A review: Blue Apron

It might seem weird that a person who loves to shop for food and cook, like I do, would be interested in a service that delivers it all right to your door and tells you exactly how to make it. You're right, I wouldn't ordinarily do this. Nevertheless, for several reasons I became interested in Blue Apron:

• They offered me a free week of food to get acquainted because my neighbor and friend recommended me to them. Free is almost always good. They didn't, incidentally, know I write a cooking blog.
• The meals they showed on their website looked well balanced and interesting.
• They offered a lot of options for food preference like no red meat, vegetarian, gluten free, fish only, or eat everything.
• It seemed like it might be good to have something to recommend to people who don't know how to cook, don't like or don't have time to grocery shop, or just know there are going to be times when they need food support that doesn't involve living on chips and dip or greasy takeout. I totally support that!

So I decided to give Blue Apron a try, just for fun. I picked a week that showed food I thought we'd like, and I ordered three meals for two, eat everything. This would ordinarily cost a little over $9.50 a meal, or around $20 for two per meal. Pretty comparable to takeout. Here's what I got and here's what I thought.

This is the box the food came in, after I had opened it. It was packed with three reusable frozen ice packs, and everything was in a metallic bag. The meats, two salmon fillets, two chicken breast halves, and one small pork loin roast, were frozen solid. The box was delivered while I was out, and sat on my front porch for nearly two hours. Still frozen.

All the vegetables were in separate plastic bags - snow peas, English peas, a carrot, a bunch of collard greens, green onions, arugula, two red potatoes. In addition there was a big baking potato, a lemon, a radish, and a head of garlic, plus three paper bags marked Knick-Knacks, one for each meal. These contained spices, vinegars, and the like. Blue Apron assumes you have olive oil, salt, and pepper in your kitchen, and little else.

My Grilled Salmon Salad

I made the Grilled Salmon Salad the day after I got the box, when the salmon had defrosted. All the ingredients were very fresh and the dish was, in a word, delicious! The salad included red potatoes, peas, and radishes, and the salmon had a moderately spicy rub. I'd make it again, on my own.

Clear, simple directions were given on a laminated sheet with pictures. It couldn't have been easier. The portions were just right for two people. For those who are interested, the calorie count is on the sheet - this one was 740 calories per serving.

Day one was a big hit. We both loved it!

My General Tso's Chicken

Two days later I made the second dish, General Tso's Chicken with rice and snow peas. This dish was more like what you'd get for takeout at a Chinese restaurant, just a lot fresher. It was fun to make, although I think it would have been harder for someone who didn't already know how to cook. We enjoyed the meal, yet of the three in the box it was our least favorite.




The third meal was a roast pork loin with mashed potatoes, served over collard greens stewed in a molasses sauce. Although sweet sauces aren't usually my thing, it was interesting and really good. On top of it, I learned something about mashed potatoes. I love mashed potatoes, but I've always made kind of a big deal of them. You know, cream, butter, peeling Yukon Gold potatoes. What could be easier than cutting an unpeeled baking potato into chunks, cooking it in salted water for 15 minutes, then mashing it with a fork and two tablespoons of butter? That's all it takes and it is as mashed potatoes should be - simply delicious.

The vote from us on Blue Apron is mostly very positive. If you want or need someone to put the food together for you and tell you how to cook it, this group seems to do it right. The food is very fresh and very high quality. The recipes are clear and easy to follow. The meals are healthy and interesting, and it's plenty of food.

Of course, I love to shop for food and I love to cook, so I'll still be doing it my own way. Just saying.

Meatloaf and mash (or call me classic)

Recipes: Turkey meatloaf, Mushroom mashed potatoes with peas

I'm all about comfort on these cool Fall evenings. Most of us ate these foods at our mother's home, and that's why they're called comfort foods - they bring us comfort and remind us of a time when someone was taking care of us and life was simple. After a day in the real world, that sounds pretty darn good.

Let's face it, though, classic foods like meatloaf can seem dull and dated. Maybe your treasured recipe could use a little tweaking, or maybe your mom or grandma didn't actually pass down a recipe and you don't know where to start. Give this one a try - I'll bet you like it. Not only is Turkey Meatloaf easy to make, it's full of great taste and is less fatty and more healthy than the ground beef version of the past. And don't forget, leftovers make amazing sandwiches.

Turkey Meatloaf

• 1 pound ground turkey (I like dark meat best)
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 1 slice country bread, white or whole grain, torn in pieces and soaked in 4 tablespoons milk
• 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic granules (not salt)
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt (if using garlic salt instead of garlic granules, use 1 teaspoon garlic salt and eliminate the sea salt)
• 1 large egg, beaten with a fork
• 2 generous tablespoons Worchestershire sauce
• Tomato catsup
• Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Soak the bread in the milk while you combine the turkey, diced onion, and seasonings in a bowl. Add the soaked bread, beaten egg, and Worchestershire sauce and mix throughly with your hands or with a fork. Hands really work best for this.

Place the meat mixture into a baking dish and form it into an oblong or rectangular loaf. I like to use a dish that is almost the same size as the loaf, or just slightly bigger so the juices don't overflow in the oven. Top the loaf with a generous amount of catsup and grind pepper over it all.

Put it in the oven and bake it for 1 hour. Yum! An amazing aroma will start filling your kitchen in about 20 minutes!

You can make this delicious version of mashed potatoes and vegetables while your meatloaf is baking.

Mushroom Mashed Potatoes with Peas 

• 1/2 pound mushrooms, any kind, sliced
• Butter
• 2 or 3 medium Yukon Gold or russet potatoes, cut in 2-inch pieces. You can leave the skins on if you wish.
• 1/3 cup warmed half and half
• Sea salt
• 1 cup frozen green peas

In a skillet, saute the sliced mushrooms in 2 tablespoons butter and 1/2 teaspoon sea salt until they give up their liquid and it evaporates. Stir occasionally while cooking. When they are done, turn off the heat and set the mushrooms aside.

In a saucepan, cover the potato pieces with water. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cover partially and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and simmer the potatoes for 15 minutes, or until they are tender when pierced with the tip of a paring knife.

Melt 3 tablespoons butter.

Bring the peas and a bit of water to a boil in a small saucepan. Turn the heat down and simmer for 4 minutes. Drain and put them aside in the saucepan, covered to keep them warm.

Turn the heat on very low under the mushrooms, just to warm them.

When the potatoes are tender, drain them well and put them through a food mill into a large bowl. This will take out the skins and will produce a smooth mash. If you don't have a food mill (something you could put on your holiday gift wish list), you can use a potato masher. In that case, remove the skins from the potato pieces before mashing, unless you want them in the mash.

Add the melted butter, the warmed half and half, and a half teaspoon of sea salt to the sieved/mashed potatoes, stirring well to combine. Put the mashed potatoes into a serving bowl and spoon the cooked mushrooms over it. Either spoon the cooked peas over the potatoes and mushrooms, or serve them on the side with a pat of butter.

OK, pour a little wine, maybe poke the fire a bit, and dig in. Buon appetito!