This plane is heading the wrong way.

No recipe again this week. Since my schedule is still crazy and I’m gone more dinner times than not, the DH wanted to try something new – that’s *shocker* not delivery. Well, *technically* Blue Apron is delivery, but you get the point. It’s not takeout Indian or a frozen pizza. 

I’m sure you’ve all heard about Blue Apron a million times, but here’s the short version: you sign up for a weeks’ worth of meals (we did the 2-person 3 meal version), and they deliver a box with recipes + all the ingredients you need to make them (minus staples like oil, salt & pepper). You waste nothing but packaging (and Blue Apron at least packages with an eye toward making as much of it recyclable as possible), and get 3 perfectly portioned meals out of the deal. It’s a win-win for people who don’t want to grocery shop and/or need recipes to follow. The DH is a great cook, but he hasn’t had to think up something to make for dinner in a decade and he doesn’t really flex his cooking muscles that often since I’m the primary meal provider in the house. Blue Apron gave him a chance to exert a little independence over dinner – and me a chance to eat something home-cooked I didn’t have to jam into my packed schedule.

This is our second box from Blue Apron – we’re giving it a three-box try before passing final judgement on whether this is something we want to continue doing. Blue Apron has no idea who I am and this series of posts are not sponsored.

Read Week 1 Here

What We Got

This week’s meals featured three non-beef meats and were all delicious. Like last week, these meals are all much more grain-heavy than I like to eat, but they were exactly what the DH wanted (he prefers grains and other carbs in his diet).

Meal 1: Curried Catfish & Coconut Rice

This was some delicious fish, and the chutney was a really nice touch. 

Meal 2: BBQ Pork Burgers & Corn on the Cob

Another winner. The burgers were juicy (though we subbed out the BBQ sauce – BA’s sauce was really generic-tasting), the onions were a great touch, and while the corn serving looked small – this meal still racked up 800 calories.

Meal 3: Spicy Chicken & Korean Rice Cakes

This was sweet, sticky and delicious. The chicken was of really nice quality, too – and the corn was an unexpected little treat.

This Week’s Verdict

Definitely tasty, definitely more carbs than I like, but good. The DH is still kind of liking cooking (though he’s coming to hate prep work even more), but this week was a little less exciting than last week. Fish Mondays are still really appealing, though. We shall see what Week 3 brings. 

No recipe this week. Since my schedule is still crazy and I’m gone more dinner times than not, the DH wanted to try something new – that’s *shocker* not delivery. Well, *technically* Blue Apron is delivery, but you get the point. It’s not takeout Indian or a frozen pizza.

I’m sure you’ve all heard about Blue Apron a million times, but here’s the short version: you sign up for a weeks’ worth of meals (we did the 2-person 3 meal version), and they deliver a box with recipes + all the ingredients you need to make them (minus staples like oil, salt & pepper). You waste nothing but packaging (and Blue Apron at least packages with an eye toward making as much of it recyclable as possible), and get 3 perfectly portioned meals out of the deal. It’s a win-win for people who don’t want to grocery shop and/or need recipes to follow. The DH is a great cook, but he hasn’t had to think up something to make for dinner in a decade and he doesn’t really flex his cooking muscles that often since I’m the primary meal provider in the house. Blue Apron gave him a chance to exert a little independence over dinner – and me a chance to eat something home-cooked I didn’t have to jam into my packed schedule.

What We Got

This week’s meals featured three non-beef meats and were all delicious. Much more grain-heavy than I like to eat, but they were exactly what the DH wanted (he prefers grains and other carbs in his diet).

Meal 1: Brown Butter Cod with Corn, Shishito Peppers & Purple Potatoes

This was delicious. A little over-salted (the recipe calls for salt at every step but doesn’t caution that salt compounds with each addition), but delicious. The cod was cooked perfectly, the butter sauce was interesting (sherry vinegar added a nice counterpoint to the richness), the shishito peppers leant a nice textural dimension, and the potatoes were crispy and perfect. The DH complained a bit about the amount of prep involved with this one – he’s finicky with his knife skills and the 3/4 lb. potatoes cut into 1/4-inch rounds(he went thinner) took a lot of time and caused a lot of aggravation.

Overall, this meal was delicious – despite the salt issue – and is something we would definitely eat again.

Meal 2: Lemongrass Chicken Burgers with Hoisin Mayo & Roasted Potato Wedges

This was another hit. The DH said they were the tastiest chicken burgers he’d ever had. This meal was lighter on prep, which the DH appreciated, but no less tasty than the night before. Crispy potatoes, a nice soft bun, tasty mayo with an interesting flavor profile, and lemongrass chicken. Nothing to complain about here.

Meal 3: Seared Pork Chops & Plum Salsa with Corn, Kale & Farro Salad

This one tasted exactly like something I would make. It was the DH’s least favorite of the three, and the one I was the least thrilled about carb-wise (farro just seems so much more carb-y than potatoes in my mind – especially since I haven’t really had a “grain” like that in who knows how long). BA actually mistakenly sent us ground pork instead of chops for this dish, so our version turned out more like one of my meat + veggies bowls than the plated restaurant meal from the picture. While I liked the plum salsa for this dish (the DH wasn’t even going near it), I would have liked a little more bright acid to bring the flavors up.

Still a good meal, but not the DH’s favorite and the furthest from what I need to be eating. A damn site better than delivery, at any rate.

Verdict

Not bad. The price isn’t horrible ~$10 a meal – which is about what I’d spend on a big salad and about what the DH would spend on delivery Indian. While this type of dinner is right up the DH’s alley, I would prefer it if the meals were paleo-friendly. We are looking for an alternative that caters to both types of eater that won’t also break the bank on shipping to offer a comparison, but for now we may end up ordering another box or two while my schedule is in flux. I can’t continue to blow my macros for long, but for now it’s a good experiment. And, I’m enjoying having dinner prepared for me + actually eating a serving size, since I’m incapable of cooking or serving that amount on my own. This Blue Apron business may actually end up making me a more efficient and cost-conscious cook.

This is Part 2 of a two-part series. Part 1 is here.

A few weekends ago, the DH and I decided to break out the “big” cameras and go for an old fashioned photo crawl. We haven’t been on one of those in ages.

Red Hook is crazy scenic – lots of texture, grit and graffiti to shoot; and lots of art and a strongly independent vibe to soak up. This neighborhood has been (and continues to be) a lot of things – the very least of which is home to IKEA. Red Hook might be a pain in the ass to get to via the subway, but it’s bustling full of great food, indy shops, artisans doing what they do best, and green spaces. Definitely worth checking out, at the very least.

Waterfront

Cacao Prieto Chocolate Factory / Widow Jane Whiskey Distillery

Not Technically Red Hook – Gowanus on the walk home

This is Part 1 of a two-part series.

A few weekends ago, the DH and I decided to break out the “big” cameras and go for an old fashioned photo crawl. We haven’t been on one of those in ages.

Red Hook is crazy scenic – lots of texture, grit and graffiti to shoot; and lots of art and a strongly independent vibe to soak up. This neighborhood has been (and continues to be) a lot of things – the very least of which is home to IKEA. Red Hook might be a pain in the ass to get to via the subway, but it’s bustling full of great food, indy shops, artisans doing what they do best, and green spaces. Definitely worth checking out, at the very least.

The pictures in this post were all taken while walking around the streets of Red Hook – the second post is more destination-based.