Weekly Menu Planning - February 2026

Cooking Discussions
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Still cooking for two w̶i̶l̶d̶ ̶&̶ ̶c̶r̶a̶z̶y̶ mildly interesting folx in Happy Valley.

Last week was busier than most with gigs, but this coming week looks to be a bit more chill, with (hopefully) more home-cooked meals.

I’m postponing tonight’s Sichuan jour fixe to next week Wednesday, as a few peeps can’t make Thursday nights this semester. Instead, I’m making a YUGE pot of Tuscan soup I’d originally planned for yesterday’s dinner. Leeks, Turkish pepper paste, lotsa toasted fennel seeds, TJ’s sweet & hawt Eyetalian snossidges, Tuscan kale, baby yellow p’tatahs, my own chicken stock, cream. Already drooling at the thought of it, TBH, and happy to have nice big pot of warming soup ready when my PIC comes home from his long day. There should be TPSTO leftovers, too :slight_smile:

Tomorrow is our last gig for a couple of weeks. We get fitty percent off food, so I may just grab a bite at the venue. The new menu features baked spätzle, and mussels in ale.

Saturday we’re invited to our HK buddy’s abode to celebrate the year of the Fire Horse. Food, drink & company is bound to be excellent, as usual.

Sunday I’m catching a favorite fellow singer at a brewery late afternoon. Dinner may well be takeout pizza from the venue we played last Friday, as we won’t get home before probably 7:30, and that’s too late to cook dinnah. Or leftover Tuscan soup.

Monday maybe, just maybe a recipe from my ample NYT collection :upside_down_face:

Tuesday maybe my PIC’s cheeborgerz.

Wednesday Sichuan jour fixe.

Have a wonderful week, fellow HOs. Stay warm, stay safe, stay sane — and eat all the good things :black_heart:

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Oops. That soup wouldn’t be the same without Great Northern beans.

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Hello everyone I am still sick with a cold. I went out twice last week thinking I’d be fine but I am not. All social engagements for this week have been cancelled and if I’m still coughing on Monday I will call my doctor. In the meantime I still have to eat! This is what I have on tap for this week:

Today: No take out lunch today since I’m taking a sick day so I will have a tomato cucumber salad for lunch. I will have fried cabbage and noodles for dinner - a favorite recipe from budget bytes.

Saturday: I have two servings of bbq’d pork left in the freezer that I bought at the Chinese grocer over the Christmas holidays so I will have one serving tonight with chow mein.

Sunday: Shrimp risotto.

Monday: Chilled soba noodle salad from an old Cooks Illustrated magazine.

Tuesday: I have one sausage left in the freezer so I will have it with leftover squash and a boiled potato.

Wednesday: The last serving of ratatouille in the freezer. I will probably have it with a grain on the side.

Thursday: Fettucine al pesto tomato cucumber salad.

I will spend the week reading a mystery novel that I recently started reading and can’t put down. It’s called “Take Your Breath Away” by Linwood Barclay about a woman that mysteriously disappears and reappears six years later.

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Ugh! Hope you feel better real soon so you can dive back into your social calendar :crossed_fingers:t3::crossed_fingers:t3::crossed_fingers:t3:

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As much as I’d love to get back into my social engagements, I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired :frowning:

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I bet! Hopefully, this will pass soon. But do see a doc if this shit doesn’t go away!

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I’m craving more than half your week!

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Hope you feel better soon.
(My first line of defense on ocough & cold is usually a host of home remedies, which ward off something worse 80% off the time – happy to DM you what often works for me, if of any interest.)

Thanks for the book rec – will check if my library has it!

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Please tell us all!

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Hi everyone

I’ve been chastising myself for having foolishly sliced into my palm with a very sharp, very big knife. So I had to cancel a bunch of Lunar New Year dining plans in favor of laying low and resting instead. I did, luckily, get in one fun (and delicious) banquet-like dinner before that!

Focusing on assembly and simple preps this week in light of current 1-handedness (which I hope will improve in a few days).

Ideas:
— Fulfill ongoing pasta craving: either with vodka sauce (doctored from a jar) or Turkish-style with seasoned ground turkey and garlic yogurt
— Chicken Musakhan from Falastin via COTM Diana Henry (marinated pre-injury) + stewed Turkish-style green beans
— Chicken Catalan from Penelope Casas also via COTM Diana Henry (also marinated pre-injury) – which sounds like a poultry version of Pinchos Morunos + stewed Turkish-style green beans
— Wintry Fattoush: roasted butternut squash, roasted red onions, arugula, and pita chips, dressed with pomegranate molasses
— Chicken soup of some sort (I have double-boiled homemade chicken stock and poached chicken breast)
— Chicken pie with an easy press-in crust
— Pongal / South Indian lentils and rice + yogurt + papad

If my hand is sufficiently on the mend in a few days, I really want to try one or more of these viral recipes for LNY – they appear easy and delicious :face_savoring_food:: dumpling “lasagne” (layering wonton skins with the filling in a ramekin), “blanket” / 1-pot / no-fold dumplings (spoonfuls of filling in a fry pan topped with a wrapper), and deconstructed wonton/dumpling noodles (wrappers sautéed with the filling). I picked up a package of wonton skins and ground turkey, so fingers crossed (on one hand at least :laughing:) that I’ll get to something.

Wish you all a relaxing weekend and a peaceful week ahead, with good eats and great company.

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Damn, that sucks. I hope it heals quickly and isn’t too painful. Maybe get it checked?

ETA: your two chicken links don’t load for me

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Sending healing thoughts!

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Oh my that sounds painful! I hope you are on the mend soon. On another note, that wintry fatuoush sounds delicious.

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I spent a few wasted hours at urgent care because two of my doc friends insisted I needed to go in for stitches when they saw pics (I was trying to avoid it). Meanwhile, the PA at urgent care seemed to know better and refused stitches. He also didn’t irrigate the wound with saline, or use any antibacterial stuff, and forgot to give me a tetanus shot. Glad I paid $$$ for that visit, when I did a better job of wound care at home myself.

The archive links work on both my browser - maybe it’s a browser issue?
Here are the originals, which may be paywalled:

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I love that combination for fattoush, I really don’t know why I don’t make it more often.

The only challenge is not roasting the squash too far in advance, or I eat it up on its own before any fattoush happens :sweat_smile:

I think I’m going with quick-pickled red onions instead of roasted, as the roasted squash is already concentrated in sweetness.

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best wishes on the recovery. sorry to hear it happened.

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all the talk about Georgian food elsewhere on HO has me craving Kharcho.

I just purchased my meat for the week: lamb, beef and chicken, and I’m walking home now.

Saturday:

Kharcho or lamb souvlaki chunks. sides to be determined.

Kharcho recipe

Best Georgian cooking sites?

Georgian food (Repulic of)

Sunday:

lamb souvlaki chunks or Kharcho. sides to be determined.

Monday :

pasta, everything else to be determined LOL

I am now dealing with cooking low fibre and gout for one DC, high fibre and low salt for another DC, lowish sugar, lowish refined carbs and low sulfites /nitrates for me.

Due to the new gout diet, I gave my friend about 3 lbs of frozen Andouille and Loukaniko this week, and will give him our bacon supply next week.

Who knew I’d be dealing with special diets when I was cooking anything and everything 5 years ago.

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Good luck as you navigate special diets at home.

It was certainly a challenge when we were planning separately for my mom (now she’s back to normal food-wise, but will still occasionally opt out of certain foods), and before that for my dad.

I know many people don’t like to plan more than one version of a meal, but our approach has been to plan a base meal around what the constrained eater can / will eat, and then supplement regular things for others from there.

Hang in there, and I’d encourage you to eat some of the things you like even if they can’t.

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I tend to make a lot of sides. So, it’s a family style buffet for people to take what suits their plan.

tonight, we had roasted souvlaki lamb chunks, roasted potatoes, roasted zucchini, roasted red peppers, roasted mushrooms, roasted sweet onions,some roasted eggplant with the skin on, some roasted peeled eggplant, baked beans (from a can tonight, from scratch tomorrow ), frozen corn, a take-out Chilean beef empanada, one order of Chilean corn pie, purchased tzatziki , and purchased chocolate croissant bread pudding. I just finished putting away the dishes and I’m going to walk the pups now.LOL. I am pooped. 11:19 pm.

I definitely do eat the stuff I like when I’m out and about, and occasionally make stuff I like at home that isn’t their favourite. LOL

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Hi, all. I didn’t post last week as I was away, visiting my parents for a few days. I cooked twice - chili one night and grilled chicken and vegetables the other. Dad was not happy to be outside grilling (with me) since it was cold. However, cold is all relative - it was 45, which was warmer than I’d had at home!

Now, back home and hunkering down for the incoming blizzard. School etc. is already called off for tomorrow. I’m glad I placed a grocery order from the plane Friday evening (yay JetBlue for having free WiFi!) and picked it up yesterday, so I didn’t need to face the crowds today. Instead, I got documents organized for our accountant.

Feeding 3 in the Boston burbs:

Sun: turkey cutlets (probably with a Penzey’s spice mix), baked potatoes, air fryer green beans

Mon: beef, sweet potato, and harissa chili

Tues: bbq chicken, corn pancakes, glazed carrots

Weds: mandarin chicken (Wegmans, frozen), rice, broccoli

Thurs: that new NYT recipe for mac and cheese with tomato paste; protein tbd

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