Friday the 17th: Stew!

 I made Irish Stew on March 17 to celebrate St. Patrick's day. I've made the same recipe for over 10 years now, and it's always delicious. The parsnips add a nice change from just carrots and potatoes.

 

 

Thursday the 16th: Food of the Week

 *The rest of the week, including today, is leftovers and eating out because the boys left for Minneapolis for the Video Game Music Conference.

*Last night we went to Thai Orchid and celebrated Thai New Year with our favorite Thai food. We, as usual, ordered too much, and there's plenty for me to eat this weekend.

*Tuesday I made polenta with tomato and mozzarella topping. My boys are skeptical of polenta every time, but they really enjoy it when I make it...as long as it's not too often.  I also believe the acidity of the topping is really important for an overall balanced dish.

*Monday the Son made peanut butter cookies and picked up Firehouse Subs for us. The cookies are really quite delightful and I got a salad from the sandwich place since my stomach felt off. It was good veggies for me.

*Sunday we had grilled pork cutlets, green beans, and rice a roni.The pork cutlets were really juicy and delicious this time, maybe because I used my good olive oil and balsamic vinegar for the marinade.

Wednesday the 15th: Music of the Week

 *Today is large group festival at Baker University, so I'm dressed up and ready to go. We are performing the following songs:

 

*"Ad Adstra" by Jacob Narverud

*"Run, Mary, Run" arranged by Brian Tate

*"Hine Ma Tov" arranged by Neil Ginsberg

*"A Red, Red, Rose" by James Mulholland

*Crucifixus" by Antonio Lotti

*"The Battle of Jericho" arranged by Moses Hogan

 

It should be a great day! 

Tuesday the 14th: Snow?!

 We had snow a few times in March, probably more times than we did the rest of winter. We also had more 80 degree days than we've ever had in March. It was a wild ride.

 

 

Monday the 13th: Saint of the Week

 St. Martin is the saint today, our first saint since before Holy Week. 

Why do we care about him:  struggled against monothelatism (denied that Jesus had both a human and divine will, thus denying he had two complete and perfect natures); last pope to be honored as a martyr; pope Eugene was elected while he was imprisoned

 

 

Friday the 10th: Octave of Easter

 During our trip to Lawrence we really enjoyed the Art Museum at KU and all found things we enjoyed.

 

 

Thursday the 9th: Octave of Easter

 *What do we eat in the Octave?

*For Easter: For several years now I get as much ready for Easter on Easter Saturday. The practical reason for that is I play for several Masses in the Triduum, including Easter morning, and if I want to eat a nice meal then I need to get it ready beforehand. My husband and son are really good cooks as well but they need guidance, and they don't always know how to make last minute substitutions or changes if necessary. So on Easter Saturday I made the crust and filling for chicken piccata potpie, and all the Husband had to do was roll out the crust, put it on the filling, and bake it with an egg wash.  I bought arugula and cheese crisps, made a vinaigrette, and opened a can of smoked salmon from the pantry. On Friday I hard boiled eggs, the boys colored them on Saturday, and on Sunday they made delicious deviled eggs. There were two other things I prepped on Friday and Saturday. One was a flourless chocolate cake. I already described this a couple days ago in my post; we just ate the last pieces last night with ice cream and luxardo cherries. The other was a cream cheese coffee cake with an incredible lemon flavor. It's a little fussy to put together but it really does taste so good. I had the last piece for breakfast this morning. The last piece to the meal was broiled asparagus with olive oil and salt and pepper. I did not prep those ahead of time but I did give the boys a quick lesson on how to snap the asparagus.

*Since Easter: I've made pork stirfry, the boy made an Italian bowl with dried chickpeas and red lentils and rice, I made ditalini with peas. Tonight I'm making chicken salad for sandwiches, and then Friday is going to be leftovers. 

 

Wednesday the 8th: Octave of Easter

 *We have finished two concerts last month, and this month is solo regional festival/large group state/small group state, all three weeks in a row. Then our final concert is May 6--so we are both finishing up this music and prepping the next set of music. Pretty quickly after the final concert is a trip to St. Louis and the Baccalaureate, and then the work load is done and it's just cleaning and sorting.

Tuesday the 7th: Octave of Easter

 I made a flourless chocolate cake for Easter and served it with whipped cream and berries. The cake was super super rich--only a very small piece! It's also better out of the fridge for a couple hours, not just the 30 minutes the recipe calls for. I think this might be partly for the chocolate--it's from Aldi and tends to actually be a little less fluid than a less quality product.

 

 

Monday the 6th: Octave of Easter

 *This week every day is treated as if it is Easter, and that means no saints! Just Easter!

 

 

Friday the 3rd: Good Friday

 

Isaiah 52:13—53:12

See, my servant shall prosper,
            he shall be raised high and greatly exalted.
Even as many were amazed at him--
            so marred was his look beyond human semblance
            and his appearance beyond that of the sons of man--
so shall he startle many nations,
            because of him kings shall stand speechless;
for those who have not been told shall see,
            those who have not heard shall ponder it.

Who would believe what we have heard?
            To whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
He grew up like a sapling before him,
            like a shoot from the parched earth;
there was in him no stately bearing to make us look at him,
            nor appearance that would attract us to him.
He was spurned and avoided by people,
            a man of suffering, accustomed to infirmity,
one of those from whom people hide their faces,
            spurned, and we held him in no esteem.

Yet it was our infirmities that he bore,
            our sufferings that he endured,
while we thought of him as stricken,
            as one smitten by God and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our offenses,
            crushed for our sins;
upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole,
            by his stripes we were healed.
We had all gone astray like sheep,
            each following his own way;
but the LORD laid upon him
            the guilt of us all.

Though he was harshly treated, he submitted
            and opened not his mouth;
like a lamb led to the slaughter
            or a sheep before the shearers,
            he was silent and opened not his mouth.
Oppressed and condemned, he was taken away,
            and who would have thought any more of his destiny?
When he was cut off from the land of the living,
            and smitten for the sin of his people,
a grave was assigned him among the wicked
            and a burial place with evildoers,
though he had done no wrong
            nor spoken any falsehood.
But the LORD was pleased
            to crush him in infirmity.

If he gives his life as an offering for sin,
            he shall see his descendants in a long life,
            and the will of the LORD shall be accomplished through him.

Because of his affliction
            he shall see the light in fullness of days;
through his suffering, my servant shall justify many,
            and their guilt he shall bear.
Therefore I will give him his portion among the great,
            and he shall divide the spoils with the mighty,
because he surrendered himself to death
            and was counted among the wicked;
and he shall take away the sins of many,
            and win pardon for their offenses.

 (Picture found on Pinterest from Archdiocese of Toronto, no longer on their website)

 

Thursday the 2nd: Holy Thursday

 First reading from Chrism Mass

Isaiah 61:1-3a, 6a, 8b-9

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
            because the LORD has anointed me;
He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the lowly,
            to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
            and release to the prisoners,
To announce a year of favor from the LORD
            and a day of vindication by our God,
            to comfort all who mourn;
To place on those who mourn in Zion
            a diadem instead of ashes,
To give them oil of gladness in place of mourning,
            a glorious mantle instead of a listless spirit.

You yourselves shall be named priests of the LORD,
            ministers of our God shall you be called.

I will give them their recompense faithfully,
            a lasting covenant I will make with them.
Their descendants shall be renowned among the nations,
            and their offspring among the peoples;
All who see them shall acknowledge them
            as a race the LORD has blessed.

 (https://www.pinterest.com/pin/14425661293111772/)

 

Wednesday the 1st: Wednesday of Holy Week

 Isaiah 50:4-9

The Lord GOD has given me
            a well-trained tongue,
That I might know how to speak to the weary
            a word that will rouse them.
Morning after morning
            he opens my ear that I may hear;
And I have not rebelled,
            have not turned back.
I gave my back to those who beat me,
            my cheeks to those who plucked my beard;
My face I did not shield
            from buffets and spitting.

The Lord GOD is my help,
            therefore I am not disgraced;
I have set my face like flint,
            knowing that I shall not be put to shame.
He is near who upholds my right;
            if anyone wishes to oppose me,
            let us appear together.
Who disputes my right?
            Let him confront me.
See, the Lord GOD is my help;
            who will prove me wrong? 

 (Picture from https://www.pinterest.com/pin/4644405856076126/)

 

Tuesday the 31st: Tuesday of Holy Week

 Isaiah 49:1-6

Hear me, O islands,
listen, O distant peoples.
The LORD called me from birth,
from my mother's womb he gave me my name.
He made of me a sharp-edged sword
and concealed me in the shadow of his arm.
He made me a polished arrow,
in his quiver he hid me.
You are my servant, he said to me,
Israel, through whom I show my glory.

Though I thought I had toiled in vain,
and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength,
Yet my reward is with the LORD,
my recompense is with my God.
For now the LORD has spoken
who formed me as his servant from the womb,
That Jacob may be brought back to him
and Israel gathered to him;
And I am made glorious in the sight of the LORD,
and my God is now my strength!
It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant,
to raise up the tribes of Jacob,
and restore the survivors of Israel;
I will make you a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth. 

 

 

Monday the 30th: Monday of Holy Week

 Isaiah 42:1-7, one of the Songs of the Suffering Servant, is the first reading for Mass.

 Here is my servant whom I uphold,
my chosen one with whom I am pleased,
Upon whom I have put my Spirit;
he shall bring forth justice to the nations,
Not crying out, not shouting,
not making his voice heard in the street.
A bruised reed he shall not break,
and a smoldering wick he shall not quench,
Until he establishes justice on the earth;
the coastlands will wait for his teaching.

Thus says God, the LORD,
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spreads out the earth with its crops,
Who gives breath to its people
and spirit to those who walk on it:
I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice,
I have grasped you by the hand;
I formed you, and set you
as a covenant of the people,
a light for the nations,
To open the eyes of the blind,
to bring out prisoners from confinement,
and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.

 (Picture found on Pinterest, trace to https://www.instagram.com/p/xvXD_4u9h5/? epik=dj0yJnU9djU5ZEkwU1AzV2l4c283WFJFeGg4aEczdGNPbUtoNzImcD0wJ m49RGNiNFctbnViNUlWZ21TSmFaY3FMdyZ0PUFBQUFBR25LZ3FV)

 

Friday the 27th: Pie and bookstores

 On Tuesday I forgot to include the picture of the triple berry rhubarb pie with ice cream. We also visited a bookstore so I needed to remember what I should buy for the Husband after our move.

 

 

Thursday the 26th: Food of the Week

 *Sunday we had chili; I always use this recipe from Penzeys and make the full batch because the Husband really loves chili.We also for supper made a banana walnut salad with homemade vinaigrette.

*Monday I made tacos, this time with ground beef, seasoning, frozen hashbrowns, onion, and frozen corn.

*Tuesday I made Bratwurst Potato skillet with potatoes, onion, apples, brats, and then a little bit of sugar and butter to make a sauce. It's one of my favorites.

*Wednesday I had a concert so we had leftovers and food from McDonald's.

*Tonight we are having pasta because I'm craving it. 

*Friday the boy is making red lentil buffalo sloppy joes. He picked it out. I shrugged. 

Wednesday the 25th: Music of the Week

 *We have a concert tonight with the other two Catholic high schools in our county, so our two biggest choirs are performing three songs each. We will keep these songs around though for our large group State festival in April, and then we will move to songs for our final concert.

*Tomorrow our chamber group sings a chant for Offertory Mass with the Archbishop, and then our A Cappella group sings a communion meditation, Crucifixus by Lotti.

*I have two Palm Sunday Masses this weekend at two different parishes.

*And then I have a Good Friday service and two Easter services.

So lots of work to do! 

Tuesday the 24th: Ladybird Diner

 One of our favorite meals while we were on our trip was a light lunch at Ladybird Diner. We had a huge breakfast so we didn't need much, but this tomato soup and southwestern salad with fruit and a piece of pie for dessert hit the spot!

 

 

 

 

Monday the 23rd: Saint of the Week

 *Wednesday this week is the Annunciation of Mary, as described in Luke 1, when she accepted the call to become the mother of Jesus.

 (Picture on Pinterest with no provenance)