First, Hello — and Then, Let’s Get You a Head Start

If you’re new here: welcome to the table. We’re glad you pulled up a chair.

Who we are

We’re Lorianne and Colin — a Catholic family of four trying to do the same thing you probably are: get a real, from-scratch dinner on the table on an ordinary weeknight, without losing our minds or our roughly $250-300 weekly grocery budget. He’s the chef 90% of the time. (I can run on Diet Coke and foldable meats. He can’t — haven’t figured out why.) His voice in recipes is no fuss, clear, very engineer-ey. I’m Lorianne, and I’m the one writing it all down — the planner, the note-taker, the keeper of the list.

Sunday Forward is the system we actually use, written out week by week. The idea is simple: each week has a regional theme, one big-batch sauce that pulls double duty, a bulk protein that stretches across several nights, and a few thirty-minute meals for the evenings when there just isn’t time. You spend a little of your weekend planning and shopping, and it carries you — from Sunday forward. We send a note every Saturday, and because this is a 26-week plan, it stretches across about a year: every other week you’ll get a full “week” — five dinner recipes and three desserts — from the plan. Why every other week and not every single one? Because this planner-and-editor mama has other responsibilities, and papa bear has a real job plus what has become a much more serious cooking hobby. (We also keep Fridays meatless, and lean into that rhythm through Lent — you’ll see it reflected in the plan.)

A quick word on quantities: most recipes are portioned to feed four — our table — though we keep a standing drop-in friend, so it’s often four to six. The grocery list is built the same way; if your crew runs bigger, just nudge up the proteins and sides.

A head start on next week

Here’s why this note lands today instead of with a stack of recipes. Next week is a big one — a from-scratch Mexican & Latin table built around one glorious centerpiece: a deep, brick-dark batch of mole negro. It’s the kind of sauce that asks you to gather a few things you might not keep on hand, like a small armory of dried chiles. So rather than spring the whole shopping trip on you the morning the recipes drop, we’re handing you the cart early.

The full Week 2 grocery list is ready right now — every ingredient, every quantity, sorted by aisle and checkable as you shop. What it doesn’t show you yet is the recipes, or even what each dish will be. Call it a happy little mystery. Do your shopping this week, get those chiles ordered if your store doesn’t stock them, and when the recipes arrive June 27, you’ll already have everything on the counter and ready to go.

A small tip while you’re shopping: the dried chiles and the warm spices are the one part of the list worth a little hunting. Most well-stocked groceries carry ancho and guajillo; for the pasilla negros, mulatos, and moritas, a Latin market or a quick online order is your friend. Everything else is a normal trip. And if a from-scratch mole feels like more than you want to take on, a good jarred one will let you skip that whole block — no judgment at this table.