (G free for Jerome), Sliced Apples, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Pork Shoulder Roast, Cheddar Dill Puffs (Brazilian Cheese Rolls for Jerome), Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Carrots, Faux Pots de Crème
• Thursday - Feast of Saint Basil the Great
  Breakfast: Bacon Stuffed Savory Griddle Cakes, Sliced Oranges, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Hamburgers, French Fries, Pickles, Relish, Side Salads, Orange Cranberry Cookies
• Friday
  Breakfast: Ricotta Fritters with Maple Syrup (gluten-free for Jerome), Bacon, Sliced Apples, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Pepperoni and Veggie Pizzas (Gluten free for Jerome), Green Salad, Decorated Sugar Cookies, Gluten Free Persian Love Cake
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Waffles (Gluten free for Jerome) with Raspberry Syrup and Chantilly Cream, Sausage Patties, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Mexican Pork and Black Bean Stew, Mexican Street Corn Nachos, Peppermint Easy Fudge

Labels: Christmas, Church Year, Faith and Morality, Homemaking, Keeping the Feast, Menu Plans, Nativity, New Year's, Romance and Relationship, Tales from the Kitchen

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 11:39 AM 0 comments

The peppers are finished! We still have a lot in our fridge, but we are using them in cooking. Unless we get another crate, we are finished with freezing and drying them. We are still working on apples. I want to get enough applesauce and dried apples and apple scrap vinegar made so we only have apples to fill a couple drawers in our produce fridge. I still need to make the salsa, though, and we are going to smoke some more tomatoes to preserve and turn the skins into more smoked tomato powder (which is fantastic in rice dishes, soups, sauces, added to meatballs, or in sour cream based dips). We also just picked up 50 pounds of yellow onions and 25 pounds of red onions which store really well, so mostly they are just going into storage for us to use over the next few months, but we are also going to dry (outside) some of the yellow onions to put into an onion dip mix that I will be making as part of our Christmas presents this year.

This week is the anniversary of Rich and my first date. It is 30 years since we count our first date. I don't remember if I've shared that story here, but we started that night not on a date and ended it on a date. Since times are tight, we are using a bunch of gift certificates that we have to have a progressive lunch date. Then, I am making a special dinner for us at home.

God is so good to us. With all the continually rising prices, He keeps providing for us in markdowns at the store, things we need from our gleaning group, and even produce that is still coming from our garden. One thing I have learned, too, is that apples that aren't that great (sorry, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, and Gala apples) can be made much better through drying them. I don't know why, but even the most bland and sad apples taste really good when dried. So, that's your tip for what to do with apples you aren't thrilled with and don't want to waste. Also, I was surprised to find that Honeycrisp apples, which are really tasty fresh and taste more than sweet enough, need a little sugar when turning them into applesauce. I've never added sugar to applesauce before using Gravensteins, Yellow Transparents, and Fujis, but this year we had a lot of Honeycrisps from our gleaning group, and when I cooked them down, they just didn't taste as sweet as those apples usually do. It is only a little sugar, and I am using brown sugar, but about a quarter cup to about 25 apples seems to be enough.

Last night was our local crisis pregnancy center's fundraising dinner. Rich and I attended again (I think we have only missed it one year since living here), and two of our girls helped serve and clear away the dishes. It was a great experience, and we were so proud of our girls for helping. The work they do at the crisis pregnancy center is so crucial to helping men, women and children in need in our community, and we are so glad to help them in their mission. Part of being pro-life is being active about supporting the people in crises who are in a position to choose other than life. Please pray that all life would be welcomed and supported.

• Sunday - Feast of Saint Edward the Confessor
  Breakfast: Leftover Roulette, Sliced Apples, Tea and Coffee
  Dinner: Ouzi Lamb and Rice, Sides/Salads/Fruit/Desserts brought by Church Family
• Monday
  Breakfast: Sausage and Potato Hash with Salsa, Plums, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Kofta bil Bayd, Rice Pilaf, Moroccan Beet Salad*, Sah'awiq, Apple Pies and Vanilla Ice Cream
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Oatmeal with Chopped Apples, Raisins, Brown Sugar and Spices, Milky Tea
  Dinner: Lemon Pesto Pasta (Gluten free for Jerome), Italian Sausage Meatballs, Truffle Butter Baguettes, Green Salad, Fruit
• Wednesday - Feast of Saint Longinus the Centurion
  Breakfast: Apple Coconut Breakfast Bowls with Almond Butter Drizzle, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Bouktouf, Khoubz Zeitoun, Tomato Salad, Fruit Plate
• Thursday - Feast of Saint Hosea the Prophet
  Breakfast: Fried Eggs, Toast, Sliced Apples, Tea and Coffee
  Dinner: Papas con Chorizo, Salsa, Sour Cream, Chopped Avocados, Salad, Fruit Plate
• Friday - Feast of Saint Luke the Evangelist
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast with Honey, Sliced Fruit, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Spanish Farmer's Rice, Spanish Poor Man's Potatoes, Fruit Plate
• Saturday - Feast of Saint Joel the Prophet
  Breakfast: Savory Parmesan French Toast with Hollandaise Sauce, Fruit Plate, Bacon, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Pasta Bolognese Sauce (Gluten free for Jerome), Green Salad, Torta Dominguera

Labels: Church Year, Faith and Morality, Family, Homemaking, Homesteading, Menu Plans, Preserving the Harvest, Romance and Relationship, Tales from the Kitchen

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 7:43 AM 0 comments

We had the opportunity to worship with the Sudanese church to the south of us today. Their faith is so inspiring. They have literally been holding memorials all summer for their family members who have been killed for their faith in their home country, and are still full of joy and hope. I wish one day to have their faith.

We ease into school work in September, to take advantage of museums and events that are not as busy once "regular" school starts. So, we are doing some literature and grammar work, and a little bit of math. However, a couple of the kids are taking a biology class and a geometry class with a neat local professor and it is great. I'm really excited for them to have this opportunity, especially for the lab science.

Besides that, we are just reading, doing crafts, getting some organizing done, and enjoying the outdoors before it is too cold to do so. This week also holds an anniversary of ours. Rich and I became engaged on September 4, 28 years ago. It was literally our coming to agreement after about a month of consideration. Our how we met story sounds more romantic than it was, and our engagement story sounds much less romantic than it was.

We are still eating the fresh foods of the season and trying to hold on to as much of the beautiful weather as we can until the freezes hit. Pray for us.

• Sunday - Feast of Saint Anna the Prophetess
  Breakfast: Spiced Oatmeal with Raisins and Dried Cranberries, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Smoked Chicken, Rice, Corn on the Cob, Plums
• Monday
  Breakfast: Fried Egg and Cheese Bagel Sandwiches (no bagels for Jerome, and more egg), Sliced Canteloupe, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Meatball Grinders, Sliced Cucumbers, Canteloupe
• Tuesday - Feast of Pope Saint Gregory the Great
  Breakfast: Oatmeal Muffins with Peanut Butter, Sliced Canteloupe, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Beef, Green Chile and Potato Stew, Arepas, Marinated Cucumbers, Sliced Canteloupe
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast with Honey, Sliced Peaches, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Pasta Trapanese (gluten-free pasta for Jerome), Cucumber and Tomato Salad, Fruit Plate
• Thursday - Feast of Saint Zecharias, Father of the Forerunner
  Breakfast: Migas with Chorizo, Plums, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Sheikh al-Mahshi, Rice Pilaf, Beet and Cucumber Salad, Muhallabiyeh
• Friday - Feast of Saint Onesiphorus
  Breakfast: Potato and Vegetable Hash Burritos with Salsa, Sliced Apples, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Black Bean Salad with Tomatoes, Corn and Avocado, Corn Chips, Plums
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Pancakes and Maple Syrup, Scrambled Eggs with Cheese, Sausages, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Spicy Spanish Tomato Skillet with Eggs and Cheese, Bread, Fruit Plate, Torta Dominguera

Labels: Church Year, Faith and Morality, Family, Homemaking, Homesteading, Menu Plans, Name Day, Prayer Requests, Romance and Relationship, Tales from the Kitchen

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 8:02 PM 0 comments

Summer is here, and I am delighted! We are supposed to have another hot hot week, then it will go down to normal summer hot for this area. That is fine with me. Winter is so long and so cold here, that you will never find me complaining about the heat.

That doesn't mean that we have to heat the kitchen all the time, though. We will be eating some easy meals, salads, quick cooking meals that don't use the stove that long, or cold dishes that can have the cooking done in the morning, or things that can cook in the pressure cooker. We are even pulling out some leftovers from the freezer and just making a pot of rice to go with it for one meal. There is a soup one day, but it is a quicker soup to make.

Today there is a neighborhood picnic, so we are bringing Cool and Creamy Potato and Pea Salad and some lamb burgers to grill. Our lovely church family will be bringing dishes to share for our church dinner, and that will be a treat for us, as well. Tomorrow is Rich and my anniversary of our first meeting, and we are probably just going to get a couple milkshakes to celebrate. What are you eating this week?

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Leftovers, Coffee, Tea and Milk
  Dinner: Garlic Herb Roasted Pork Loin, Sides/Salads/Desserts brought by Church
• Monday - Feast of Saints Bonaventure and Swithun
  Breakfast: Çilbir*, Toast, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Chicago Style Hot Dogs with Potatoes, Peppers and Onions, Limoncello Zabaglione
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Breakfast Veggie Crinkle, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Chef Salad, Cherry Chocolate Mousse
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Ful, Sah'awiq, Toast, Vegetables and Olives, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Thai Coconut Rice Salad, Fruit Plate
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Vanilla Yogurt and Fruit, Toast, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Muffroom with Rice, Green Salad, Fruit Plate
• Friday
  Breakfast: Tomato Toast, Fruit Plate, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Musgovian Vegetable Soup, Oyster Crackers, Fruit Plate
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with Toast, Fruit, Milk and Tea
  Dinner: Cowboy Beans, Rice, Carrot Salad

Labels: Church Year, Faith and Morality, Family, Homemaking, Keeping the Feast, Menu Plans, Romance and Relationship, Tales from the Kitchen

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 11:18 AM 0 comments

Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

We have a whole other week of no fasting! It has been both a restful and celebratory time, which is just perfect.

Tonight is our 27th anniversary, and we get to celebrate with our church family and then with dancing. This Friday, we will have a 12th Night Christmas party for my knit night group. It is a good week. Next week we will be back to normal school schedules.

Once we are back in the New Year, we will also return to a little more frugal shopping, and use what we have in our freezers and pantries as much as possible. We are still making room for more butchering, and also preparing for a lovely trip for Dominic and Shawn's wedding. We are so excited to share in that with them. Our prayer for you in this New Year is that you find the joy and peace of Christ!

• Sunday - Feast of the Holy Family
  Breakfast: Cardamom Apple Coffee Cake, Sausages, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Ham, Green Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette, Side Dishes/Hors-d'Ouevres from Church, Date Coffee Cake with Walnuts
• Monday - Feast of the Circumcision and Holy Name of Our Lord
  Breakfast: Cheddar Garlic Butter Swim Biscuits, Ham, Canned Peaches, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Sausage Rolls, Smoked Salmon, Fried Olive Bites, Gougères, Mini Ham Sandwiches with Green Tomato Chutney, Pickle, Olive and Relish Tray, Upside Down Pear Cake with Brown Butter
• Tuesday - Feast of Saint Basil
  Breakfast: Ricotta Fritters with Maple Syrup, Bacon, Sliced Apples, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Lakror, Veggie Tray, Fruit Tray, Pomegranate Christmas Cake
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Cinnamon Rolls, Bacon, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Adobo Fish Tacos with Pineapple Salsa, White Rice and Poblano Rajas Casserole, Christmas Cherry Nut Cake, Chocolate Cranberry Walnut Cookies, Brown Butter Ginger Chews
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Almond Cardamom Cake, Sausage, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Malay Chicken Fried Rice with Vegetables, Frosted Button Cookies
• Friday
  Breakfast: Lemon Cream Cheese Butterhorn Bars, Sausages, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Herb Roasted Turkey and Gravy (Gluten-free), Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Sides Brought by Knit Night Guests, Eggnog, 12th Night Cake, Desserts Brought by Guests
• Saturday - Feast of the Theophany and Epiphany of Our Lord
  Breakfast: Savory Parmesan French Toast with Hollandaise Sauce, Fruit Plate, Ham, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Persian Saffron Chicken with Barberry Rice, Persian Chopped Salad, Peppermint Meltaways, Dark Chocolate Cherry Cookies

Labels: Christmas, Church Year, Epiphany, Faith and Morality, Homemaking, Keeping the Feast, Menu Plans, Nativity, New Year's, Prayer Requests, Romance and Relationship, Tales from the Kitchen, Theophany

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 4:13 AM 0 comments

We got a little bit more on track this past week, and are looking to be more so this week. We begin with Alexander's birthday and end with the anniversary of Rich and my first date. It's a good week.

The geese, turkeys, and roosters are on death row this week. We have cleared out the freezer a bit, made room, and are getting ready to fill it with delicious birds. We even moved things around so the meats I will need for the next month will be closer to the top of our chest freezer. Poor Rich will spend part of our anniversary day on the butchering, but we will get to have a lovely evening that night. We were able to go to a wedding last night, and there was dancing, so that was lovely.

I know that times are tight for folks. My hope is that these menu plans, and how I choose meals and cook from our freezers and pantries will give you ideas on how to provide well for your families with what you have and little expense. This is the first time I have tried to plan meals over a month, and I think it probably wouldn't work that well in the late spring and summer, just because of how we get so much fresh produce and so on, but in the fall and winter, it's really not too bad. I'm leaving room for side dishes and other elements to change, but mostly I am looking at what is in our freezers and pantries and planning from there. Now, I'm looking to November, and getting a start on my planning for next month, as well.

So, I am making a meal on Saturday that almost makes me hang my head in shame. It is not Mexican in any way. My kids call them white people enchiladas. That is not untrue. The recipe I first started with included cream of something soup. They do have chile in the sauce, and they are filled tortillas, but that is all that ties them to enchiladas. Likewise, the rice I am making is just similar to some of the flavors in Mexican food, it's not actually Mexican, but there you have it. They are tasty dishes, even if they aren't Mexican. I just don't know what to call them. Usually, I try to make things at least close to how they should be made, and I made these closer to real Mexican and real food than the recipe I was given.

Anyway, we are trucking right along on the property and in life, and enjoying the fall weather while we have it (I'm ignoring the fact that the mornings and nights are closer to winter). Next week, Amelia turns one, and we are so excited! May your week be as joyous.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Savory Parmesan French Toast with Hollandaise Sauce, Bananas (Apples for Jerome), Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Roast Pork Loin, Roasted Potatoes, Salad, Apple Pumpkin Cake with Caramel Drizzle
• Monday
  Breakfast: Yogurt and Preserves, Toast, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Ham and Beans, Baked Potatoes, Grapes
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Fried Halloum, Sliced Tomatoes, Rolls, Grapes, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Creamy Chicken Poblano, Quick and Dirty Mexican Rice, Salad/Fruit/Dessert brought by Bible study members
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Oatmeal with Chopped Apples, Cinnamon, Brown Sugar and Coconut Milk, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Thai Red Curry Noodles with Shrimp and Vegetables, Fruit Plate
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Greek Grilled Cheese Toast, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Indian Tomato and Coriander Chicken, Jasmine Rice, Plums
• Friday - Feast of Saint Edward the Confessor
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast, Sliced Apples, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Green Split Pea Curry, Jasmine Rice, Salad, Fruit Plate
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Crème Brûlée French Toast, Sausages, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: White Enchiladas, "Mexican" Rice Pilaf, Fruit Plate

Labels: Birthday, Church Year, Faith and Morality, Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Homesteading, Menu Plans, Romance and Relationship, Shelftember, Tales from the Kitchen

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 10:48 AM 0 comments

September is always a super busy month for us, but this September is even busier than normal. It is good, and we are excited, but it is a lot. The kids have some wonderful opportunities coming up for them, and Rich and I will be doing some fun work together, but it adds to the regular work that we already have.

Last week I mentioned how I was hoping for peaches. Well, ask and you shall receive. We now have more peaches than we have time. We will get to them, probably canning halves in syrup, because that is fast and simple and we enjoy them in the winter and spring. We are getting pears, too, but not quite in the huge quantities that lend themselves to sauce and canning. We are eating them and baking with them, but mostly eating fresh.

This week, we get to eat some of our home cured bacon, and we are so excited. The cure was started at the pig butchering demonstration when we went to the homesteading conference and we brought it home to finish curing, then dried it and smoked it, and the little bit we tasted was wonderful.

We are cooking mostly out of our freezers and pantries as it is September, and we try to do that to rotate through our stores and to cut our budget at a more expensive time of year with all the activities starting up again for fall. And it is most definitely fall now. No false summer temperatures, even for a couple days like we had last week. It is pleasant, though, I only wish it lasted longer. Even the apple pie and beef pot pies are using pie crusts I made before and were in the freezer and the last of the apple pie filling we froze two summers ago. In September, I take our grocery budget down to about a quarter of what we normally spend. Our garden is providing quite a bit for it, as it treats us better than we have treated it. There are still some raspberries to eat, and our yellow crookneck is going gangbusters. We are hoping that the kousa summer squash will take off before the hard freezes set in here. Since it is fully fall here, I'm making a pumpkin spice crumb cake for a breakfast this week. I don't generally care for pumpkin spice except in baked goods, so that is how we have it here.

Although our weekdays this week are not too full, our weekend has people going multiple directions, so we have some pretty easy to make dishes for Saturday. Monday is not only Labor Day (so Rich gets the day off of work!), but also the anniversary of our coming to agreement on getting engaged. We took about a month to renegotiate the timing of our engagement and marriage, and went from planning to wait for about three and a half years to getting married four and a half months later. It is one of the best decisions we've ever made. Friday is the feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos, so it is a fish day, which we will most definitely enjoy.

Aside from all the activities and schedule changes, we also are dealing with some things that need repairs around the house, including two of our stove burners. Please pray. It is harder and harder to use those burners, and because it is a glass top, we are concerned that we will have to replace the top entirely. Not what we need at this point.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with Cheese, Refried Beans, Toast, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Italian Beef Sandwiches on Herb Bread, Olive Salad, Sliced Tomatoes and Lettuce
• Monday
  Breakfast: Blueberry Pancakes with Buttermilk Syrup, Home Cured Bacon, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Grilled Buffalo Chicken "Burgers" with Bleu Cheese Dressing, Crudités, Fruit Plate
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Ham, Potato and Vegetable Hash, Grapefruit Halves, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Beef and Vegetable Pot Pies, Salad/Side Dish brought by Bible study members, Apple Pie
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Oatmeal with Raisins, Chopped Apples and Coconut Milk, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Vegan Egyptian Mahshi, Turmeric Rice, Harissa, Green Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Pumpkin Spice Crumb Cake, Sausage Links, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Baked Potatoes with Butter, Sour Cream, Scallions, Bacon, Cheese, Fruit Plate
• Friday - Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
  Breakfast: Almond Butter Toast with Honey, Sliced Oranges, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Stir Fried Mixed Seafood and Broccoli, Jasmine Rice, Mandarin Oranges
• Saturday - Feast of the Parents of the Blessed Virgin, Joachim and Anna
  Breakfast: Granola Bars, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Dinner with friends, Honey Cake

Labels: Church Year, Faith and Morality, Fasting as a Family, Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Homesteading, Menu Plans, Romance and Relationship, Tales from the Kitchen

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 1:49 PM 0 comments

Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

We are celebrating joyously this week! Christ is born and our salvation is begun, so nothing else is really as important. We have been bitterly cold this past week and had a Christmas tree emergency (we had to replace it on Christmas Adam, because the hard below zero temperatures froze our tree from the west side), but that isn't really that important. We have no fasting over the next 12 days, and we are making a lot of delicious treats.

Christmas was full of freezing rain and we had to miss the Christmas Eve service, as it was cancelled so people would be safe. We might have to cancel the Christmas Day service, but because we hold it in the evening, there might be enough time for the roads to clear. If we don't meet with our church group, we will have a lot of leftovers from dinner tonight.

This week is also full of some significant events in our family. Jerome gets wheat back, glory to God, and he is so happy about that. It is also Rich and my 26th wedding anniversary. We are celebrating with a special dinner here at home. The kids will be eating snack tray and leftover cookies and desserts earlier in the evening. Yet again, we are making our cookies and candies throughout the 12 days of Christmas, rather than making them all at once, and stressing ourselves out over them.

• Sunday - Feast of the Nativity of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ
  Breakfast: Turkish Eggs in Yogurt Sauce (Çilbir), Christmas Bread and Butter, Bacon, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Garlic Rib Roast, Wine Pan Sauce, Cranberry Horseradish Relish, Boursin Stuffed Potatoes, Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Braided Egg Bread, Lentils and Ham, Salad, Devilled Eggs, Triple Chocolate Cheesecake with Candy Cane Ice Cream, Brown Sugar Shortbread, Fruitcake, Wine, Apple Cider
• Monday - Feast of Saint Stephen, Deacon and Martyr
  Breakfast: Orange Cardamom Muffins, Bacon, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Chinese Take Out, Decorated Sugar Cookies
• Tuesday - Feast of Saint John the Apostle and Evangelist
  Breakfast: Bacon and Egg Cups, Toast Fingers, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Tandoori Chicken and Rice with Yogurt Sauce, Harissa, Rosewater Almond Tea Cookies*, Pistachio and Cardamom Crescents
• Wednesday - Feast of Holy Innocents
  Breakfast: Cinnamon Rolls, Bacon, Oranges, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Kofta bil Bayd, Rice, Loubiyeh bi Zeit, Roasted Squash, Harissa, Raspberry Almond Shortbread
• Thursday - Feast of Saint Thomas à Becket
  Breakfast: Chorizo Breakfast Casserole, Sliced Oranges, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Pizza, Salad, Chocolate Cranberry Walnut Cookies, Brown Butter Ginger Chews*
• Friday
  Breakfast: Christmas Scones, Sausages, Hard Boiled Eggs, Sliced Oranges, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Bierocks with Mustard, Fried Cabbage and Onions, Dark Chocolate Cherry Cookies
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Cranberry Pumpkin Bread and Bacon and Biscuit Bake for Potluck after Liturgy
  Dinner: Pasta with Parmesan, Lemon and Cream, Seared Scallops, Three Hearts Salad, Faux Pots de Crème, Sparkling Cider, Prosecco

Labels: Christmas, Church Year, Family, Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Menu Plans, Nativity, Romance and Relationship, Tales from the Kitchen

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 2:20 PM 0 comments