Weekly Menu Planning - March 2026

Good lord this sounds good. Would canned pineapple in the chutney be a faux pas?

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Change of St Paddy’s plans. My quarter lamb did not ship due to poor weather and closed roads 60 miles north of London, ON.

I will be making an Irish seafood stew with halibut and haddock from the freezer, based on this recipe. I’ll also attempt a chocolate Guinness cake.

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I had to go back & look at what you were talking about, because the chutney (“chaatni” in Bengali) is completely unrelated to the shrimp dish so I didn’t even register it :joy:.

But yes, you can use canned pineapple. (Tomato chatni is a classic too – like a sweet and spicy tomato pickle / sauce.)

Huh…it says it’s served with rice and the pineapple chutney.

Greetings, People.

Busy in the garden this time of year, and it feels good. The weather has been mostly cold and soggy, with an occasional mild spell to remind us spring is on the way. At least we’re rolling in the right direction!

Cooking for two adults in the PNW (all NYT links are gift links).

FRI: Spicy honey-brushed chicken thighs from the old Cooking Light franchise. This is one of the longest running recipes in my notebook of “go-to” dishes. Cuke salad. Steamed rice.

SAT: Recipe Tin Eats’ beef chow mein.

SUN: Recipe tin Eats’ baked chicken breasts. NYT’s mac salad.

MON: NYT’s baked whitefish (will use halibut). LO mac salad.

TUE: Won Ton soup with homemade dumplings, spinach and leftover rice.

WED: NYT’s baked Creole Tetrazzini, sort of. Will add chicken, and while I like the idea of creole seasoning here, the cheddar cheese isn’t ringing my bell so will probably sub another variety (maybe mozz ala Natasha’s Kitchen). Salad greens.

THUR: Asparagus pizza - first of the season! Maybe I’ll use up some leftover artichokes on it, also. Salad greens.

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Well, hello again, my fellow weekly menu planners!

Can’t believe another week has passed — guess time flies when yer eating well :wink:

Still cooking for two w̶i̶l̶d̶ ̶&̶ ̶c̶r̶a̶z̶y̶ mildly annoyed peeps in Happy Valley.

Tonight I’m hosting a special Sichuan jour fixe for our friends who recently sold their house and are moving to tha city permanently. Apparently, there is just no good Sichuan to be had there :smiley: As of now, we have a fun group of 10 chile heads signed up, with 2 more slots open until noon.

Tomorrow is a big ? ATM. I’m picking up another boyd at Sam’s today to be taken apart for our future lunches / possible dinners, and to make MOAR liquid gold from the carcass & skin for the basement freezer. Unless one of our friends is hosting a game tomorrow, maybe chicken tacos are in order.

Saturday kinda the same thing. There’s always the possibility of a poker game — especially as it’s been a coupla weeks since the last one. If not, we’ll figure something out.

Sunday is my beloved’s birfday, a semi-round one at that, and guess who didn’t make any special plans bc who knew this date would come up so quickly??? :scream: :grimacing: Our Lebanese/Indian friends to the rescue: they’re already hosting a farewell party for our city friends & expanded invitations to include a few friends outside of our social Venn circle. Food will likely be fabulous, as it always is.

Monday might have us check out the new KBBQ & hot pot place down the road from us, bc the food on Sunday will not be spicy, given the Indian host’s sensitivity to heat :face_with_hand_over_mouth:

Tuesday maybe finally that duck breast lingering in the freezer, with braised red cabbage and roasted potatoes.

Wednesday I was going to have my chicas over for an encore showing of Sinners on the big screen, but my boo also has some weird-ass UFO event at the local bookstore early eve, with an a cappella group performing David Bowie songs. How can I not go to there, and likely the cocktail bar after? Zackly.

Happy cooking, my dear HOs. Stay sane & safe, hold your loved ones close & eat all the good tings! :black_heart:

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You got me - I have to admit to being both amused and intrigued by the Wednesday night event.

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Dunno if you’re on Facebook, but this is a public link.

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Hello folks another day another snowstorm. Even though snow in these parts is common in March I am getting tired of it. I long for warm sunny days, grass underfoot and the sun in my face. Thanks for listening. Today is a rare day in the office since I usually work from home on Fridays. I was supposed to work in the office on Tuesday but it was REALLY windy out so I took refuge in my home office otherwise known as the kitchen so I am in the office today to make up the day. It is now snowing out as predicted and I really think I should cross country ski or snowshoe home. I am more or less feeling better and only coughing randomly now so life can resume to normal. I went to a movie last night and I didn’t cough not even once during the movie! So I think it’s safe to assume it’s safe to go to the movies now :slight_smile: This is what’s on tap for this week:

Today: My take out lunch is a felafel wrap from the food court. Not bad but I think they forgot to put garlic in the garlic sauce… Dinner tonight will be a tabouli.

Saturday: Fridge and freezer cleanout day. I haven’t done that since December and I have rings on the glass-like shelves in my fridge and little baggies of stuff in the freezer. I keep an inventory list of what’s in the freezer but I have been neglecting to keep it up-to-date the last few weeks. I will have the last serving of bbq’d pork that I think I have left in the freezer. I will make a chow mein to go with.

Sunday: Off to see a matinée movie of Turner and Constable. I will have a spicy fish curry for dinner.

Monday: Rice pilaf.

Tuesday: Pork and green bean stirfry.

Wednesday: Chicken and pineapple curry.

Thursday: Fettucine al pesto, tomato cucumber salad on the side.

Have a nice week everyone. I hope the spring flowers will come soon wherever you live.

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So happy to hear your cough is finally subsiding!

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Thank you!

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Cooking for 3 in rainy southwestern Ontario

Friday

I’m making Persian-style salmon and rice tonight. Recipes narrowed down to these 2.

Saturday: scrounge

Sunday: take-out pizza

Monday: Meatballs, to be determined

Hope everyone has a nice weekend.

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The BBC version of the recipe has the chutney on the side, yes. But the pairing for the curry itself is plain rice.

You would typically see chatni as part of a wider Bengali spread (veg, dal, meat / seafood, rice, etc) — my Bengali friends usually relish it as the last “course” after the mains are eaten, almost as pre-dessert (it’s sweet & tangy in all its versions).

Here’s the most common tomato version (from this meal):

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From a blog (and my coin finally dropped as to where the British version of chutney comes from, as Calcutta in Bengal was their capital in India before independence):

Bengalis are extremely fond of chutneys or ‘Chatni’ as they call it, and no meal, especially lunch, is complete without it. Chatni in Bengali cuisine is an element of transition between the main course and dessert, and not a side dish served with snacks or fries. It is served right after the fish or meat courses, along with crispy fried papad that is used to slurp up the chatni.

Bengali chutneys are of several variations, flavor, and ingredients that keep changing according to the availability of seasonal fruits. Though there are several variations, the core of any Bengali chatni is its sweetness combined with a bit of tanginess, and sometimes with a hint of hot spices.

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Cookbook of the Month / Quarter nominations are underway for April to June – come join in!

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I get it now. Fascinating!

ETA: …and I have papad!

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Hi, all! Cooking for 2 back in Chattanooga after a lovely few days up in the Smoky Mountains. Since our hotel was located in what’s basically a giant strip mall, I made full use of our tiny kitchen, making steak and baked potatoes one night and pasta alla vodka (well, alla tequila since Someone used up all the vodka without telling me…) another. I even made scones one morning!

Plans for this week:
Sunday, March 22: Fish with brown butter-balsamic glaze, spring salad, golden syrup dumplings
Tuesday: Warm spinach salad with chicken and bacon
Thursday: A cheesy bean bake from The Weekday Vegetarians Go Simple, the next book my family group chat is cooking from as a project
All other days TBD
I hope everyone has a good first week of spring and that the snow lets up in Canada. Happy cooking!

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Hi, friends. As usual, feeding 3 in the Boston burbs. It rained all day, so my plans for a walk with a friend turned into “let’s run our errands together” - I love having friends that are up for random things like mall returns and fabric shopping.

Sun (tonight): chicken quesadillas, black beans and corn (this chicken)

Mon: Cajun chicken pasta (more peppers, no shrooms) https://www.bigoven.com/recipe/cajun-chicken-pasta-cooking-light-version/198661

Tues: Greek turkey burgers (feta/spinach in the burgers, tzatziki on top), cheesy roasted broccoli

Weds: burrito bowls using tonight’s chicken

Thurs: buffalo chicken chili (ATK, may be paywalled, happy to paraphrase if anyone wants), cornbread https://www.americastestkitchen.com/recipes/14435-buffalo-chicken-chili

Fri: DH’s birthday - he asked for ribs and fries, there will be green beans too. Birthday cake (funfetti-ish). We’re going out for steak on Sat.

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Happy birthday to Mr. Truman! Looks like you have a mice week coming

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April thread is up for when you get there.

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Greetings, People.

After winter dormancy, our oregano is showing signs of life. This means its Greek Week - yay! Technically I should call this “Mediterranean Week”, but it doesn’t have the same ring to it. This is my favorite eating week of the entire year (followed closely by Tex Mex Week).

Cooking for two adults in the PNW:

FRI: Spring herb khachapuri (I’ll use pizza dough). Greek salad with peppers ala Smitten Kitchen.

SAT: Lamb gyros with zucchini meatballs. Pita. Raita. Marinated olives and feta. Avocado hummus. Greek salad.

SUN: Pan-roasted chicken thighs. Greek potatoes. Greek salad. Marinated bean salad.

MON: NYT’s Charred meat pitas with lamb (gift link). If I waffle, then grilled pork tenderloin with Greek seasonings. In any case, Greek salad and all the usual sides.

TUE: Skinny Taste’s food cart style chicken kebabs. Pita. Greek salad. White sauce.

WED: Rosemary and applewood grilled lamb kebabs. All the usual suspects: pita, raita, avo hummus, Greek salad, marinated olives and feta.

THUR: Grilled shrimp kebabs ala mediterraneandish.com. Same suspects as above.

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