This Love Week’s Meal Plan, Edition 6
I planned your week for you, with a printable menu + shopping list inside.
Happy Valentine’s Day! It’s wonderful to see how February 14th has evolved from being all about romance to celebrating love more broadly. In Finland, it’s known as Friendship Day (ystävänpäivä) and serves as a good reason to tell everyone how much you love and appreciate them, including your long-distance relatives, your dog, tortoise, and goldfishes.
There is actually a beautiful story and a lovely quote to share about St Valentine’s Day. A very good friend of mine once arrived in Berlin around this time of year, when the film festival was on. Berlin isn’t particularly beautiful in winter: it’s mostly grey and rainy, with busy filmmakers running through the city to make their next appointment. But that year, she says, it was different: all frosty and sunny, with great old friends she hadn’t seen in a while. There wasn’t much business talk, yet it was still very productive. On February 14th, she accidentally discovered that her colleague was hosting a birthday party right on her birthday, which was just after Valentine’s Day. Despite having worked together for a year or so, they hadn’t realized they were born on the same day. At the party, they also discovered that not only were they born on the same day, but also in the same year and at approximately the same time. These coinciding dates brought them closer – and a spark was ignited.
They worked together more and got to know each other better. The following year, back in Berlin, my friend was perplexed by her feelings for her colleague, wondering whether they were professional or personal, friendship or romance - since many things had happened during the year and so many feelings had been evoked. So she sent a quote from Emily Dickinson to him, saying just this: “Since I have no sweet flower to send you, I enclose my heart; a little one, sunburnt, half broken sometimes, yet close as the spaniel, to it’s friends. Your flowers came from Heaven, to which if I should ever go, I will pluck you palms.”
And of course, they got married four years later, on their shared birthday, right after Valentine’s Day.
This week’s menu reflects the feeling of ease that comes with the good things that sometimes unfold in our lives when we least expect them. The dishes are simple yet have a distinctive note of uniqueness: my family’s favorite curly egg noodles, Hungarian chicken, the most famous Italian pasta sauce, a casserole that tends to disappear from the table almost immediately, and the celebratory cabbage rolls from my childhood. As a weekend or lunch bonus, I shared the best tortilla recipe I have ever tried. You can wrap anything in them to make a hot lunch or light dinner – like the foundation of every good story, they give you absolute creative freedom.
Lots of love,
Sophie xx
Printable Menu Card (PDF):
Love week Shopping List
This week’s shopping list is organized in one simple PDF you can download and print.
Each ingredient has a small emoji next to it so you instantly know which recipe it belongs to.
The plan serves 3–4 people, but feel free to scale up or down.
Download the list, print it, or keep it on your phone while shopping. I hope it makes your week feel lighter and your dinners easier.
Printable shopping list (PDF):
THE MEAL PLAN
MONDAY: Egg Noodles with Cabbage, Onion and Butter
A very simple vegetarian dish to start the week, with the curliness of egg noodles and just three other ingredients.
TUESDAY: Chicken Paprikash
Beautifully colored and full of paprika flavor, this chicken is simply delicious.
WEDNESDAY: Pasta Al Ragu
This is my version of the classic Italian ragu sauce. People still argue about what should go into the perfect Bolognese sauce, but I kept things simple.
THURSDAY: Mashed Potato Casserole with Cheese & Crispy Bacon
One of my son’s favorite casseroles is this one, with deliciously melted cheese in the mashed potatoes.
FRIDAY: Cabbage Rolls, Asian Style
I hope this modern Asian twist on my childhood favorite will help you celebrate the end of the week!
Bonus for the weekend: Tortilla & Egg Wraps
If you’re planning a Sunday brunch, these tortillas are worth bearing in mind. You can use any fillings you like, whether leftovers or a base for BBQ.
Preparations
Firstly, two of this week’s recipes will require beef or chicken stock. Here is a method for making your own beef stock at home.
Alternatively, you can buy a good-quality stock in a shop, but make sure it’s not salted.The casserole can be made in advance, stopping just before you would add the bacon. It can be stored in the fridge for up to three days or in the freezer for up to two months.
Ragu sauce for pasta can be made in any quantity and is ideal for freezing and using with freshly cooked pasta, rice, couscous or potatoes whenever needed.
Chicken paprikash is best made from scratch, but it will be almost as good if cooked in advance and then reheated.
Cabbage rolls are an excellent option for a quick meal. Fill cabbage or napa leaves with meat and freeze. When you need them, take them out of the freezer, put them in a baking tin, pour in some chicken stock and bake to finish.
Lots of love,
Sophie
Happy Valentine’s Day!!! 🫵🏆🙌💛