February 22, 2025

WEEKLY MENU 02.23.25

Dinner should be as effortless as a hot-air balloon ride—float through the Weekly Menu 02.23.25! We’re up, up, and away.

WHY are there hot-air balloons on the Weekly Menu 02.23.25? Honestly? I liked the picture. Then I looked into it further and got information about simply gorgeous Cappadocia, Turkey.

I won’t lie—this is somewhere we are unlikely to visit. A brief look shows that it would take 25-27 flight hours and cost a minimum of $7557. Yikes! Hopefully, the pictures do it justice.

Tucked away in central Turkey is the country’s most stunning destination – Cappadocia. Dreamy moonscapes make up this iconic region, an otherworldly panorama filled with fairy chimneys, rock castles and cave dwellings. It’s a place where visitors sleep in cave hotels, chase balloons at sunrise and frolic the conical valleys throughout the day.

BucketlistBums.com

About Cappadocia

In the seventies and eighties, Cappadocia was not a well-known destination on the international travel scene. Visited by independent backpackers, eager for adventure and excitement, it was not until the Internet, that the region became a hot topic.

If you have never been, it is easy to assume the descriptions sound like a page out of a fairy-tale storybook. Cave houses, fairy chimneys, underground cities, and extended deep gorges used by Christians fleeing Roman soldiers will sound surreal to anyone. However, everything about Cappadocia is very much real.

The cave hotels are not a man-made theme. Built into the natural geographical makeup, locals have carved homes out of rocks for centuries. Term the concept with professional hoteliers, who have lined their establishments with every amenity and you have the best accommodation in the world.

Hot Air Ballooning in Cappadocia

The balloons are the biggest attraction and proof is seen by waking up early in the morning to see over thirty of them floating across the horizon just as the sun rises. Listen to the rush of hot air flowing into the balloons and see miniature figures in the basket. The balloon trips are not for late risers, because all of them are in the air by sunrise.

Hot air balloons invented in 1776 found a home in Cappadocia because wind streams flowing through valleys are perfect conditions in which to fly. Rising to around 1000 feet, pilots often descend and climb back up again, giving off a stunning panoramic view.

TurkeyTravelCentre.com

The post picture for the Weekly Menu 02.23.25 was taken in February, hence the snow. Although it is spectacular, it’s not the best time of the year to go hot-air ballooning. Weather variables are especially likely during the winter. It’d be a real bummer to go all that way for a hot-air balloon ride only to have it canceled.

See? Up, Up, and away!

Weekly Menu 02.23.25

For the Weekly Menu 02.23.25, we’re sticking with tried-and-true, simple recipes. It’s finally the last week of February, but winter will not relinquish even a smidge.

We’re spicing our palates up on Monday with fire-touched Chicken Fra Diavolo. We’re having it with ‘sewer pipes’ A/K/A rigatoni. Back in the day (WAY back) DOLD was in the road construction business. The company did a fair amount of asphalt paving, and a part of that was sewers and drains. Our favorite Italian restaurant (a few blocks from the plant) had no trouble understanding when we ordered ‘sewer pipes’. They were extraordinarily good! In a little homage to Dear Old Loveable, we’re including them in the Weekly Menu 02.23.25.

Maybe we should rename Taco Tuesday to Burrito Tuesday this week. The Beef and Black Bean Burritos are a 5-ingredient, filling, fast, and delicious recipe. They’re a good substitute for the almighty taco.

On Wednesday, we’re taking an appetizer and making enough for a meal. Chef’s Style Boneless Buffalo Wings are my take on a favorite starter from one of our all-time favorite Italian restaurants in Buffalo, NY. They are, effectively, lightly floured, fried chicken breast chunks doused in a Frank’s Hot Sauce-based wing treatment. As Ina would say, “How bad can that be?”

Chili is up for Friday instead of soup because, well, it’s time for chili. It’ll be a 5-ingredient, bean and ground beef concoction that will do our souls some good.