Every week, kept forever
A short week — four nights, everything 30 minutes or under, and built around the Asian supermarket delivery that landed the day before: dashi, two misos, a big tub of gochujang, dark soy, chilli oils and sixty gyoza. Miso-butter gnocchi with mushrooms and crisp sage to open (Tue, veggie, using up the fridge mushrooms), lamb kofta flatbreads with chopped salad and garlic yoghurt (Wed, ⭐ hit, mix made the night before), gyoza and greens noodle soup in dashi broth (Thu, new — gyoza crisped hard and perched on top), and Korean bulgogi for Steak Night with a fried egg and kimchi (Fri, off Joe's own two steaks). Four cuisines, crunch on every night. No Sunday this time — but the standing Sunday roast rule starts from here.
Meteorological autumn arrives and the forecast splits the week neatly — a sunny 20–23°C BBQ weekend, then down to 16°C by midweek. Chimichurri steak bowl for Steak Night Friday (flat iron, freezer steaks), Peruvian-style BBQ chicken with aji verde on Saturday (new), BBQ pork belly with roast apples and sage on Sunday — the hit, with the mango salsa retired for the season. Then it turns cosy: Japanese curry udon with freezer gyoza (Mon, new), a sausage, squash, apple and sage traybake (Tue), the tarka dahl rebuilt to its library method as a double freezer batch (Wed), and shakshuka to finish (Thu). Three veggie dinners, three BBQ nights, five freezer items chipped away. Flo’s Sunday bake: apple and blackberry oat flapjack.
August Bank Holiday meets Notting Hill Carnival. Mushroom ragu pappardelle to land (Thu, freezer), Steak Night Friday goes Thai crying tiger, Saturday's a genuine night off with chicken satay fakeaway, Sunday's the banging make-ahead — Jamaican brown stew chicken + coconut rice & peas, for Carnival parade day. Pizza night closes the long weekend (Mon), loaded black bean quesadillas (Tue), curried BBQ chicken thighs repeat hit to finish (Wed). Six freezer items chipped away. Flo's Sunday bake: oat-banana-choc muffins (repeat) + new cheddar & sweetcorn muffins.
BBQ salmon with dill & preserved lemon butter (Wed), Greek salad + freezer spanakopita (Thu), Steak Night Friday goes flat iron — Joe's own swap. Saturday off. Sunday's a brunch for 8 (bacon/halloumi/avocado rolls + baked eggs) followed by a slow beef & black bean estofado. Halloumi couscous salad (Mon), miso-ginger ramen (Tue). Five freezer items chipped away. Flo's banana-tahini loaf, take 2 (more banana this time) + cheddar-chive muffins.
A tour of Asia in seven nights, fresh and light for August. Vietnamese bún bowl (Sat), soy-ginger roast chicken lunch + Thai green curry (Sun), Chinese aubergine-tofu (Mon veggie), salmon teriyaki bowls (Tue), tarka dahl + crispy smashed potato (Wed veggie), Singaporean prawn laksa (Thu), Korean bulgogi steak + kimchi + fried egg (Fri, Steak Night). Half the flavour base from the home cupboard. Flo's 2 new snacks: miso-cheddar oat cookies + banana-tahini loaf.
Eight nights of Latin flavours, anchored on Sunday's slow-braised Mexican beef estofado (Joe's powder from Mexico). Steak Night Friday goes Argentine chimichurri. Two taco nights burn through both epic packs (Thu steak, Sat chorizo + black bean). Veggie baked feta + spinach pasta Tue. Fish bowls Wed. Huevos rancheros Thu 6 finish. Flo's Sunday batch = frittata + oat-banana-choc muffins + corn-feta-jalapeño muffins during the estofado braise. Ocado ~£58 additions.
Feast of Santiago (Sat 25 Jul) week. Six nights of Spanish flavours built around ready-made shortcuts to keep it doable with the newborn: Wed tapas at home, Thu gambas al ajillo + sourdough, Fri bavette tagliata with freezer romesco (Steak Night), Sat M&S empanadas + Santiago-day salad, Sun proper paella (the one real cook), Mon Unearthed tortilla + salad. Ocado delivery, ~£88.60 Santiago additions.
First full week with the new baby. Everything one-hand: bowls, pasta, sandwich, noodle soup. Steak Night Fridays anchor the week — chimichurri steak bowl to open (Fri 10), steak sandwich on ciabatta to close (Fri 17). Freezer does the heavy lifting mid-week: lasagne (Sat), Batch Lady satay curry (Sun), baked feta pasta (Mon veggie), bolognese (Tue), mushroom ragu pappardelle (Wed veggie), prawn miso noodle soup (Thu). Waitrose delivery, £75.72.
Five freezer items chipped away: Mexican pulled pork tacos (Tue), harissa baked eggs (Wed veggie), veggie miso ramen (Thu), BBQ salmon caper-preserved-lemon-dill butter (Fri), deep-fried cod & chips — new fryer debut (Sat), chicken pie (Sun), mushroom ragu pappardelle (Mon veggie).
Mole chicken (batch + Fri tacos), Spanish tortilla, BBQ halloumi + harissa couscous salad, pulled mole tacos, cold sambal-tumis noodle salad. Banana bread Sunday bake. Light, cold-friendly, gut-health-leaning. Chilli + dahl saved for cooler weeks.
Pork belly, dahl, Keralan coconut curry, BBQ prawns, curried chicken thighs, lamb koftas. Last asparagus, World Refugee Day mezze.
Lamb koftas, spatchcock chicken, BBQ salmon (World Oceans Day), shakshuka, halloumi, pork tenderloin, beef burgers. Sunday cookie dough bake.
BBQ pork belly + soy-maple-ginger, BBQ sea bass, chicken tikka coconut curry (Spice Tailor), duck legs, panko prawns, chicken Milanese. Not archived to disk before being overwritten — sorry.
Curried BBQ chicken thighs, BBQ salmon + cucumber yoghurt, BBQ halloumi + courgettes, lamb koftas, beef burgers in brioche. The original gold-standard week.
From this week onwards, every plan is auto-archived to its own URL and listed here forever.