Notes on how I choose my recipes and where we get our food from:
For a few weeks we tried the “Hello Fresh” Delivery system because I felt I had a problem with portion control when I cook and I wanted to get some new recipe ideas without the hassle of having to buy all the unique ingredients in small quantities, then let the rest go bad in the fridge. Hello Fresh was good in this way and it fulfilled its purpose of providing me with new ideas or ways to make stuff, further, it has a step by step picture guide so it is really hard to mess up the recipe.
As i grew more confident however, I realized I actually enjoy finding new recipes and dislike being so exact while in the kitchen. I also found that the portions are still too big for 2 people to eat in one sitting and were only enjoying about 50% of the recipes. Alot of them involved soy or low grade balsamic vinegar that gave alot of items an overly bitter taste, and felt I can source better ingredients. We also don’t like alot of beans or much “fusion” food especially with “Indian” flavours. I put that in quotation because I’ve had some exceptionally delicious North Indian-Kenyan fusion food and it is an entirely different story. I didnt like the Hello Fresh spin on it, I guess these flavours are better left to the masters of this domain: Indian moms.
I then went on a hunt for an easier way to make food but not necessarily by having it laid out to a T. In addition to the “trulocal” organic meat/seafood box we still get and are exceptionally happy with on monthly basis, I found 2 things. Before I get to that, i’ll mention a bit about the tru local and how much fun it is to play with the dry ice.
The first find was “The Soup Girl” organic soups in a jar at the Thursday Farmers market by my work. This was excellent because it provides multiple flavours with many different spices in a compact mason jar. You simply add water or broth and let it cook itself, either in a rice/lentil cooker for 40 minutes or on the stovetop on medium heat after initially bringing it to a boil on high.
You can make it simply with just the mason jar contents but can also put your own added ingredients including some fresh celery, carrots, squash, onion or other vegetables before adding the jar. I have also added some chicken and pureed the whole thing. If you add some coconut or buttermilk and it can be “creamed” and its still fun while allowing for variety. Some don’t end up looking so great due to the green lentils that gives it a baby food colour, but overall its a great addition that makes soup easier to prep. So in keeping with my style, I just had a years supply delivered to me for when we feel like soup.
Anyhow that takes care of meat and soup, but what about fruits and veg you say? Welcome “Mama Earth Organics”. This finds exceptionally fresh fruits and vegetables, alongside anything else needed in a pantry and delivers it to your door. This is working out really well because I dont have time to shop at the grocery store but i’m able to get mostly local, organic items from all over Ontario. I like supporting farmers and local businesses, and the food very fresh. Plus the basket is customizable each week, so it can be skipped all together or you can add more based on what you need or want to make. They even have premade food which is nice once a week. The quantity is just right and a cheaper option than $50 Uber eats/Foodora order on a lazy work night. Im not going to lie, we are trying to rid ourselves of this problem but its just too easy to order sometimes. Anyway its not all bad if we feel like things I can’t make such as sushi, jewish deli, arabic cuisine and sanfran veal sandwhich, so i’m not deleting the app just yet. Ive tried and it doesnt work, especially if alcohol was involved the night before.
The things I cant there get are alot of spices, a wide variety of cheeses, condiments such as specialty mustards, oils or balsamic reductions, scallops and cold cuts; so I get these from St. Lawrence Market, Farmers Market in the summer, Cheese Boutique if i’m having a party or Loblaws on the way home. Lastly, we sometime just want the ocassional junk food we crave such as Nutella, baby bell cheese, and Ruffels all dressed chips (enter Rabba, shame on me).
