Well, it turns out that it was a good thing Rich had Friday off, but not for the reasons we initially thought. We had a horrible stomach bug go through the family. It started Monday with Nejat, then me, then Rich, then Jerome. Rich and Jerome just generally felt queasy, but Nejat and I were violently ill. However, after a day and a half, it settled down. The other kids seemed untouched, and Mariam, God bless her, took on helping me on Monday, and roasted a chicken over potatoes for the first time (also her first time making an entire dinner on her own) with just my talking her through it. By Friday, it seemed like we were in the clear, and nobody else would get it. Little did we know.

Friday night, just after midnight, Yasmina was rather ill, then Mariam, who has the least room for illness, was sick just about every 20 minutes from a little after 1:00 until 6:00 Saturday morning. She didn't sleep more than 30 minutes until that point, so neither did we, but she really had a rough night. We hoped getting all of it out of her system would mean she was well faster, but she spent all of yesterday on the couch, with us trying to get her hydrated, and her feeling miserable. No more sick, though, but the pain remained. We found some anti-nausea pills and gave her some ibuprofen for the pain, and she is much better this morning, glory to God!

Anyway, that made for a lot of shifted meal plans, and no St. Martin's rolls. It also meant that Rich didn't get all his Veteran's Day free meals because we didn't want to go out and make others sick or eat garbage on sensitive stomachs. It also meant that we missed a Veteran's Day dinner to which we were invited, because we really didn't want to get all those people sick. And, no Saint Martin's Day rolls or lantern walk. In fact, we had a trip planned to Sun Valley for Rich's work, and we were also going to spend our evenings with the airport directors' and their wives, but with how sick everyone was and how it seemed to have a long incubation, we decided to reschedule. In many ways, that makes our lives simpler, anyway, with some emergency safety classes Rich is taking, my design schedule this month, and Thanksgiving coming up, so it was a blessing in disguise - a big, heavy, unpleasant disguise.

Because of all of those schedule issues, the dinners this week are also fairly simple. They are either things that I can make quickly, or the kids can do with a little instruction. We are all busy and a little stressed and trying to work through not feeling well. We are still cooking through our freezers, and will be putting off butchering until December, also because of our schedule. On the plus side, it means that it will be cold enough that there will be no need to rush through any of the butchering process.

Speaking of cold, although it is cold here, it has been consistently about 20 degrees warmer than it was last year, for which I am grateful. Yesterday a big wind came through, though, which does not bode well for the end of this month. Those winds usually bring severe temperature changes, and I doubt we will be seeing a heat wave. But, God is good, and He is glorified in His saints. So many people have blessed us with firewood, our heaters are working well, we have a snug house, plenty of woolens, blankets, and so we will survive the winter. I am thanking God that the brutal cold was put off a little longer than usual this year.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Pancakes and Raspberry Syrup, Bacon, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Broiled Bratwursts, Sour Cream Noodles with Onions, Roasted Cauliflower, Mandarin Oranges
• Monday
  Breakfast: Vegetable and Potato Hash with Diced Ham, Toast, Sliced Apples, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Easy Persian Kabobs, Persian Herbed Rice, Fresh Pear Crumble Pie
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with Cheese, Toast, Sliced Pears, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Moroccan Eggs with Lamb and Harissa Yogurt, Roasted Cauliflower, Salad with Lemon Vinagrette, Sliced Oranges
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Ful, Toast, Chopped Tomatoes and Onions, Harissa, Radishes and Kalamata Olives, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Sauerkraut Bean Soup, Rolls, Sliced Apples
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Syrian Rice Pudding with Dried Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Thai Style Ginger Chicken with Eggplant, Jasmine Rice, Mandarin Oranges
• Friday
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast, Sliced Apples, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Vegetarian Ranchero Beans, Salsa Rice, Sliced Oranges
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Brudet to break the fast after Liturgy
  Dinner: Potato Dressing, Sausage Gravy, Green Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette, Fruit Plate

What is on your menu this week? If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can. If there are any starred recipes, I will follow up separately with a weekly recipe round up on Saturday.

Labels: Church Year, Faith and Morality, Homemaking, Homesteading, Menu Plans, Shelftember, Tales from the Kitchen

We are so blessed to live in a rural neighborhood or actual neighbors. In the country, a neighbor might be someone more than a mile away, sometimes even farther, but they are there for each other, and friendly. We are one of the last country neighborhoods in our area still to have any sort of community organization, and we put on several events throughout the year. Last night was our harvest dinner. Folks come together with foods they grew or raised and made, and share with each other, give thanks and share our lives. I'm sure that originally, all the meat served was raised here in our neighborhood, but now the board buys and cooks it for the community. I made a gratin of root vegetables, all laid out in columns that was quite delicious and lovely, some puff pastry twists with gorgonzola, walnuts, and thyme, and the spiced pumpkin pudding that my kids love so much. The board provided roast beef and ham, and everyone else brought sides, salads, preserves, and desserts. It's great to see our neighbors and connect with them.

Our pork opportunity fell through, but it was a blessing. The woman offering the piglets had been a little cagey about them, and on further inquiry, we found out that they were not castrated, and were too old for that, as well as old enough already to have boar taint. I had to work pretty hard to get answers out of her, and she wanted nearly 30 of our muscovies in exchange for pigs that we really couldn't eat. On top of that, since they were all male, we couldn't even get a breeding pair to get piglets in the spring. However, since it would have required getting fencing in right away, that we had planned on doing at a little slower pace over the fall, this saves us that trouble. It was a little frustrating that the woman offering them for trade was not forthcoming about their ages, the fact that they were intact, or even what she was looking for in trade. She just said that she wanted poultry, and when I asked how many she was thinking, she wouldn't give me a number. It took much more effort just to get information, so, I guess finding out about the age and maturity at this point saved us dealing with that even more.

This week is still pretty busy for me, but I would love to share some recipes of things we have made and enjoyed recently (and some from before). We found a recipe for Irish farls, and thought they were delightful. I liked them quite a bit more than boxty, or the leftover mashed potato pancakes people make. I did think they would be improved with some fresh herbs like chives or scallions, or even parsley, added to them, but I don't know if that is traditional or not. We also made a biscuit breakfast bake that I have made several times, but really should put the recipe out for folks. It's super simple, even with mixing up the biscuit dough, and really tasty.

We didn't really put up much in the way of fruit or preserves this year. That is now weighing on me, but we will make it work. We do have some corn we grew to blanch and freeze, and that will be a blessing this winter. However, we are using the last of our canned fruit this week, and though we have relishes and pickles, jams and jellies, and some tomatoes and sauces, still, it troubles me that we didn't put up as much as we could have this year. Our life was just so busy. I don't know how we can get our life to be a little less busy next spring and summer, but we need to find a way. I do have cherries and cherry juice in the freezer that can become jelly, butter, and syrup, so I think I will take some time on that this season. Most of our menus are still largely being planned from our freezers and pantries, which is saving us all sorts of money and time. I think my goal this season is to fit in one day of some kind of preserving each week. If we can clean up my pressure canner, I can even start getting our stocks and broths canned so they aren't taking room in our freezers and don't need to thaw when we use them.

I'm so happy that Rich has Friday off for Veteran's Day. It will be great to have him at home, and he can get some things done that he has been wanting to do around here. We will celebrate Saint Martin the following day (on the actual Veteran's Day), and have some food and lantern walks and all sorts of fun.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Leftover Arabic Pumpkin Pudding, Bleu Cheese Puff, and other Leftovers, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Instant Pot Mensaf, Rice, Cabbage Salad with Cumin Dressing
• Monday
  Breakfast: Vegetable and Potato Hash with Diced Ham, Toast, Sliced Apples, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Roast Tikka Chicken with Potatoes and Cauliflower, Rice Pilau, Apple Almond Cake
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Cheddar Garlic Butter Swim Biscuits, Sausages, Canned Peaches, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Instant Pot Chicken Shawerma, Tamis, French Fries, Lettuce, Tomatoes, Peppers, Onions and Olives, Toum, Harissa, Taratoor, Fruit Plate
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Ful, Toast, Chopped Tomatoes and Onions, Harissa, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Vegan Dan Dan Noodles, Green Salad with Citrus Sesame Dressing, Fruit
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with Cheese, Toast, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Papas con Chorizo with Salsa, Sour Cream and Sliced Avocados, Fruit Plate
• Friday - Feast of Pope Leo the Great
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast, Sliced Apples, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Croatian Roux Soup with Croutons, Salad, Fruit Plate
• Saturday - Feast of Saint Martin
  Breakfast: Saint Martin's Day Almond Crescents, Loaded Home Fries, Bacon, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Peruvian Kebabs with Beef Heart and Grilled Lamb Chops, Super Crisp Peruvian Roasted Potatoes, Fried Olive Bites

What is on your menu this week? If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can. If there are any starred recipes, I will follow up separately with a weekly recipe round up on Saturday.

Labels: Church Year, Faith and Morality, Homemaking, Homesteading, Menu Plans, Shelftember, Tales from the Kitchen

The hard freeze has arrived. We had temperatures in the teens the last two mornings, in the 20s the few days before that, and there was even a little snow in town last week. Rich and the kids harvested all the rest of the garden and we are eating loads of fresh food, and preserving some, so this week is a lot of garbage management in our meals.

We remember all the saints who have gone before us this week, as well as praying for the souls of all who have passed. As we get older, that list gets longer, and I ask you, in your mercy, to pray for my grandparents, uncles and aunts.

As we are still cooking our of our freezers, we are discovering some things that somehow were missed in inventorying, but that makes our busy week a little simpler. There was meat sauce in the freezer, and some chicken and rice from a meal some time back, and both are being used in meals to free up our time a bit. Our next butchering is in about three weeks, and Advent begins three weeks after that, so the meat is getting used to make room for more meat. We may have an opportunity to get two piglets to raise over winter, and then butcher in the late spring. We really hope that comes through, because home raised pork is so much better than what is at the store. We are waiting for some information about them to determine if we will butcher in the spring or use them as a breeding pair and butcher in the late fall.

There is so much preparation for the cold that is still not finished, so this week is also about putting plastic insulation over some of our windows, chopping more fire wood, and taking care of hoses, spigots, and so on outside.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Dirty Eggs with Veggies and French Fries, Toast, Stewed Plums, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Instant Pot Spaghetti with Best Meat Sauce Ever, Green Salad with Red Wine and Herb Vinaigrette, Garlic Bread
• Monday>
  Breakfast: Vegetable Hash, Soda Bread, Sliced Apples, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Meatloaf Train, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Carrots, Corn on the Cob
• Tuesday - Eve of the Feast of All Saints
  Breakfast: Irish Potato Farls, Fried Eggs, Bacon, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Moroccan Lamb Meatballs in Tomato Sauce, Cous Cous, Fried Peppers and Onions
• Wednesday - Feast of All Saints
  Breakfast: Oatmeal with Apples and Pecans, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Layered Tortilla Casserole with Pinto Beans and Corn, Mexican Rice, Poblano Cashew Cream, Avocado Salsa
• Thursday - Comemoration of All Souls
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with Cheese, Toast, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Chicken and Rice from freezer, Roasted Corn on the Cob, Green Salad
• Friday
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast, Sliced Apples, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Slow Cooker Minestrone, Rolls, Fruit Plate
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Biscuit Breakfast Bake with Ham, to break the fast after Liturgy
  Dinner: Root Vegetable Gratin, Walnut, Bleu Cheese and Thyme Puff Pastry Twist, Arabic Pumpkin Pudding

What is on your menu this week? If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can. If there are any starred recipes, I will follow up separately with a weekly recipe round up on Saturday.

Labels: All Saints, Church Year, Faith and Morality, Homemaking, Homesteading, Menu Plans, Shelftember, Tales from the Kitchen

We had a remarkably busy weekend. Rich and I were part of a diocesan synod this weekend, after he had a couple important meetings at and for work, Nejat went to a cabin in the mountains with a some family friends, and the oldest kids went to a teen retreat down in Yakima. We were all in different directions and quite exhausted by the end of the weekend and church on Sunday. It was loads of fun, but we need a rest from it still.

So, we are back to our normal schedule this week, and we are hoping to accomplish a lot this week and next week. Thanksgiving is creeping up on us, faster and faster. Our neighborhood has a harvest dinner each year, too, and that is coming up, as well.

To keep things moving as they ought, we are still cooking from our freezers, and making as much as we can that is either slow cooking that can be started in the morning and left to cook all day or quicker cooking so we can make it just before serving, after all the rest of our school and other work is complete. There are still some birds to be butchered next month, turkeys and geese, and we want to have room in the freezer for them, as well as cutting down on our grocery trips. There is also a little preserving left to do, so that needs to be fitted in to our schedules.

We have two feast days this week, but no birthdays and only a few events that are out of the ordinary, none of which push our other events out of the way. The weather is colder, it is darker, and fall is fading now. I'm trying to rally my spirits and gird myself for winter. It was sweet to get some time on Puget Sound with Rich, walking near the salt water, smelling the salt air through the cedars and fir trees, seeing the leaves changing colors, and the flowers that were still in bloom. We savored that, and I hope it will sustain me as we freeze here through April.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Leftovers, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Hamburger Soup, Salad, Turkey and Ham Sandwiches, Pickles, Enfrijoladas, Gingerbread with Pears
• Monday - Feast of Saint James of Jerusalem
  Breakfast: Migas, Salsa, Sliced Apples, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Mustard Glazed Corned Beef, Green Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette, Steam Sautéed Carrots with Garlic and Dill, Soda Bread
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with Cheese, Toast, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Slow Cooked Lamb Curry, Rice, Salad/Fruit Plate/Dessert Brought by Bible study members
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Apple Coconut Breakfast Bowls with Almond Butter Drizzle, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Sauerkraut Bean Soup, Rolls, Fruit Plate
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Creamed Eggs, Toast Fingers, Sliced Oranges, Tea and Coffee
  Dinner: Slow Cooked Basil Chicken in Coconut Curry Sauce, Jasmine Rice, Mandarin Oranges
• Friday
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast, Sliced Apples, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Ladenia, Green Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette, Fruit Plate
• Saturday - Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles
  Breakfast: Vanilla Yogurt, Granola Bars, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Souvlaki, Herbed Cous Cous, Greek Salad, Greek Pastries

What is on your menu this week? If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can. If there are any starred recipes, I will follow up separately with a weekly recipe round up on Saturday.

Labels: Church Year, Faith and Morality, Homemaking, Homesteading, Menu Plans, Shelftember, Tales from the Kitchen

Our yummy birds are in the freezer! Hooray! We still have more birds to butcher, but it turned out we had more than 15 excess roosters. So, the geese and turkeys get a reprieve until next month. There is just not time enough to do it this month. We will continue to eat from our freezers, and that will make more room, as well. I have to say that I am relieved at this, because the price of meat at the grocery store is ridiculous, and it isn't nearly as good a quality of what we produce here or get from our neighbors.

We have a busy weekend, so I have meals planned that can be made by just about anyone in the household, and don't take too much time to prepare. Either they cook a long time on their own, or they are both quick to make and cook.

Also, this week is Amelia's first birthday!!! We are so thrilled, and can't wait to give her presents and watch her eat cake! Actually, this is a week of birthdays. Our godson has his birthday on the Feast of Saint Luke, and a neighbor has a birthday this weekend.

Our kids have an opportunity to have a teen/young adult retreat with the Orthodox churches in our area coming up, and Nejat is the only one too young to go! That is a new phase of our lives. We will basically be on our own while the oldest five attend.

It is rather interesting to be at this stage of life, with half adult children, and more teens and young adults than littles. Some of the people I am friends with are younger than my oldest kids. Some people we do business with are. We don't have anyone under 10, we don't have anyone who is completely dependent (if anything, they are pushing for more independence than either they are ready for or we are). So much of what parenting meant to us is no longer applicable anymore, and we are having to learn a new way of being parents.

Last night, Rich and I went out for the anniversary of our first date. We could leave the kids with a couple recipes and basic instructions and then go with no trouble. Both of us were super exhausted, because he had spent the day butchering, and I had spent the day pattern writing and doing some food preparations. We went, ate delicious food (though Rich said the down side was that the kids were eating better food at home) and we talked and did some word games, and it was super low key, but it was good.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Crème Brûlée French Toast, Sausages, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Baked Potato Bar with Chili, Cheese, Sour Cream, Salsa, Red Onions, Avocado, Scallions, Cilantro, Fruit Plate
• Monday
  Breakfast: Mesfouf, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Indian Tomato and Coriander Chicken, Rice, Plums
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Feta, Tomatoes, Za’atar and Olive Oil, Toast, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Not Texas Chili, Cornbread, Chopped Red Onion, Cilantro, Avocado, Cheese, Sour Cream
• Wednesday - Feast of Saint Luke the Evangelist
  Breakfast: Oatmeal with Raisins, Brown Sugar and Coconut Milk, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Vegan Egyptian Mahshi, Turmeric Rice, Duqqus, Beet and Herb Salad
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Vegetable Potato Hash with Fried Eggs, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Thai Red Curry Chicken and Rice Casserole, Chopped Salad with Sesame Citrus Dressing, Fruit
• Friday
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast, Sliced Apples, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Slow Cooker Minestrone, Rolls, Fruit
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Baked French Toast, Peaches, Milk and Tea
  Dinner: Carnitas, Beans, Mexican Rice, Tortillas, Salsas

What is on your menu this week? If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can. If there are any starred recipes, I will follow up separately with a weekly recipe round up on Saturday.

Labels: Birthday, Church Year, Faith and Morality, Homemaking, Homesteading, Menu Plans, Shelftember, Tales from the Kitchen

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

What is on your menu this week? If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can. If there are any starred recipes, I will follow up separately with a weekly recipe round up on Saturday.

Labels: 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

What's that proverb that man plans and God laughs? Well, so much for getting back to normal last week. We had a sick week instead.

We continue apace with the freezer and shelf cooking, however. This week, a huge ham, a fairly large turkey, some pre-made dishes, and some beef for soup are all coming out for our meals. Next week, the plan is to pull a pork loin out, too, which helps free up more room for turkeys, chickens, and geese, who are on the last couple weeks of death row, here. We have a lot more fruit drying going on and we should do some fruit and tomato canning, but we will see how we can fit it in this week.

Normally, I plan week by week. Actually, it's more like one week with a tentative plan for the second week, which then gets a little modified depending on what didn't get made or what schedules were shifted, what fresh produce was in need of use or was available in our garden or from our gleaning group, and so on and so forth. This month, I have tried to plan for the whole month, with some room for vegetables and fruit that we get through sales, our garden and fruit trees, and our gleaning club. I even planned all the breakfasts. There is room to move things around, and to add the produce that is fresh and available. We're trying to keep cooking from what is home to bulk up our Thanksgiving and Christmas budget, as well as rotate stock at home.

All of us are on the tail end of illness, but are feeling much better now. We are praying for a more normal week this week. Please keep us in your prayers. God is so good to us.

This past week, I ended up only buying half the eggplant we needed for the next two weeks, because the price was ridiculous for small, sad eggplant. I figured I could watch for sales or better ones and make an extra trip to the store in time for the following week, and instead our gleaning group leaders remembered how we are always on board for eggplant, and saved aside some especially for us that were given to the club. So, for the old price of two large eggplant, I received the two small ones we bought and three more. The Lord takes care of us.

We have finally had two or three mornings below freezing here. Just, but still below freezing. It is cold. The fires have been going this week. We are hoping that we have watered our maple enough that it will turn lovely colors before the leaves all freeze off of it. Our mornings are forecast to be below freezing just about all of this week. The heat is on in our bedroom, and sweet Rich put the heated mattress pad on our bed so I won't die. Winter is coming. I'm trying to be grateful that our fall lasted longer than it normally does.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Pancakes with Maple Syrup, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Ham, Summer Squash Casserole, Salad, Green Tomato Dill Relish, Green Tomato Chutney, Peaches and Nectarines
• Monday - Feast of Saint James of Jerusalem
  Breakfast: Ful, Duqqus, Sliced Cucumbers, Toast, Sliced Peaches, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Herb Roasted Turkey, Bourbon Gravy, Potatoes Au Gratin from Freezer, Cranberry Horseradish Relish from Freezer, Cornbread, Roasted Mixed Vegetables
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Labneh with Diced Tomatoes, Za'atar and Olive Oil, Toast, Nectarines, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Leftover Casserole, Cranberry Horseradish Relish, Salad/Fruit/Dessert brought by Bible study members
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Wheatena with Raisins, Brown Sugar and Coconut Milk, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Lentil and Eggplant Curry, Arabic Style Rice Pilaf (made with oil and water), Beet and Herb Salad with Grapefruit and Lemon Dressing, Nectarines
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Ham, Potato and Vegetable Hash, Sliced Apples, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: After Thanksgiving Soup, Challah Bread*, Peaches
• Friday
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast, Sliced Apples, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Creamy Avocado Pasta with Cashews, Green Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette, Fruit Plate
• Saturday - Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles
  Breakfast: Savory Parmesan French Toast with Hollandaise Sauce, Sausages, Fried Ham Slices, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Arabic Beef and Vegetable Soup, Tamis, Peaches

What is on your menu this week? If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can. If there are any starred recipes, I will follow up separately with a weekly recipe round up on Saturday.

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

It is back to reality this week. We have lots of catching up and lots of trying to do our normal routine. We will begin schoolwork for real, dance has been going for a couple weeks, co-op started last week, we are back on track for the fall. This past week, Rich and I were up in British Columbia, in Kelowna, and the fires seemed under control, the smoke was not too bad, and we enjoyed a beautiful and relaxing time while there. Our church family is really caring for us by providing dinner tonight, so all we have to do is bring fruit to share.

Produce is still coming in well, both from our gleaning group and our garden and fruit trees. We will be harvesting turkeys, geese, and some roosters for our freezer in a few weeks. In the meantime, we are eating a lot out of our freezers to make room, and have some rather large roasts and birds planned for church dinners and family meals to make the room we need in there. Because of the abundance of produce, really we are trying to stay on top of all the good things we have right now. There is so much in our refrigerators and pantries that we want to use or preserve before it has to go to the poultry, and I'm keeping a pretty good list of all of the produce to help me with meal planning. This helps me with our annual shelf cooking period, too.

We are drying plums from our trees, and will be canning peaches soon. There is some cherry juice in the freezer that I think needs to become jelly, and we have some sweet cherries in there from a couple years ago that I am thinking of experimenting with to see if my technique for butters and jellies will work with them. That may be a game changer for us.

Autumn has technically begun. It began here in the last week of August, but now the calendar agrees. The mornings are quite cool, but we haven't had any below freezing mornings or evenings yet, which is a good sign. We have already had more than a month of autumn, which is better than the two or three weeks we usually get before we see below freezing temperatures at our house. I will take it. My hope is that we have watered our maple tree enough for it to change color, and that it changes color before the hard freeze comes to kill all the leaves.

We had quite a bit of pumpkin purée leftover from last week, so we are using the last of it in an autumnal breakfast of pumpkin pancakes this morning, and we also are trying the cherry cake recipe I made a few weeks ago, to see if I can improve on it a little. Unfortunately, a lot of kids got a cold that was going around last week, so we had to postpone a birthday party that was already later than the birthday. We also had tons of leftovers from the week, because appetites were low, even in the people who weren't really showing as ill. So Saturday's dinner has been pushed to another week this next month. I am mostly in denial about this cold which certainly did not start making itself be felt and known yesterday. We are taking loads of vitamins, drinking gallons of herbal tea, and resting a bit this weekend.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Pumpkin Pancakes with Maple Syrup, Home Cured Bacon, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Soup and Bread, Chicken, Salad, Fruit Plate
• Monday
  Breakfast: Battatas ou Bayd, Toast, Sliced Pears, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: One Pan Autumn Chicken Dinner, Sautéed Mushrooms, Green Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette, Rolls, Sliced Peaches
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Fried Egg, Sausage and Cheese Sandwiches, Sliced Apples, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Fassoulia and Beef, Duqqus, Rice, Salad/Fruit/Dessert brought by Bible study members
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Oatmeal with Raisins and Brown Sugar, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Vegan Egyptian Mahshi, Turmeric Rice, Duqqus, Beet and Herb Salad with Grapefruit and Lemon Dressing
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Leftover Oatmeal Blueberry Muffins, Sausage Patties, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Bacon Cheeseburgers on Light Bread Buns, Tatertots, Fried Peppers and Yellow Crookneck Squash, Pickles, Sliced Oranges
• Friday - Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast, Sliced Apples, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Mediterranean Braised Vegetables, Arabic Style Rice Pilaf (made with oil and water), Nectarine and Blackberry Filled Dragon Bread
• Saturday - Feast of Saint Jerome
  Breakfast: Cherry Coffee Cake to break the fast after Liturgy
  Dinner: Penne Gorgonzola with Chicken and Broccoli, Fried Olive Bites, Green Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette, Lion Cupcakes

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.

Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they were defeated and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world -- he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. -- Revelation 12:7-9

Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly host, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits, who roam through the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

Sancte Michael Archangele, defende nos in praelio. Contra nequitiam et insidias diaboli esto praesidium. Imperet illi Deus, supplices deprecamur. Tuque princeps militiae caelestis, Satanam aliosque spiritus malignos, qui ad perditionem animarum pervagantur in mundo divina virtute in infernum detrude. Amen.

Labels: Church Year, Faith and Morality, Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Homeschooling, Homesteading, Menu Plans, Michaelmas, Prayer Requests, Shelftember, Tales from the Kitchen

We are in week two of three for our busy, busy time. Next week is also busy, but slightly less. This is the busiest week. Please pray for us.

On the plus side, we are doing amazingly well on our shelf cooking. We are not spending much (except for a planned trip to the Arabic markets and Trader Joe's) and are eating some really delicious meals. The mesfouf last week was definitely a winner. It is a breakfast cereal made with cous cous, spices, sultanas, sugar, and buttermilk or cream. It is definitely a keeper. The bean soup we made was also quite good. I'm not sure I'd say it was the best bean soup in the world, as claimed, but it was exceptional.

Last week, we were able to visit a Sudanese church a couple hours away and worship with them as they had two deacons ordained. The service was mostly in Arabic and it was joyous and beautiful. They served a feast afterward, all delicious foods. What a treat for us! We made some friends, who immediately invited us over to their home, and now we can visit with them.

This week, we are eating a lot of things from our freezer, making space for butchering, and to make our challenging week a little simpler. We are blessed to have so much available to us. We have a ton of tomatoes, both from our garden and from our gleaning club, and are using them as much as we can. I may be able to make some more salsa with them, and Rich has put a tray of them in the smoker, too.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Pumpkin Spice Crumb Cake*, Sausage Patties, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Red Beans and Rice, Hot Pepper Sauce, Scallions, Fruit Plate
• Monday
  Breakfast: Shakshouka, Toast, Sliced Oranges and Grapefruit Halves, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Herb Roasted Green Lamb, Potatoes Au Gratin, Banadora Maghlieh, Plums
• Tuesday - Feast of Saint Theodore
  Breakfast: Spinach and Cheese Strata, Sliced Tomatoes, Sliced Pears, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Chile Verde, Quick and Dirty Mexican Rice, Warmed Corn Tortillas, Plums
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Tomato Toast, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Tomato and Eggplant Sauce, Salad, Fruit Plate
• Thursday - Feast of Saint Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with Cheese, Toast, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Broiled Bierwurst and Bratwurst, Mashed Potatoes from Freezer, Sauerkraut and Green Bean Salad, Fruit Plate
• Friday
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast, Sliced Apples, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Rice Stuffed Tomatoes, Sautéed Peppers and Onions with Garlic, Bread, Fruit Plate
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Fried Eggs with Sausage, Pepper, Tomato and Onion Skillet, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Thai Style Ginger Chicken with Eggplant, Jasmine Rice, Plums

What is on your menu this week? If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can. If there are any starred recipes, I will follow up separately with a weekly recipe round up on Saturday.

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

This is the first of three super busy weeks this month. It's a little easier than the others, though, glory to God.

I don't think we have any repeats from last week, but we might make another go at the pumpkin spice crumb cake. It was good, but didn't actually have any pumpkin in it, and the crumb topping was a little dry, so I'm going to try a couple modifications.

We are still being blessed by the good produce from our garden amd others. Other than that, I'm cooking from our freezers and pantry and minimal shopping. We are doing well on the shelftember challenge.

Our family could use prayer in all the bustling we are doing. There are many things to attend to and lots of plates spinning right now.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Mixed Garden Vegetable Scramble with Eggs and Cheese, Toast, Sliced Peaches, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Dinner Provided by Church
• Monday
  Breakfast: Scrambled Egg and Cheese Burritos with Green Salsa and Sour Cream, Sliced Pears, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Corned Beef, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Parmesan Roasted Green Beans, Fruit Plate
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Fried Eggs, Ham, Potato and Vegetable Hash, Grapefruit Halves, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Broiled Italian Sausages, Cheese Tortellini, Butter Tomato Sauce, Fruit Plate
• Wednesday - Feast of Saint Cyprian of Carthage
  Breakfast: Oatmeal with Raisins, Chopped Apples and Coconut Milk, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: El Bulli Bean Soup, Bread, Fruit Plate
• Thursday - Feast of the Elevation of the Holy Cross
  Breakfast: Mesfouf with Cream, Sliced Oranges, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Japanese Mum’s Chicken Drumsticks, Jasmine Rice, Sesame Green Beans, Mandarin Orange Slices
• Friday
  Breakfast: Apple Coconut Breakfast Bowls with Almond Butter Drizzle, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Falafel, Toum, Harissa, Taratoor, Veggies, Olives, Khoubz Araby, Fruit Plate
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Halloum Pie to break the fast after Liturgy
  Dinner: Persian Chicken Tah-Chin, Persian Chopped Salad, Fruit Plate

What is on your menu this week? If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can. If there are any starred recipes, I will follow up separately with a weekly recipe round up on Saturday.

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

In your mercy, please pray for me. The tooth extraction went a little sideways and we only took one tooth (that part is alright), but that decision was made after wrenching on the other for nearly 40 minutes. I have been in more and more pain since Wednesday, getting rather bad Friday and this weekend. Rich met with the dentist yesterday to get me a stronger pain medication prescription and an anti-biotic, if it looks like there is an infection. Please pray that the pain lessens and that there is no infection or damage to the yanked on tooth, especially below the gum. What I can eat has been severely limited, and even chewing on crustless bread was hurting a little. The stronger pain medication helped me eat more solid food that was still on the soft side.

After many mixes and many experiments with gluten-free pancake recipes, I finally just used the peanut butter pancake recipe I normally use with Jerome's flour, egg substitute and almond milk, and they were the best pancakes he's had since being on this diet. When he can have egg back completely, in a month and a half or so, it will improve them even further. Since he can't have our Michaelmas dragon, I may just give him some of the filling to eat on some gluten-free biscuits. The girls' ballet schedule makes it easy to have our bonfire this year, so we will be able to enjoy that.

Jerome's name day is this week, as well, and I think I've found an appropriate treat that he can enjoy with the rest of us. In the interim, I am resting as much as I can and trying to heal. We are still doing as much food preservation as possible, so we don't let the late summer harvest go to waste.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Pancakes (Gluten-free and Vegan Peanut Butter Pancakes* for Jerome) with Raspberry Syrup, Bacon, Milk and Coffee, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: One Pot Chicken, Vegetables and Rice with Parmesan Cheese on the Side, Grapes
• Monday
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs (Scrambled Chickpeas for Jerome), Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Grilled Chicken Fajita Bowls with Peppers, Garlic and Onions, "Mexican" Rice Pilaf, Refried Beans, Fruit Plate
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Yogurt with Jam (Grain-free Granola with Almonds, Dried Fruit, and Coconut Milk for Jerome), Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Homemade Hamburger Helper (made with GF flour and broth instead of milk), Mashed Potatoes, Fruit Plate
• Wednesday - Feast of Saint Michael and All Archangels
  Breakfast: Waffles (Gluten-free and vegan for Jerome) with Blackberry Syrup, Tea and Honey
  Dinner: Red Pepper and Garlic Sludge* with Pasta (Gluten-free pasta for Jerome), Michaelmas Dragon with Pear and Blackberry Filling (Dragon "Egg" made of GF, Vegan Biscuit for Jerome)
• Thursday - Feast of Saint Jerome
  Breakfast: Steel Cut Oats with Pears and Cinnamon Sugar (Grain-free Granola with Almond Milk for Jerome), Tea with Honey
  Dinner: White Wine and Garlic Steamed Clams, Crudités and Charcuterie, Lion Fruit Salads
• Friday
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter and Honey on Toast (Gluten-free for Jerome), Fruit, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Caponata with Pasta (Gluten-free for Jerome), Grated Parmesan Cheese (Shredded Faux Mozzarella for Jerome), Fruit Plate
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Toast with Cream Cheese (Gluten-free with Dairy-free Cheese for Jerome), Sliced Peaches, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Mongolian Beef and Peppers, Jasmine Rice, Pears

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.

Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they were defeated and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world -- he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. -- Revelation 12:7-9

Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly host, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits, who roam through the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

Sancte Michael Archangele, defende nos in praelio. Contra nequitiam et insidias diaboli esto praesidium. Imperet illi Deus, supplices deprecamur. Tuque princeps militiae caelestis, Satanam aliosque spiritus malignos, qui ad perditionem animarum pervagantur in mundo divina virtute in infernum detrude. Amen.

Labels: Church Year, Faith and Morality, Family, Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Menu Plans, Michaelmas, Prayer Requests, Shelftember, Special Diet, Tales from the Kitchen

We are basically entering winter here. It has been actually cold in the mornings, and we are set to have a morning at or below freezing Wednesday. We are so grateful for God's provision, and are spenging quite a lot of time on drying, canning, and freezing so we can enjoy this bounty all winter.

Even planning on using leftover ingredients and putting a leftover day on the weekly menu, we still ended up having leftovers again for dinner on Saturday. Aside from Alexander no longer eating with us each night, Dominic was housesitting this weekend, so we had a lot extra from several meals over the week. Since we were busy with the preservation all day on Saturday, I just had everyone eat leftovers for dinner again. I have a little urgency in getting the preserving done, because I don't think I will be up to it after my wisdom teeth are out Tuesday (at Tooth Hurty). While the kids will be able to help with most meals, I do most of the heavy lifting on the canning, so that part needs to be done before Tuesday afternoon. They can handle the freezing and drying, though.

The Orthodox service was canceled this past week, and they are trying to hold it this Saturday. I'm hoping I will be feeling well enough to go. If not, the family can go and I can stay at home and rest. Our co-op began this past week, and I will have to be there for that this week because this is the only week my co-teacher is going to be gone, so I may be using up my energy on that. We shall see. We are still only doing a little school work, but will begin the serious work next week.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Pancakes (Gluten-free and Vegan for Jerome) with Raspberry Syrup, Bacon, Milk and Coffee, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Chicken Cacciatore with Egg Noodles (Rice Noodles for Jerome), Green Salad with Mandarin Oranges and Toasted Pecans, Salt and Pepper Sliced Tomatoes, Grapes
• Monday
  Breakfast: Battatas ou Bayd* (No Eggs for Jerome), Fried Ham, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Bell Pepper Mahshi, Rice, Duqqus, Tourshi Makhloot, Fried Tomatoes, Green Salad, Peach Blueberry Cake (Lemon Sorbet for Jerome)
• Tuesday - Feast of Saint Matthew the Apostle
  Breakfast: Apple Coconut Breakfast Bowls with Honey Peanut Butter, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Arabic Beef and Vegetable Soup (no cilantro and with green chickpeas), Rice, Duqqus, Applesauce
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Polenta with Maple Syrup, Sliced Peaches, Tea and Honey
  Dinner: Potato and Poblano Stew (leaving out the coriander and cilantro, and with no cheese), Fried Tortilla Strips, Fruit Plate
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Vegetable Hash with Bacon, Fruit Plate, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Leftovers, Salad, Fruit Plate
• Friday
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter and Honey on Toast (Gluten-free for Jerome), Fruit, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Caponata with Pasta (Gluten-free for Jerome), Marinated Cucumbers, Peppers and Onions, Fruit Plate
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Steel Cut Oats with Pears and Cinnamon Sugar (Grain-free Granola with Strawberry Coconut Milk Yogurt for Jerome), Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Leftovers, Fruit

What is on your menu this week? If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can. If there are any starred recipes, I will follow up separately with a weekly recipe round up on Saturday.

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

Glory to God who provides so abundantly for us! Not only are we blessed with our gleaning club and our local Grocery Outlet, but our Fred Meyer rewards showed up this week, and we were able to buy some pickling cucumbers, tomatoes, and basil for $0.50 a pound or a bunch (for the basil). We have been preserving up a storm! We are still below our Shelftember monthly budget, but we will be squeaking by if we make it this month. Last year we were over by only a little, and I was hoping to break even or be under this year.

I'm finding that even with just Alexander gone, we are building up quite a backlog of leftovers in the fridge. On Thursday last week, I wouldn't let anyone eat anything new until just about all the leftovers in the fridge were eaten. That was for both lunch and dinner! So, now I am trying to build in a leftovers day on Thursday, since that seems to be one of our busier days, until I get used to making just a little less. It makes my heart ache a little. I did alright not crying until after Alexander left Monday night. Nejat was sitting at the dining room table and just started to bawl. I held her and told her it was alright, that he still lived nearby, still loved her, and we would still see him, and that there was no reason to cry, all while tears started. I miss waiting for him to come in the door from work and miss saying goodnight to him. I don't want to spoil the fun and adventure of having his own place and freedom, so I'm telling you instead of him. He is doing well, and lives among several elderly folks who will soon find out that he is a big, friendly teddy bear, and will probably have him helping around their places soon enough. He is a light of Christ in a dark world, and among his neighbors, but I miss seeing him every day.

Anyway, it looks like this week is Mexican week at our house. Or at least Mexican style. I didn't quite plan on that, except that those meals worked out the best for our schedules this week. Next week is going to be much more about soft foods and soups because I get TWO wisdom teeth out and I think I will not want things that require lots of chewing or are too crunchy.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Egg and Croissant Sandwiches with Cheese and Tomato (Ham, Mushroom and Tomato Sandwich on GF Bread for Jerome), Grapes, Milk and Coffee, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Beef Machacas, Quick and Dirty Mexican Rice, Mixed Greens with Cumin Lime Dressing, Diced Cantaloupe
• Monday - Feast of Saint Cyprian of Carthage
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with Cheese and Vegetables (Scrambled Chickpeas for Jerome), Brioche Bagels (Gluten-free Bread for Jerome), Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Lengua Tacos with Ranchero Black Beans, Fruit Plate
• Tuesday - Feasts of the Elevation of the Holy Cross and Saint John Chrysostom
  Breakfast: Apple Coconut Breakfast Bowls with Honey Peanut Butter, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Leftover Taco Meat and Ranchero Black Beans with Arepas, Green Salad, Fruit Plate
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Steel Cut Oats with Apples and Cinnamon Sugar (Grain-free Granola with Strawberry Coconut Milk Yogurt for Jerome), Tea and Honey
  Dinner: Vegan Dan Dan Rice Noodles, Salad with Citrus Dressing, Fruit Plate
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Vegetable Hash, Fried Ham, Fruit Plate, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Leftovers, Salad, Fruit Plate
• Friday
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter and Peach Butter on Toast (Gluten-free for Jerome), Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Grilled Tuna, Đuveč Rice, Croatian Cucumber Salad
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Potatoes and Eggs (No Eggs for Jerome), Bacon, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Leftovers, Fruit

What is on your menu this week? If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can. If there are any starred recipes, I will follow up separately with a weekly recipe round up on Saturday.

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

It is September, and I am doing Shelftember again. My cooking style is very different than the woman who organizes this, and I include all our household supplies and animal supplies in my grocery budget, but I do like to try to eat as much from our freezers and pantries, and save money at the beginning of all school and co-op and dance and all of that. Plus, we have to buy both snow tires and regular tires for my van. This will give us more cushion for that, too.

Since we belong to that wonderful gleaning club I mention here so often, though, we are still flush with produce. Also, I have a pretty big Fred Meyer reward rebate that we will be using in a couple weeks, which I don't count against our lowered budget. Normally, we spend about $1600 a month on our groceries, including toiletries, paper products, cleaning products, and animal feed/supplies. This month, I have reduced that to $550 and we are eating out of what we have here. With the way prices have gone up, though, I think it will be a little harder to do this year even than it was last year. When I went to the grocery store for my bi-weekly trip, many prices that have been stable for a long time had gone up significantly. Thank God for our gleaning group and friends at the Grocery Outlet.

We have had a few changes this past week. One of those is that the local Orthodox Mission has set up Divine Liturgy twice a month, and the first was yesterday. We were able to join them, and will be going every other week. Rich will still be leading the Anglican Evening Prayer service Sunday nights, so I think we will just be alternating which weekends we go to either the Catholic or Orthodox Church in the morning. It has been the biggest challenge since we have come here not to have a home parish. We love each of these churches, but we miss our own. However, it is beautiful and our boys, especially, love the Orthodox liturgy, and they are so glad to be going. It has been good for our youngest girls, as well. They see the icons and ask about them, and they "read" the history of our faith in them. That has been wonderful. We are always trying to see the great blessings God has given us here in our desert place.

It has been downright cold in the mornings here. I'm trying not to complain, but instead be grateful for our warm house and bed, but it is hard. Also hard is that Alexander finally moved out on his own this weekend. It is time and we are happy for him, but it is hard, too. I imagine, he will find some things harder than he expects, also, because while he won't have to work around nine other people or do dishes for nine other people, he also doesn't have those nine other people doing all the things they do for him here. He's still in town and working here, too, so we will see him; he goes to church with us, and he already plans to be here for some dinners and such, but he is the first to leave the nest.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Blackberry Pancakes (Gluten and dairy-free for Jerome) with Maple Syrup, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Borschty, Egg Noodles (Gluten-free pasta for Jerome), Sour Cream (Cashew Cream for Jerome), Green Salad, Sliced Peacock Melon
• Monday
  Breakfast: Biscuits and Sausage Gravy (Gluten and dairy free for Jerome), Cantaloupe, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Grilled Kofta, Turkish Ezme Salad, Fried Tomatoes, Quick Pilaf, Sliced Watermelon
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Vanilla Yogurt with and Diced Peaches (Strawberry Coconut Milk Yogurt for Jerome), Toast (Gluten-free for Jerome), Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Lubia Polo with Beef, Persian Salad, Sliced Watermelon
• Wednesday - Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter and Blueberry Peach Jam on Toast (Gluten-free for Jerome), Tea and Honey
  Dinner: Loaded Vegetable Nachos with Salsa and Cheese (Vegan-alternative for Jerome), Sliced Watermelon
• Thursday - Feast of the Parents of the Theotokos, Joachim and Anna
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with Peppers, Onions and Corn Chips (Dairy-free Sausage Gravy and Gluten-free Toast for Jerome), Fruit, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Leftovers, Fruit Plate
• Friday
  Breakfast: Ful, Moroccan Olives, Chopped Tomatoes and Onions, Toast (gluten-free for Jerome), Nectarines, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Quesadillas (Faux Cheese for Jerome), Sliced Peppers, Salsa, Fruit Plate
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Yogurt (Dairy-free for Jerome) and Toast (Gluten-free for Jerome), Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Shared Meal after Vespers

What is on your menu this week? If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can. If there are any starred recipes, I will follow up separately with a weekly recipe round up on Saturday.

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

We are so thankful for our gleaning club and the Grocery Outlet We have crates of peaches for canning, peppers, and cucumbers because of our gleaning club, plus some cheaper purchases of nectarines and peaches for fresh eating and a huge watermelon with seeds. We like to salt and roast the watermelon seeds for snacks and the seeded watermelons really taste so much better than the seedless kinds. We have been getting such great deals on our regular groceries at the Grocery Outlet, but especially now that we are sometimes buying specialty items for Jerome, we are paying about a quarter of what it costs at the regular store. This is one of the ways that God truly has blessed and cared for us. I try to keep my eyes open for how He provides for us, and this is a gift to any family, but especially a family of our size.

Fall continues apace. I can only hope that we get a real autumn, and not head straight into winter by the third week of September. My hopes are limited, because of our weird, short, hot and cold, summer. We shall see. I love the autumn, and it makes me sad that it is so short here and just makes me anticipate the cold and misery of winter. On the positive side, we have an abundance of produce from our gleaning group, and we are able both to share with others and stock our pantry and freezer with them. We have so many peppers, eggplant, cucumbers, and summer squash, as well as quite a few peaches. There will be a lot of freezing and canning this week. We will also have a lot of salads, just because we have an embarrassment of salad greens.

We are keeping both Jerome's special diet and our abstinent fasts as best we can. Again, we are so thankful for the blessings God has sent us to help feed our family on a budget and care for special diets without too much expense. I need to spend some time this week preparing lesson plans and schedules for our school year. Alexander is just about out of the house, and when Dominic either goes to a university program or begins his film internship, which is still being decided, we will have no need for our big van. It might come in handy if we needed to give someone else a ride, and it does come in handy for having an extra vehicle for Amira, when I need the mini-van, so we may not get rid of it yet, but we could. Part of me wants to sell it really low to a family who needs it, so they can afford to do the repairs that would be necessary to really make it fit again. Our other option is just to drive it into the ground and donate it for parts. We will have to decide soon, I suppose.

• Sunday - Feast of the Beheading of Saint John the Forerunner
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with Cheese and Vegetables (Scrambled Chickpeas for Jerome), Toast, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Curried Chicken and Rice, Green Salad, Fruit Plate
• Monday
  Breakfast: Slow Cooker Rice Pudding with Peaches and Cream (Dairy-free and Vegan for Jerome), Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Khoresh Bademjan (using chuck roast), Persian Sabzi Polo (Herbed Rice), Fried Peppers and Onions, Green Salad
• Tuesday- Feast of Saint Aidan
  Breakfast: Vanilla Yogurt with Diced Peaches (Strawberry Coconut Milk Yogurt for Jerome), Toast (Gluten-free for Jerome), Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Chile Verde, Refried Black Beans, Mexican Rice, Corn Tortillas, Chopped Avocados, Green Salad
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Ful, Moroccan Olives, Chopped Tomatoes and Onions, Toast (gluten-free for Jerome), Nectarines, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Cauliflower and Chickpea Masala with Pumpkin, Rice, Fried Peppers and Onions
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Steel Cut Oats with Pumpkin and Maple Syrup (Grain-free Granola with Coconut Milk for Jerome), Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Herbed Country Sausage and Potato Bake, Bread (Gluten-free for Jerome), Sliced Cucumbers, Sliced Peaches and Nectarines
• Friday
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter and Blueberry Peach Jam on Toast (Gluten-free for Jerome), Tea and Honey
  Dinner: Zaalouk (Moroccan Warm Eggplant Salad) with Khoubz Kesra (Moroccan Semolina Bread) and Gluten-free Pasta for Jerome, Marinated Cucumbers, Peppers and Onions, Canned Peach Halves
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Brunch after Divine Liturgy
  Dinner: Leftovers

What is on your menu this week? If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can. If there are any starred recipes, I will follow up separately with a weekly recipe round up on Saturday.

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

It's another late week. We started school for real this week, and we are still running on sleepless nights. It is the week of the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels, and we are at least getting to slay our dragon. Ballet is so late that I don't think we will get to do our bonfire, though.

Jerome's name day is this week, also, and we are quickly approaching the last birthday of birthday season at our home. It is still so weird to me that all of our birthdays have been celebrated in this quarantine.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Pancakes with Butter and Syrup, Sausages, Scrambled Eggs, Mixed Fruit, Juice
  Dinner: Fried Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Cream Gravy, Sliced Tomatoes and Peppers
• Monday
  Breakfast: Biscuits and Hard Boiled Eggs, Sliced Cantaloupe, Coffee
  Dinner: Lamb and White Bean Stew, Tamis, Brownies with Heath Bar Crunch Topping
• Tuesday - Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels
  Breakfast: Steel Cut Oats with Cinnamon Sugar, Sliced Pears, Coffee
  Dinner: Chicago Style Hot Dogs, Snickerdoodle Blondies, Apple and Cherry Stuffed "Dragon" Bread
• Wednesday - Feast of Saint Jerome
  Breakfast: Ful, Chopped Tomato and Jalapeño Relish, Toast, Sliced Honeydew, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Potato and Onion Tarte with Three Cheeses, Roast Squash Slices, Sliced Watermelon, German Chocolate Brownies
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Toast with Feta, Tomatoes, Za'atar and Olive Oil, Sliced Cantaloupe, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Tortilla Casserole with Chile Verde from the Freezer, Salsa Rice, Sliced Watermelon
• Friday
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast with Honey, Sliced Apples, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Potage Parmentier (Potato Leek Soup), Oyster Crackers, Sliced Watermelon
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Pancakes with Maple Syrup, Bacon, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Grilled Italian Sausage Sandwiches with Sautéed Peppers and Onions, Hot Giardinera, Sliced Cantaloupe

What is on your menu this week? If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can. If there are any starred recipes, I will follow up separately with a weekly recipe round up on Saturday. Linking to Menu Plan Monday

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

I'm so sorry that this is late. We have been having early mornings and sleepless nights. The smoke has cleared, though, finally, on Saturday, and now you wouldn't know that we had been socked in for nearly two weeks. We are still trying to outrace winter in our garden, and now that we don't need it to filter out the smoke, the air conditioning units are going away. It is back to chilly mornings and warm days with chilly evenings. I am also running a bit late on my recipe round up from last week. I will try to get that posted this week. You can see the basbousa above. It isn't the exact recipe my mother and aunt gave me, because the recipe often includes coconut, and I had coconut flour I wanted to use, so I was experimenting to see if using that in the batter would work, and it did! However, I still need to tweak it to make the texture of the cake right.

Our breakfast this Sunday looks like last Sunday's and will be the same next Sunday. A local restaurant has been offering a substantial breakfast as a fundraiser each week for three children in our area who are battling cancer. Our children know one of them, so we went last week to support her, but Rich and I decided we would go each week to support the other two, as well. That isn't exactly in our budget slashing plan, but that money is an offering, and we are trying to increase our offering, anyway. Our church follows the model of the Old Testament, in that the tithe is what is given to the priest and his family, and the offering is what is given for the mission of the church, the building upkeep, charity, etc. We always give at least 10% of our gross income in tithe, to support our priest families, and we wanted to be giving another 10% in offering, but often, it is closer to 5%. We try to look for opportunities to give more, and this one was a little closer to our hearts. Our friend's daughter is almost Amira's age, and she has stage 4 cancer in her bones, and we are praying for a miracle. They found out on Father's Day, and the reality is that without divine intervention, she will die. We are heartbroken, and can only imagine how her parents and sister are feeling right now. Please join us in praying for a miracle for her, as well as these two other children. If you would like to give money toward the family's medical expenses, I can send you a link, if you contact me.

You might notice that the Feast of the Conception of Saint John the Forerunner is this Wednesday. Contrary to a lot of anti-Christian and anti-Catholic rhetoric, this is why Christmas is in December. When calculating the date of Jesus' birth, the Church Fathers looked back on the visit of the Blessed Mother to Saint Elizabeth, and when in her pregnancy it was. Since Zechariah had been serving his time in the temple before he went home and they conceived their baby, and there were only two times of the year (given his section of the priesthood) that this could have been, they had to determine if it was the spring session at the temple or the autumn. For several reasons, the September date was considered more likely. Which meant that Jesus conception, and the Annunciation, would have been March 25, and nine months later is December 25. This is the reason that the Feast of the Nativity is when it is. So, in some ways, the feast this week is the first feast of the year relating to the Nativity of our Lord.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Pancakes with Butter and Syrup, Sausages, Scrambled Eggs, Mixed Fruit, Juice
  Dinner: Faux Poutine Made with French Fries, Beef Gravy and Queso Fresco, Roasted Summer Squash, Leftover Basbousa
• Monday - Feast of Saint Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist
  Breakfast: Biscuits and Strawberry Yogurt, Peaches, Coffee
  Dinner: Chorizo, Summer Squash, Pepper, Corn and Onion "Crostini" on Toasted Jalapeño Cheddar Bread, Sliced Watermelon
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with Jalapeño Cheddar Toast, Sliced Honeydew, Coffee
  Dinner: One Pot Greek Style Chicken and Rice, Roasted Summer Squash
• Wednesday - Feast of the Conception of Saint John the Forerunner
  Breakfast: Steel Cut Oats with Chopped Apples and Cinnamon Sugar, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Cuban Black Beans and Brown Rice, Sautéed Peppers, Corn and Onions, Sliced Watermelon
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Ful, Green Hot Sauce (Sah'awiq), Chopped Tomatoes, Toast, Sliced Asian Pears, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Slow Cooker Chicken Curry with Brown Rice, Spiced Sautéed Summer Squash, Peppers, and Onions, Sliced Cantaloupe
• Friday
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast with Honey, Sliced Apples, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Cheese Tortellini with Tomato Pepper Sauce, Garlic Bread, Fruit Salad
• Saturday - Memorial of the Falling Asleep of Saint John the Evangelist
  Breakfast: Sausage and Potato Breakfast Casserole, Sliced Honeydew, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Pasta with Sausage, Tomato, Pepper and Onion Sauce, Fruit Plate

What is on your menu this week? If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can. If there are any starred recipes, I will follow up separately with a weekly recipe round up on Saturday. Linking to Menu Plan Monday

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

This is what it looked like at our house Monday at 9:00 am. It got a little better, though still hard to breathe, then it got a lot worse when the winds changed and brought in the heavy smoke that had been blown to sea. We are supposed to see a small improvement by Tuesday, so I am postponing my grocery shopping from Friday to Tuesday, in the hopes that it will be easier to breathe. As bad as this looks, it is much worse where my mother (and the kids' godparents) live. Please be praying for the entire west coast which is engulfed in flames and smoke right now.

The good news is that because of how well stocked we are, the generosity of farmers, and my getting the inventory done on all the comestibles and libations (hooray!!!) in the house, we can go without a grocery store trip for a while, actually. It means I have to be creative with what we have, and not just choose to make whatever I feel like, but since I know how to cook, we are still making out pretty well. Glory to God, the farmer the boys have been helping keeps sending them home with tons of produce, and we have filled our freezers with about half of what we would normally purchase in a year. His generosity and a little of our time has blessed us and saved us money. He has been sending these beautiful watermelons, eggplant, cabbage, onions, cucumbers, spaghetti squash, jalapeños, leeks, kohlrabi, basil, tomatoes, besides all the green and red bell peppers, home with them after work. We are praying that he is blessed far more than he has blessed us. Even what he has done has helped other families besides ours, as we were able to offer the produce to them, too. Our gleaning club has been doing what it can during this time, and we are getting eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, cucumbers, and peaches on a fairly regular basis, too. This is besides what our garden is (finally) providing. God is looking out for us extravagantly.

This week has the autumn ember days, and we will be, of course, praying for the Church, her bishops, priests and deacons, those in consecrated virginity, and those called to all those offices, but we will also be praying for the physical and spiritual relief of our country and the world. If you feel led, please pray (and fast, as you are able), on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. If you are unable to fast, you can eat meatless on those days, as a reminder. It is the feast of Saint Cyprian of Carthage today, who said of the Church:

Whoever is separated from the Church and is joined to an adulteress, is separated from the promises of the Church; nor can he who forsakes the Church of Christ attain to the rewards of Christ. He is a stranger; he is profane; he is an enemy. He can no longer have God for his Father, who has not the Church for his mother.

Please pray for our Mother Church.

• Sunday - Feast of Saint Cyprian of Carthage
  Breakfast: Pancakes with Butter and Syrup, Sausages, Scrambled Eggs, Mixed Fruit, Juice
  Dinner: Taco Meat and Beans over Roasted Tomato Salsa Rice, Sliced Tomatoes, Queso Fresco and Jalapeños, Salsa Verde
• Monday - Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
  Breakfast: Toast with Feta, Tomatoes, Za'atar and Olive Oil, Apricots, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Gumbo, Rice, Pepper Vinegar, Sliced Watermelon
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Plum Skillet Cake, Hard Boiled Eggs, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Borschty (Substituting Rutabagas for the Potatoes for a Nightshade Free Friend), Sour Cream Egg Noodles
• Wednesday - Ember Day
  Breakfast: Steel Cut Oats with Chopped Apples and Cinnamon Sugar, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Boiled Potatoes, Romanian Cabbage Salad, Romanian Eggplant Dip, Shabboura*, Sliced Watermelon
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Biscuits with Peach Butter and Ricotta, Pears, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Spaghetti Squash Bolognese, Fried Eggplant, Garlic Balsamic Beet Greens, Sliced Tomatoes and Cucumbers
• Friday - Ember Day
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast with Honey, Sliced Asian Pears, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Caramelized Onion and Eggplant Puff Pastry Tart, Fruit Salad
• Saturday - Ember Day
  Breakfast: Pancakes with Maple Syrup, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Eggplant Gyros, Baba Ghanooj, Taratoor, Green Hot Sauce, Khoubz Araby, Sliced Vegetables, Olives, Sliced Watermelon, Basbousa*

What is on your menu this week? If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can. If there are any starred recipes, I will follow up separately with a weekly recipe round up on Saturday. Linking to Menu Plan Monday

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

Fall is definitely in the air here. It's not quite as far as that photo from a couple years ago, but it is getting closer and our nighttime temperatures are getting cooler and cooler. We had the last rigor mortis of summer this past week, and while the weather shaman is predicting some hotter days next week, I think that is largely wishful thinking. Last week I mentioned how we are slashing our grocery budget and using what we have. Well, part of that was taking inventory of all the food in our kitchen, fridge and freezer, our pantry, our stand up freezer, and our chest freezer. We are almost finished with that task, and should finish everything up tomorrow. There is the refrigerator, four shelves in our kitchen, the spice rack and spice drawer, our coffee and tea, our liquor cabinet, and the last half of our pantry storage to do. I have already done all three freezers (including the one attached to the fridge), the flex drawer of our refrigerator (which is just at freezing, but not below) where we keep our nuts and whole spices and chocolate chips and such, the drawers (except for the spices) in the kitchen, all our grain/bean/rice/flour/sugar type bins, the produce outside of the refrigerator, and Rich did half the pantry storage.

We have a lot of food here. I knew that, and we buy in bulk and in large quantities, just to feed the family, but somehow seeing it on 20 sheets of paper (with at least another 12 to go) has brought it home to me. Again, God is good to us. Both Rich and I have felt an urgency to prepare for whatever might come this fall, whether that be more stringent Covid restrictions (though our county has had relatively few serious cases and very few deaths), or economic trouble related to all the shut downs, or shortages, or limits on purchases, or who knows what. We want to be prepared and able to care for our family, regardless of what is going on around us. We are so blessed to have what we have here, and have our gleaning club and generous friends with farms and gardens, and our own garden. It has been good to be able to bless others with that plenty, as well. I pray that you are in plenty, and not in lack or in fear.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Egg, Cheese and Tomato Biscuits, Pears, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Jalapeno Popper Pizza and Mexican Pizza, Leftover Chopped Salad, Sliced Watermelon
• Monday
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs, Potatoes O'Brien, Sausage, Toast, Sliced Apples, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Italian Sausage and Potato Bake, Italian Bread, Fruit Plate
• Tuesday - Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos, Blessed Virgin and Mother
  Breakfast: Steel Cut Oats with Raisins and Brown Sugar, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Spaghetti Squash Carbonara, Garlic Bread, Steam Sautéed Kohlrabi, Carrots and Zucchini, Sliced Watermelon, Chocolate Velvet Cake* with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Ful, Green Hot Sauce, Toast, Sliced Apples, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Layered Tortilla Casserole, Salsa Rice, Cilantro Citrus Coleslaw, Nutella Brownies
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins, Hard Boiled Eggs, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Biscuit Topped Chicken and Green Chile Pie, Chopped Salad, Fruit Salad
• Friday
  Breakfast: Tomato Toast, Sliced Oranges, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Cheese Tortellini with Fresh Tomato Pepper Sauce, Fruit Salad
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Pancakes with Maple Syrup, Bacon, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Not Texas Chili, Chopped Red Onion, Chopped Jalapeños, Chopped Cilantro, Sour Cream, Tortilla Chips

What is on your menu this week? If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can. If there are any starred recipes, I will follow up separately with a weekly recipe round up on Saturday. Linking to Menu Plan Monday

Labels: Blessed Virgin, Family, Frugality, Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Homesteading, Menu Plans, Quarantine, Shelftember, Tales from the Kitchen, Theotokos

Last Monday, fall winds began, and we are full on in the autumn now. We even saw trees changing colors yesterday. It is a race against the winter now. This has been such a weird year with regards to everything, including the weather. So our normal hot spring and summer never really materialized. We had a few days above 100˚, but not the normal two weeks, and our spring and most of summer were pretty cool. Our first ripe tomato was yesterday. Normally, we are at the end of our tomatoes by now. Rich is trying to figure out how to set up hoops to extend our season so we can get more produce from our garden.

We are taking September to minimize our spending, and I have slashed our grocery budget for this month. Normally, we spend about $1500 or more each month on our food, pet food, paper products, cleaning products, toiletries, etc. This month, we are trying to spend only $300. Now, we have a well stocked pantry, fridge and freezers, including two stand alone freezers, and we still have our gleaning club and our CSA (which is already paid for), and we will be purchasing milk as we always do. However, we are trying to rotate our stock of stored foods and eating down what we have to put money toward debt. We are still paying for Rich's student loan, and we have some consumer debt (which we deliberately took on so we could have some once in a lifetime experiences) and we want to make a dent in them. Also, since we have always either paid our credit cards in full, or paid more than the minimum with no late payments, Rich called and asked them to lower our interest rate, which they did for six months, telling us we could call again at that point and see if it could be renewed. This means we can make these payments go a little farther. I will still be menu planning, and if we can extend our garden a little, that will be a blessing.

God takes care of big families especially, it seems. We have had so many people five us crates and crates of produce lately. The boys were still helping on a local farm last week, and he sent them home with two huge crates of bell peppers, a crate of jalapeños, five or six yellow watermelon, a crate of kohlrabi, a huge bucket of basil and purple basil, two crates of tomatoes, a few serranos, two spaghetti squash, plus we received about 20 eggplant, a box of lemon cucumbers and slicing cucumbers, a box of peaches, a dozen zucchini, and more from our gleaning club. They often set aside the damaged produce for us, too, because they know we have chickens, turkeys, and ducks which can eat it and make eggs and meat. It is a busy time of preserving because of this, but we were also able to bless others we know with the excess produce. We have felt an urgency to put more food up in jars and in our freezers to make sure that whatever craziness happens this fall and winter will not mean that we are at the mercy of what is in the stores. The peppers were a special blessing to us, because we spend probably between $125 and $200 each year on packaged frozen, sliced peppers, so we put ourselves to work seeding and slicing these peppers to put the equivalent of $40 worth of those peppers in our freezer, vacuum sealed, and still have about half a crate of peppers to finish today. The Lord is good to us.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Fried Egg, Tomato and Cheese Biscuit Sandwiches, Grapes, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Thai Style Ramen with Chicken, Eggplant and Kohlrabi, Leftover Cake and Ice Cream
• Monday - Feast of Saint Aidan
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast, Nectarines and Peaches, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Chile Verde Nachos with Spicy Cheese Sauce, Sliced Avocados, Sliced Watermelon
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Apple Calvados Pancake with Ricotta, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Scalloped Potatoes with Turkey Ham, Marinated Cucumber, Beet, Onion and Kohlrabi Salad, Sliced Watermelon
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Cottage Cheese with Blueberry Preserves, Toast, Sliced Pears, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Potato and Poblano Stew, Lime Wedges and Fried Tortilla Strips, Cilantro Citrus Coleslaw, Apricots
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Fruit and Nut Bread, Cottage Cheese, Sliced Apples, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Stuffed Cabbage Rolls, Rice, Hot Pepper, Cabbage and Tomato Relish, Baba Ghanooj, Tamis, Sliced Watermelon
• Friday
  Breakfast: Steel Cut Oats with Raisins and Brown Sugar, Fruit Plate, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Slow Cooker Ratatouille, French Bread, Fruit Salad
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Ratatouille Omelets, Nectarines, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Grilled Pizzas Bar, Chopped Salad, Sliced Watermelon

What is on your menu this week? If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can. If there are any starred recipes, I will follow up separately with a weekly recipe round up on Saturday. Linking to Menu Plan Monday

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