Cooking in foggy mid-coast Maine, usually for one but have sister, BIL and nephew staying for a few days.
Sunday: they had a long travel day. I had chef’s salads more or less ready: romaine, radishes, salad turnips, red and gold cherry tomatoes, sugar snap peas, ham, salami, cheese. Homemade buttermilk dill ranch dressing. Bakery baguette. Farm-bought strawberry rhubarb pie.
Monday: nephew and I made a double batch of SK Everyday Meatballs, making our own fresh breadcrumbs and using a 50-50 mix of bison and butcher-made Italian sausage. Excellent meatballs! We also made SK Perfect Garlic Bread, which I didn’t think was perfect but very good. Planned salad didn’t happen because meatballs + sauce + garlic bread took all afternoon. But we had fun!!
Tuesday and Wednesday: fish store opens for the week today so the next couple of days will be based on what looks best. If haddock, quick fish Vera Cruz style or NYT crispy fillets with tartar sauce, if swordfish, grilled or pan-roasted with tapenade butter, if halibut, Ina’s mustard roasted fish. Gorgeous farm green beans, baby carrots, baby cukes, new potatoes both red and yellow, and baby broccoli available for sides. Maybe tzatziki potato salad….
Thursday back to solo, either leftovers or something from the FM that morning.
This thread tends to get conversational beyond the topic — like WFD — because it’s frequented by largely the same group over time (with some additions and subtractions) so there is continuity / familiarity, so it often doesn’t make sense to carry the conversation elsewhere because the same people you’re trying to ask or chat with aren’t on the other thread.
(Which is why I shared a link to the other thread but still answered LLM’s question here.)
4 Likes
Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot eating & cooking in Northwest England)
41
Yes, I appreciate that and enjoy that. Which is why I’d rather my comments were deleted rather than being hived off to, say, the “what have you been watching” thread which I have marked never to appear updated for me.
Same for me, Harters. I don’t participate in WMP with posting menu plans because of my particular family cooking situation. However, I do love participating with comments and questions about the menus and recipes, and being part of building and maintaining a community. So I, too, would prefer for my watching comments be deleted than transferred to another thread that I will most likely not even notice.
And same for me, LLM, I “kind of know” so many of the people who post on WMP that their comments about meals, recipes, and … what to watch when you are cooking for one…are part of cooking community building and have a particular resonance when suggestions are made.
Thank you, naf. Folks - to explain my reasoning: I note that 19 posts were moved and there are now 10 remaining here discussing the move i.e., more than half of the posts in this thread were off-topic, non-food “what to watch” drift. Our usual drifts are 5 comments or less or are a side note embedded within additional menu posts. The nice thing about HO is that for a split like this a forwarding address is provided and your own profiles will get notifications.
It’s going to be a busy stretch – outdoor activities rule. Opting for cold suppers towards the latter end of the week – I’m wanting more hours in the day.
Feeding two adults in the PNW.
FRI: 15 Bean Soup from the freezer. Homemade ciabatta rolls. Chopped salad.
SAT: Cabbage, carrot and scallion stir-fry. Rice.
SUN: Salmon Caesar. Homemade baguette.
MON: Pan-roasted chicken thighs. Garden veg.
TUE: Beef on the grill with zucchini. Fresh tomatoes and cukes.
WED: Sandwiches and whatnot.
THUR: Sandwiches and whatnot.
12 Likes
Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot eating & cooking in Northwest England)
54
Not needed. You are the thread’s OP. That does not give you the right to dictate how the thread progresses, regardless of how much or how often you might make statements that attempt it. In this cae, you have made a pitch to the moderators and the mods have agreed with your pitch. I neither agree with your stance or the moderators decision. However, whilst I might not agree with the moderators, they are always the moderators and I always respect their decision.
You have now set the principle, with moderator agreement, that comments that are not on-topic are unwelcome here. It is an unpleasantness that I am pleased does not pervade the rest of the forum but so be it.
This is a carryover thread from Chowhound, and lines were drawn harder there, whereas HO is more fluid and conversational (and flexible).
My 2c is that I think the general tone and flexibility here is an asset. It’s hard enough to sustain community, never mind build it. Splintering off conversations dilutes the sense of familiarity that keeps us coming back.
Some drift happens everywhere, but especially on a thread like this one, you’re always going to come back to topic because someone will eventually post a weekly plan.
As long as it’s not intentional derailing or negative comments meant to undermine the thread or individual posters, drift by those already regularly engaged in this thread doesn’t bother me (maybe it even makes the overall discussion more engaging over time).
That said, if someone who isn’t ever a participant in WMP decided to drop in only to engage in the drift, that would create a different dynamic, so that’s the other side of the coin I guess.
This is one of my favorite threads as a lurker (only because I can’t plan beyond a day) because it is blessedly free of animosity and is solely for menu planning. It is clearly stated month-after-month to keep this thread food-focused. This latest “transgression” about TV shows was harmless, but not something I was interested in because I don’t watch TV so I scrolled on, but imagine that 1 errant/disagreeable post and the ensuing replies that would derail this thread from its intended purpose? I can understand the monthly polite request to keep things food-focused to keep this fun and useful thread free of clutter. Apologies to @MidwesternerTT for the continuing non-food-focused discussion but I had to chime in. Back to lurker status and back to the FOOD!
Hello everyone! I survived my first week back at the office after two weeks of staycation although I must admit it’s always hard getting back into the regular work routine after not having a schedule to stick to
My spare time continues to be a little quieter than I would like since my employer finally processed my leave-without-pay from when we were on strike at the end of April so I watched my bank balance go down when my rent and utilities were paid on July 1st Oh well we get three pays in August so I will hopefully watch it go back up a bit and hopefully I will resume outings with my dinner club, film society, etc.
Onto my menus for a solo diner from Ottawa, Canada for this week:
Today: I bought a cheese tray from a nearby restaurant so I am now enjoying some aged cheddar, a soft ripened cheese, and some candied pecans and walnuts. The cheese tray comes with grapes which I will have as a mid afternoon snack with some dark chocolate. Dinner tonight will be a salad.
Saturday: Stuffed red pepper. I will be stuffing it with some ground beef and rice and topping it off with a little tomato sauce. I haven’t decided yet what I will have on the side.
Hi, everyone. Cooking for two adults and a bona fide teenager (!) in the Boston burbs. Summer is going quickly - DS is halfway through his drama program and has survived (and, I suspect, secretly enjoyed) some ballet and tap classes. I have also survived multiple consecutive workdays in the office - it’s been weird for sure.
Sat: rescheduled steak/noodle salad, followed by the last of DS’s birthday cake for himself and DH and a (homemade gf) mug brownie for me
Tues: birria tacos - we introduced DS to birria tacos on Friday night (went out) and he loved them so much that he powered through the too-spicy-ness. Rice and beans on the side. I may make the meat ahead of time if I’m organized.
Weds: chicken spanakopita meatballs (Rachael Ray), tzatziki, leftover naan for me / pita for the guys
Thurs: leftovers for adults / carnival junk for DS (taking him and a friend)
Oh well we get three pays in August so I will hopefully watch it go back up a bit and hopefully I will resume outings with my dinner club, film society, etc.