Since we’ve gotten to Cape Town I’ve had time to consistently menu plan, which has been enormously helpful for pre-wedding dieting and walking to the store grocery trips. Those trips have to be small. I am not strong enough to carry six fully loaded bags home.

I thought I’d share what’ll be happening in my kitchen this week. Some of these recipes you’ll see on the blog in the weeks to come!

Monday

Fiance and I have been on a mission since we got here to find tolerable pizza. We have an inappropriate relationship with pizza that can’t go without feeding for too long. So far, the delivery pizza has been truly terrible. We went to Col Cacchio Pizzeria this week after an afternoon at Camps Bay, and it was quite good. A little “fancier” than the greasy, topping loaded classic pepperoni Fiance was hoping for, but we thoroughly enjoyed it. I had a fabulous 500 calorie (yep, believe it!) pizza with feta, spinach, peppers, and garlic cloves.

To satisfy our need for some classic, simple pepperoni pizza, I’ll be making pizza on Monday.

Tuesday

On Tuesday, we’re having some kind of beef ragout (I’m still mentally working out the kinks to lighten this up and add extra veggies) with this gorgeous spinach tagliatelle I’ve been eyeing at our local grocery store. Recipe to come!

Wednesday
On Wednesday, I am going to make a boerwoers (sausage) and beer cheddar chowder inspired by this recipe, but I’m going to lighten it up by using superfood cauliflower in place of cream. I have a serious weakness for chowder. My mom and I frequented a restaurant near the salon where she’d often take me to get our nails done and it made my day when they had their seafood chowder. I’m excited to make a lighter version using local cuisine, like boerwoers!

Thursday
By Thursday, we’re going to need something light, even if the other dishes are lightened up versions of their original selves. So we’re going to have a veggie packed chicken stir-fry that I haven’t wholly thought through, but it will be with Melissa Joulwan’s (of Well Fed) Best Stir-Fry Sauce. I love that girl’s recipes.

Friday
Friday is Fiance’s birthday!!! I LOVE birthdays, especially his. For his seventeenth birthday, he told me I wasn’t allowed to spend any money on his gift. I accepted the challenge (not hard, considering I was only sixteen myself and just had babysitting money). I e-mailed our favorite band at the time, The Decemberists (who we’ve seen live at least three times since) and asked if they might send me a signed poster for my boyfriend’s birthday, after explaining the no spending challenge. Oh, how I wish I could go back to having so little cynicism. And, being the incredibly good-natured people that they are, they did indeed send me a poster signed by every member of the band, and even paid for shipping. I think I rose to that challenge very well. Not to mention, The Decemberists are comprised of the kindest people alive.

Anyway, we are going out to celebrate. You need reservations to eat just about anywhere here, so I have secured them at what is supposed to be the restaurant with the best burgers in Cape Town, on the well known Long Street: Royale Eatery. Before that, we’re going to try all that Beerhouse and its wide selection has to offer and walk the street.

Do you know what you’re having this week yet?