Blue Apron 3/31/14

Blue Apron is Back!  Looks like the Plated vs. Blue Apron battle of meal delivery will continue for a while.  After doing Plated for the past few weeks, we decided to give Blue Apron a try again now that we have the option to have meat/chicken dishes in addition to the vegetarian ones.  

Here is what we enjoyed this week!

3-Chile Beef Chili

There are so many chili recipes out there, so I was expecting this to be just a standard chili dish.  This recipe went a step beyond the chili I've made in the past by including 3 varieties of roasted chiles.  There was a nice level of spice and the flavor was amazing.  An added bonus was that the recipe made 3 servings so I got to enjoy it for lunch the next day!

Roasted Chicken with Jalapeño Herb Salsa

Lots of chopping to make this salsa!  This was the first time I made salsa and included the seeds of the jalapeño, but the spiciness was nicely paired down with the citrus.  My "supreming" skills for segmenting the grapefruit is still a work in progress.  Overall a great dish, but our least favorite of the week.

Spaghetti with Zucchini and Pistachio-Spinach Pesto

This was our vegetarian replacement to the seafood option this week.  I love zucchini and pesto, so I knew this would be a winner.  There was lots of chopping involved to make the pesto (chopping pistachios isn't easy!), but it was worth it!

This was a great menu to be reintroduced to Blue Apron.  The quality between the two services is equal (both are amazing).  I think the serving sizes from Blue Apron tend to be a bit larger and that there are more ingredients for many of the recipes.  D and I are going to continue going weekly deciding which service we go for based on what is being offered.  Be on the lookout for another Blue Apron week ahead for this week!

#blueapron

Monday Musings 10/28/13

Happy Monday everyone!  There have been a couple of random thoughts I've had lately, some relating to items from boxes but not all of them, and I think a weekly posts on Monday's with some of these thoughts would be enjoyable.

1.  It's a super exciting Monday for St. Louis sports fans!
I'm a diehard Rams fan and tonight is their first Monday Night Football appearance since 2006.  Unfortunately the starting quarterback is out for the season and the matchup is against one of the best teams in the NFC (the SeaTurkeys).  I try to stay optimistic before all games, but I'm a little concerned about how this is going to go - especially since a potential disaster will be nationally televised.  Of course, the St. Louis Cardinals will be playing game 5 of the World Series next door (both games are in STL!).  Hopefully they can pull ahead at make the series 3-2.  It could be an AMAZING night if both the Rams and Cardinals can pull off a win.

2.  Who are all these people that have reality TV shows?
I'm a pretty avid TV watcher and I feel like I'm pretty up to date with what is going on with pop culture, but it seems that there are many reality TV shows about "celebrities" that I have never heard of.  Who are these people and who decided giving them a whole TV show that will probably only last one season was a good idea?

3.  Blueapron and Plated are still awesome
Even though I haven't been posting our weekly meals, D and I have had some delicious meals from both these companies over the past few weeks.  A couple plates even earned an elusive score of 10/10 from both of us.  I seriously can not recommend these services enough!  If you would like to try Plated, please use my referal link: https://www.plated.com/invites/c68767.  If you would like to try a week of Blueapron for FREE, comment below and I'll send a free week your way!  :-)

4.  Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish is also amazing
This has been one of the best Birchbox discoveries I have had in a long time.  I ended up purchasing a full sized bottle of this cleanser and the toner as well.  My skin is very sensitive and a bit unpredictable. After 2 weeks, my skin has never been so soft and clear.  I'm apparently not the only one who loves this product as it's currently sold out at Birchbox, but it's definitely worth trying out if you ever have a chance.  

5.  I love spinning but....
I really enjoy going to spin class as part of my usual workout regimen, but I never am able to get into the class as much if the instructor plays music I don't know or music without lyrics.  I really think that being a good spin instructor also requires being a good DJ.  I have yet to try out the Soul Cycle phenomenon, but when I do I'll be sure to report back.

6.  Rent the Runway is one of my favorite things ever
My friends all know what a fan of Rent the Runway I've become over this past year.  I've been able to wear some amazing dresses this year (especially with all the wedding related festivities!) without spending a fortune and ending up with dresses filling my closet I'll only wear 1-2 times.  They also just opened a new showroom in Henri Bendel's in NYC.  I went to check it out last week and it's great to see so many of their options in person all at once.  They deliver nationwide so if anyone wants to give them a try, please use my link and also get $20 off your first rental.  http://www.renttherunway.com/referral/Sparklie59

That's all the random things to share today!  Now I'm off to find a Halloween costume with minimal commitment.....

#renttherunway
#plated
#blueapron
#birchbox

Blue Apron Vegetarian Week of 8/26/13

As I mentioned earlier, we decided to return to Blue Apron Vegetarian for this week since we liked the menu items better than the offerings from Plated.  It was a very tasty week for us.

Our first meal was Palak Paneer with Naan and Kachumber Salad.  This is one of my favorite dishes to order when we go to an Indian restaurant so I was really excited to make it myself.  I never realized that whole pound of spinach went into making two servings of this dish!  The finished product was quite delicious - we even really enjoyed the salad which is usually very hit or miss for us.
Score: 6.5/10  (D - 6, K - 7)

The next night we made Trofie Pasta and Golden garlic and Heirloom Tomatoes.  Neither D nor I had had ever had this type of pasta before.  The texture seemed a little firmer than the pasta we usually have and we probably needed to cook it a little longer.  We definitely enjoyed the sauce and loved how flavorful it was and how simple it was to make.
Score: (6/10)

Our final meal of the week, Okonomiyaki, was prepared by D for lunch over the long weekend.   There was a lot of chopping involved, but overall I really enjoyed this dish.  It was very flavorful and not too heavy.  We decided to omit the Mizuna since for some reason it didn't keep well in our refrigerator.  D also took creative license and made one topping sauce instead of two which worked out very nicely.
Score: 6.5/10 (D-6, K-7)

Fresh Pea & Ricotta Ravioli

I love ravioli and I love peas.  This recipe seemed like an instant winner.  While it actually ended up being quite tasty, it mainly served as a lesson as to why most people don't make their own ravioli.

Fresh Pea & Ricotta Ravioli with Lemon Brown Butter

Making ravioli is hard!  It was very messy and I had about half the filling left over after my 18 ravioli were made.  I guess they should have been filled more but then I don't know how I would have closed them.  The whole time I was doing these, I was convinced they would all come open in the boiling water and we would be ordering pizza for dinner.

Amazingly, they turned out much better than expected.  More sauce would have been nice and also just a little more filling.

Due to the difficulty, time, and mess factor I think I'll be letting a professional make my homemade ravioli for now on.

D's score: 5/10
K's score: 4/10 (6/10 for taste, 2/10 for difficult prep)

Has anyone else ever made their own ravioli?  Any tips?

Baked Quinoa "Falafels" with Radish & Pea Shoot Salad

It's been a bit of a crazy work week so we didn't get to our Blue Apron meals as quickly as we usually do.  I've also decided to skip initial blue apron post when the box first arrives and just do each recipe.  So without further ado, here is our first vegetarian meal this week.

Baked Quinoa “Falafels” with Radish & Pea Shoot Salad

Since this recipe basically had all the ingredients split into two bowls, salad and falafels, I combined everything as soon as it was chopped and ready instead of initially having everything separate.  It's always nice to save some space in the dishwasher.

Making the patties was actually easier than I was expecting since the mixture wasn't so thick.

This was definitely one of those meals that tasted "healthy."  D liked it more than I did, but I'm not a huge olive fan.

Score: 3.5/10

Summer Corn & Vegetable Chowder

Wow!  This was definitely the best dish we've made in a while!  Actually, D made this one - not only was the chopping done but the chowder was all ready to enjoy when I came home from work.  The apartment smelled great!

Summer Corn & Vegetable Chowder

And continuing to be even more amazing, D took pictures along the way!

The final result was deliciously creamy and popped with fresh summer flavors.  This is a dish we definitely plan to make again and hopefully share with friends!

Score: 8/10

Another weekend update - Papillote and Rocksbox #3

As this blog continues to take shape, I've decided to condense anything I would write about over the weekend into a a single entry.  I guess this also means the posts on a given recipe or box might be a little bit shorter.  

Here are the blogger highlights from the weekend!

1.  We gave our second vegetarian meal this week a try for lunch on Saturday.  

Quinoa with Wild Mushrooms, Wax Beans & Broccoli en Papillote

It was an interesting concept cooking everything in the wax paper pouch, but we just didn't love the recipe too much.  It was very earthy tasting with all the mushrooms.  Usually I like mushrooms (D is not a huge fan), but this recipe tasted like it needed something else to cut the strong mushroom flavor a bit.

Score: 3/10

2.  My 3rd Rocksbox arrived!  I was quite excited to see what was in store for me this time, but unfortunately was overwhelmed by 2/3 of the items.  My box included:

Gold Jaali Filigree Band Ring By Isharya (Retail $58, Member's Price $46.40)

Anchor Necklace in Silver by Gorjana (Retail $50, Members price $40)

Druzy Studs in Light Blue by Margaret Elizabeth (Retail $88, Member's price $70.40)

While I was excited to finally see inclusion of silver jewelry (which is usually what I own and wear), I was not a fan of the ring or the necklace.  I'm willing to give the anchor necklace a try, the ring is totally not my style at all.  It reminds me of a giant guy's high school ring.  There is no way I'm going to change my mind on it.  :-( 

I am however in love with the blue earrings!  If it weren't for the earrings, I would be returning this box asap.  The light blue color will nicely compliment the blue scrubs I wear at work every day, so I'm excited to try them out for a bit.  :-)

3.  D and I decided to investigate the "cronut" craze this morning by heading down to Soho when we woke up.  We were silly to think we were the only ones who had this idea.  And even sillier to think that when we got there at 7:30 that the there wouldn't be a line completely around the block for when the bakery opened at 9am.  At least now we know not to wake up every weekend and debate if we want to go try to get cronuts.  Maybe in a couple of months

Crostata - aka fancy pizza

Tonight was another night of coming home from work to delicious smells in our apt.  D started had started cooking!

Caramelized Onion & Heirloom Tomato Crostata with Feta Cheese & Arugula

The prep for this recipe wasn't too bad - but making the crust was a little challenging to get the consistency right.  We ended up having to add more flour to be able to press it out.  

We also used a little bit less of the onions an arugula.  

Here is our Crostata!  It was quite tasty, but the underside of the crust was a little soggy.  We aren't sure if this is an issue with the oven or the dough.  The filling inside made up for it though. 

Score: 6/10 

Blue Apron Vegetarian 7/23

Looks like an interesting week ahead with some unique recipes!

Summer Corn & Vegetable Chowder
Caramelized Onion & Heirloom Tomato Crostata with Feta Cheese & Arugula
Quinoa with Wild Mushrooms, Wax Beans & Broccoli en Papillote

Check back this week for reviews of each.

Cannellini Bean and Escarole Salad with Crispy Potatoes

Finally a winning salad!  Our final Blue Apron meal was definitely our favorite of the week.

Cannellini Bean and Escarole Salad with Crispy Potatoes

It was pretty easy to prepare, but the potatoes definitely took some time since they had to be boiled for 10 minutes and then baked for 25 minutes.  I also sautéed the onions a bit instead of incorporating them raw.

Overall a delicious, easy salad that we BOTH loved!  This was another recipe that incorporated pretty basic ingredients.  It also would have been great with a little grilled chicken.  The dressing was also quite tasty.  Learning how to make a variety of homemade salad dressings has been one of the many perks of this subscription

Score: 7/10

Weekend Update

It was way too hot this weekend to do much, but we did prepare our second Blue Apron meal for lunch yesterday.  Maybe it was the weather, maybe it was the amount of prep time this one required, maybe we just weren't in the mood, but for whatever the reason, this isn't a recipe either of us loved.

French Lentils with Fennel, Grapefruit, and Avocado

After all the usual amount of veggie prepping, the step that took the most time was peeling all the grapefruit membranes.  I don't think I fully did an ideal job, but I tried.

There were a lot of flavors in this that I guess were interesting together (fennel, avocado, lentils, grapefruit), but it was hard to get excited about this as a main meal.  Again, the husband and I disagreed on the score for this one (he's not usually a fan of the salads).

Score: 3/10

Another update from Friday is about my 2nd Rocksbox.  Unfortunately when I went to put on the earrings, this happened....   :-(

The good news was that customer service was very helpful.  They are giving me $10 off my box for next month.  The only minor disappointing news was that the box had to be returned as a set.  After wearing the purple necklace I loved a few more times, I returned the box on Friday.  Now I can get excited to see what is going to come next!

Tabbouleh with Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes, Manchego Cheese, and Champagne Vinegar

It's still ridiculously hot here. Good think the first meal of the week seems refreshing.  

Tabbouleh with Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes, Manchego Cheese, and Champagne Vinegar 

Not too much prep for this one - only some chopping and boiling two small pots of water. 

Peeling tomatoes was a little time consuming, but I admit they were quite tasty and the texture mad te dish more interesting.  

My husband, D, is not a fan of raw onions, but I don't think they overpowered the dish.  

I tend to like these grain salad dishes better than D does (his main complaint was the onions).  Therefor we disagreed on the score a little bit so I decided to average it out.  

Score: 5.5