Welcome to the March edition of the thread where we share our weekly menus and more.
Some of us share a day-by-day plan, others report last week’s actual meals, and some put together a list of ideas to work from the week. You do you, and take comfort that the best laid plans do change for all of us!
If you have recipe links or sources, do share them, as we all love picking up new ideas from everyone else’s menus! For context and because we’re interested, please include your location and how many you plan and/or cook for.
March is special for marking the arrival of spring (vernal equinox), celebrating women (International Women’s Day, Women’s History Month), and observing cultural events like St. Patrick’s Day and Holi, alongside fun days (like Pi Day and National Puppy Day). Are pies or puppies more likely to feature for you this March? Are you planning anything special for Holi or St. Patrick’s day?
(The February thread remains available for reporting actuals and any follow-up discussions.)
Personally, I prefer puppies over pie , but DEF over bots
I’ll be celebrating Women’s History Month & International Women’s Day — alas not until April 4, when a big benefit for the local domestic violence shelter I am organizing will take place at the university to celebrate the shelter’s 50th anniversary. I am mostly responsible for the artistic / performance part of the show, similar to the benefits I organized for the shelter pre-pandemic. We all do what we can, amirite?
As for menu planning for two w̶i̶l̶d̶ ̶&̶ ̶c̶r̶a̶z̶y̶ mildly interesting adults in Happy Valley in the coming week, here’s what’s on deck:
Tonight we’re checking out a brand-new Persian restaurant with some of my gal pals. Hoping it’s good!
Tomorrow we’re invited to a dinner party hosted by our Lebanese/Indian friends, where the food is bound to be excellent. Samar is a fab cook
Sunday is the first potluck for my cooking group this year. We have a goodly number of home chefs signed up, and there’s always such a great variety of foods. As for my contribution, I haven’t the foggiest what to make…. Maybe a pasta dish that is good at room temp, we’ll see.
Monday will be high time for a sssspicy meal.
Tuesday TBD
Wednesday could be a ladies night, which means whatever the bar has on the menu.
Thursday TBD
Happy cooking, HOs! Enjoy the milder temps (if they are coming your way), and eat all the good things!
Thurs - Aqua Pazza
Fri - Miner’s Enchiladas
Sat - not solid yet
Sun - Charcroute a l’alsacienne
Tonight, im doing aqua pazza for the partner and I. Not a huge fish/seafood fan myself but im always looking for more ways to work it into my diet and im a total stew/soup whore so hoping this will make the cut. Using Giada’s recipe. I know she gets a ton of flak in most communities, but i adore her and her recipes are always reliable. Tomorrow will be a veg enchilada dish ala Pati Jinich, in english called Miner’s Enchiladas. Been obsessed with her lately and everything of hers I’ve made has been stellar. We’re in the midst of a bit of a heatwave so Saturday is up in the air. Not sure if ill want to use the oven or not. But Sunday it’s supposed to cool down a bit so im gonna make a long stewed charcroute dish. Actually using James Beard’s recipe from the NYT collection by Amanda Hesser. This book is such a tome of knowledge, it’s amazing. Happy cooking all!!
Aiming to use rockfish. If I can’t find that ill go for cod. I’m weird with seafood. Give me white, some may say flavorless, fish or give me anchovies. Everything else be damned lol thanks for the recipe rec. Will def be consulting it!
Giada will always be ok with me. When Lulu was in kindergarten (she’s currently in her sophomore year at college) she had a big crush on Giada, and sent her a postcard when we were on vacation. We included our address, and Giada wrote back to her.
What a sweet story! Warms my heart in a gloomy world! Glad to hear im not alone. She was huge on the food network as I was learning to cook and developing a love for food. A lot of my early cooking memories and lessons revolve around her, and her recipes truly never fail. In other online food spaces ive been attacked for just mentioning her, but hungry onion is proving to be full of reasonable adults. It’s lovely. <3
Hi, all! Cooking for 2 back in Chattanooga. I did a bunch of cooking for family (Dad and stepmom don’t cook much, so they’re delighted to have home-cooked meals) but didn’t really keep track (there was a salmon thing, a chicken thigh thing, a frittata thing). I did spontaneously cook the NYT recipe for chicken parm meatballs, (gift link) and those were a huge hit. DH has been delighted to have me back home because he also doesn’t cook much (bonus: he cleaned out the freezer so we have almost no more leftovers!). This week’s actuals: Kale pasta Shrimp and grits White wine poached eggs
Chraime (fish cooked in spicy sauce) and couscous
Plans for the first week of March:
Saturday breakfast: Chocolate doughnut holes
Saturday, February 28: Ottolenghi parmigiana pie (Extra Good Things) and turmeric-roasted cauliflower
Sunday: Grilled “char siu” lamb chops, rice, cabbage and mandarin salad, pear tart
Tuesday: Corn chowder and focaccia if I can fit it into my workday
All other days are scrounge/TBD after this week’s cooking whirlwind, haha
Hope those up in the Northeast are slowly emerging from all the snow. Have a good week, and happy cooking!
I’ll also add, March 1st is St David’s Day, patron saint of Wales
March 2-3, 2026 is Purim, when Hamantaschen, triangular cookies traditionally filled with jam,.poppyseed or prune are made and eaten. There are a ton of modern Hamantaschen popping up on my IG feed, including savoury ones.
March 19th is San Giuseppe Day/ St Joseph’s Day, patron saint of Sicily, name day for Catholic Josephs and Josephines. (Protestants don’t tend to celebrate name says, Orthodox Christians often have different dates for their saints days, and Joseph is also a name common in Judaism and Islam, so that’s why I’m mentioning it’s usually Catholic Joes that celebrate on Feb 19th)
San Giuseppe Day is also Father’s Day in Italy. Which means Zeppole di San Giuseppe season! The Italian bakeries in Toronto have started selling them.
March also happens to be the season of Fish Fries and Filet o’Fish, Ramadan, and Nowruz this year.
…..
I plan to make a sardine pasta on San Giuseppe Day, and I will make or buy some Zeppole di San Giuseppe.
Hi, all. Typing awkwardly in the Boston burbs, where on Thursday - just before the ice started melting - I slipped on an icy patch on my driveway and fell, spraining my right wrist/thumb. Nothing is broken, but I’m in a splint and have temporarily lost my opposable thumb. Cooking will be interesting this week… we’ve relied on the freezer and takeout for the last few days but we all want real food again. So, I’m bagging my hand and doing my best!
Sun: turkey meatloaf muffins, mashed potatoes (the refrigerated kind), green beans
From my experience, unfortunately vast, it can take a long time for sprains to heal and they can really hurt! I hope you can at least get help chopping and stirring. Sounds like ambitious menu prep for some with that kind of sprain.
The icy patches are still coming with the melting yesterday and colder temps moving in now. Take care!
I took full advantage of the food processor for today’s chopping. DS will help (somewhat grudgingly) but unfortunately DH has health issues that keep him from stepping in as sous chef.
If you don’t have help in the kitchen, maybe prepped ingredients would be of help for a while – there are so many cut vegetables and prepped proteins available these days, between the produce section, the salad bar, and the takeaway section. My aunt regularly buys chopped onions and mirepoix, and I often pick up cut cauliflower, broccoli, and squash. And rotisserie chicken and cut grilled chicken strips and cubes that are available for salad can go into many things.
Having your dominant hand out of commission is really the worst! When I sliced into my palm, my second thought was “thank god it’s my left hand!” (first was “stupid! stupid! stupid!”).
, but DEF over bots 
