a week of meals no. 4

a meal plan for the first week of November 2023

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Saturday again! This upcoming week is a very special week, as my first baby turns 15 (!!) I can’t believe it. I know all parents say this, but really, time is a thief. If you are in the trenches with little ones and feel like the days are never-ending, let me tell you, they end! And seemingly without warning. Hold those little ones close, read the one more story, cuddle th extra few minutes they ask for in bed, play the game, cherish those little everyday moments. This is the only autumn they’ll ever be ___ years old. Someday, without knowing it, it will be the last time you’ll carry your child on your hip, the last time they fit in a sink bath, the last time you carry them in asleep from the car, the last time you sing them to sleep or read them a story or kiss them at school dropoff. These little moments are everyday magic.

Right, so this week you’ll see a lot of soups on the menu, several people around us have Covid and/or the flu, the weather is chilly in the evenings and I really like to have something warm, nutritious and easy to digest for dinners. Also, since we have a few sports engagements through the week, soup is fantastic as I can make it ahead and it reheats well.

Sunday: Ottolenghi’s red lentil coconut soup, a forever staple in our home. Stir through some greens at the end if you wish. Side of rice.

Monday: butternut apple soup with crispy chickpeas. For the crispy chickpeas, toss with oil and salt/pepper and either saute in a pan, tossing every few minutes; or bake at 400f till crispy. Fennel and little gem salad with vinaigrette, sliced pear, and pomegranate seeds.

Tuesday: mushroom dumpling stew (p 196 of my ebook, I’ll add a screenshot at the bottom of this post) warm salad of thin sliced of roasted red kuri squash, radicchio, toasted hazelnuts, parsley, and vinaigrette.

Wednesday: pasta e broccoli (cavolfiore) the recipe is the one from last week’s post, just sub cauliflower for the broccoli, and I like to add extra garlic and some oil cured black olives, as cauliflower is so much more mild.

Thursday: lentil soup with chard, same method as the autumn minestrone but do lentils instead of white beans, chard instead of cabbage/kale, and potato instead of squash. sourdough bread to dunk.

Friday: pizza night, pesto potato for one, mozzarella + roasted pumpkin, sage and shallot for the other. Plus an arugula apple salad.

Saturday: orecchiette boiled with diced potato, then tossed with tomato sauteed in a pan with olive oil, garlic, and arugula. Braised tiny beluga lentils on the side (saute finely diced onion/celery/carrot in olive oil with salt, then add lentils, water and a bay leaf, cook until tender. Scatter fresh parsley over the top)

Bake: Parkin cake for Bonfire Night

Midweek treat: Carmela’s 15th birthday cake

Cocktail: apple butter cocktail, something like this without the fig

Breakfasts: still very into steel cut oats, so continuing that. I made some apple butter, which is just wonderful on top oatmeal along with fresh chopped apples, toasted nuts, and milk.

I hope you enjoy these meal plans, and that you find some ideas for cooking nourishing meals for you + yours this week.

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Until next time,

xx A