Menu for the Week - 23 to 29 March 2009

One of the reasons why I decided to start this blog was to keep track of the weekly dinner menus. It's been a bit of a ritual for the past few years - pretty much every Saturday morning, I lay out the latest editions of my food magazines and a selection of cookbooks, look at what's in season (or what I bought from the markets) and plan what we'll be cooking and eating over the next week. I then compile our shopping list - grocery separated from fruit and vegetables, with special sections for the butcher, bakery and deli when required.

I now have around 8 notebooks (handwritten) of weekly menus and most of our dinner/lunch party menus. People seem to find it strange that I do this, whereas I just cannot imagine NOT doing it. Imagine how long it would take to do the shopping! And I just couldn't bear the thought of visiting the shops *every* *day* to get what I need for that night's dinner. Ugh.

We aim to cook five to six times a week, with a day or two for either a take-away or eat out. Sure, there are weeks when I just can't be bothered and we end up taking away or eating out more times that we'd like, but most weeks I like to be good and use up what we've got in the fridge and pantry.

So I suppose one way to make sure I keep this blog regular is to put in our weekly menu. Yeah, some people might find this wanky or just plain weird, but what they hey - I'm really doing it for me, so there. :)

Here's what we're cooking this week:

• Pork cutlets (on bone) salt-rubbed with parsley, grape and chorizo salad with stir-fried snake beans and oyster sauce
• Fish fillets (lightly spiced) with almond basmati rice with cinnamon and green salad OR sauteed cavolo nero with pistachios
• Pecan crusted Scotch fillet steak with sauteeed nicola potatoes with garlic and mixed cherry tomato salad with purple basil mini cress
• Thai-style sweet pork with stir-fried sambal water spinach (kangkung) plus steamed long grain rice and extra Asian veggies
• Boiled lamb shanks with star anise broth with pearl barley or couscous salad
• Beetroot tagliatelle pasta with pork and fennel Italian style sausage, lemon and nutmeg with salatini salad and mixed cherry tomatoes

So 'til the next post, happy cooking and eating!