Help for Working Moms

I have been asked by a reader to post some advice to women working outside the home. First I'll just say that I do not work outside the home, though sometimes I do get bogged down with many things that keep me away. I am not sure how realistic my advice will be,as I am not experienced with this. I believe that for many who work, Saturday is a catch up day. It is spent cleaning house and running errands. I think the same rules would apply as when I have a Saturday that I am not home or a busy Friday that does not allow for preparation. One of the first things I would say is, to pull this off you will have to think about this early in the week and prepare through out the week. I try to know my menu a week ahead, so I can prepare when I have a few extra minutes through the week. If you are doing potatoes on Thursday, chop some extra and let them sit in water in the refrigerator until your feast. All you will have to do is drain, season and roast. I have a great recipe for a mashed potato casserole that can be made ahead of time. You will have to think about recipes that are quick and easy. I would suggest your main dishes be meats that can go in the crock pot or you can put in the oven and not have to think about again. Purchase bagged salads and just add some of your families favorite toppings and dressing. These are just a few things off the top of my head. I will look for few make ahead recipes and try to think some more on this.

Julie

What are Your Traditions?

Have you ever dreaded having to prepare for a party or feast? There have been times that all I could think of was the work and how completely exhausted I was going to be when it was all over. I have become more comfortable with this as feasting has become part of our weekly life. I have learned to prepare as much as possible ahead of time and I have become more comfortable in trying new things. I do not come from a family that is big on traditions. It was just not important. As I have started feasting traditions in our home, it has become very important that my children not only carry these traditions, but that they love them. I have come to enjoy the preparation and hard work, because I see the joy my family gets from it. As I have become more comfortable with this, it has carried over into other parts of our lives. I try to make every holiday and birthday a big deal. This blog is primarily about Sabbath feasting, but I think you will soon find that celebrations will be a bigger part of your life as you become more familiar with pulling them off. So let's share our celebration traditions. Valentines's Day is coming. How do you celebrate? As much as I would love to prepare a huge romantic feast, we have a different tradition. The male gender rules in our home. This is the holiday that they treat Sarah and myself. Bruce and I will celebrate another night. The guys will take the ladies out to dinner. It will be very child friendly. Isaac will choose the place. Last year it was Cracker Barrel. No long lines there on Valentine's Day. I have heard whisperings of Friendly's this year. As they get older I am sure the resturaunts will be a little more adult. I could never change this tradition. We rarely dine out as a family. It is too expensive. They look foward to this a soon as Christmas is over. Please share your traditions with us.

I wanted to clarify my lost post. We will still have to eat dinner even if we are insanely busy. Our dinner just will not be a gourmet feast. It could even be pizza. We will still make it special. We may picnic on the floor. I believe it is very important to celebrate the sabbath, and we do even if we are not at home. Feasting has just been a fun way to celebrate. As I have said before it is about so much more than a meal. Feasting for us as been a picture of the Marriage Supper with Christ. There is much to be said about the many different reasons to feast, but it will have to wait until another post.

Julie

I have mentioned before that I do not believe we should be legalistic about Sabbath dinners. We can after all prepare ourselves for worship without a huge dinner. Feasting is a way to make the day special and set it apart. Well, as I look at my coming weekend, it appears that we will not be able to feast. My husband is athletic director at the school in which he teaches. The biggest sports event of the year is our basketball tournament. It is this weekend,and will take all of my planning time this week, in addition to all day Saturday. So, I do not have any plans or recipes to share for this week. Does anyone else have any?

Julie

Recipe

I promised a crab cake recipe. Here it is. I use the Old Bay Crab Cake Classic Mix. All you have to do is add mayonnaise. I used to search food tv for a great gourmet recipe, but I found this mix is delicious and a lot easier. My only suggestion would be to add maybe an egg or more bread crumbs because they tend to fall apart. If you are going to freeze them, just form your cakes, freeze them on a baking sheet, and them transfer to a plastic bag. I just pulled some out of the freezer this weekend, and they made great sandwiches. Enjoy!

Julie

So Much More than a Meal

My husband will often ask my children for the reasons that we have Sabbath feasts. Some one always says "to remind us of the feast we will have with God one day." They will then go on to say that they cannot wait to have communion tomorrow, because it reminds them of our covenant with God, which reminds them again of the Marriage Feast we will have in eternity. It is always refreshing to me to know that my children are thinking about this. One of my favorite hymns is At the Lambs High Feast We Sing. "At the Lamb's High feast we sing, praise to the victorious King, Who hath washed us in the tide Flowing from His Pierced side. Praise we Him, Whose love divine Gives His sacred blood for wine, Gives His body for the feast, Christ the Victim, Christ the Priest." What an incredible description of God's sacrificial atonement. These conversations are always a reminder to me that Sabbath Feasting is about so much more than putting a great meal on the table.

Julie