the best kind of kitchen help

While Simon is always incredibly supportive of all of my posts and blog ideas his eyes definitely lit up and he didn't hesitate for a second before saying, "oh, you should definitely do that" when I broached the idea of Blue Apron kindly sponsoring a post (this post!) once he heard about their genius service and scrolled through their website. His mom is a magician in the kitchen and I'm a seriously lacking work-in-forever-progress in that department and I really should take all the help I can get so I'm glad I did.

I'm willing to bet some lettuce that you've heard of Blue Apron but if you haven't I'll give you a lightning fast rundown:

+ Blue Apron is a food service (two person or four person meal plans) that delivers farm-fresh food to your doorstep in the exactly the right proportions along with detailed recipe cards complete with helpful photos.

Fast enough?

The fixings for Winter Chicken Ramen with a blurry cameo of Julia minus her entire body, plus her hand.

 

Bok Choy. Never did it ever think it would see the likes of our kitchen in all of its exotic glory. Life is crazy like that.

I almost had a very minor heart attack when the recipe card went missing (even though the entire recipe is online, Grandma - along with others!!) but then I heard my super helpful helper around the corner on her favorite perch reading the instructions out loud ...

 

"Number one: put that green stuff in."
"Number two: put that other green stuff in the first green stuff."
Heavy sigh ... 
"Number three: cut the green things up very small with a dangerous knife."

 I knew I'd be cooking up some new recipes that I would never dare to try on my own but I didn't anticipate learning some new-to-me cooking techniques like this one ...

frying chicken pieces under the weight of a pot of water. So smart. {although: they said to use foil which we did not have so I used parchment paper which I do not recommend lest you like putting out smallish kitchen fires, ahem}

My new skill made some of the best (nay, thee best) chicken I've ever tasted. I can only take about 5% credit, of course, but it was GOOD. Miss Piggy Patton herself woke up just in time to help me taste test ...

... and immature jokes aside, she would've eaten an entire breast if I'd let her. 

The chicken all dressed up and ready to go along with the soft boiled eggs ...

(eggs straight from a farm! We all know how I feel about those! Might've been the highlight for me)

And the final Winter Chicken Ramen product ...

the Pattons are very particular about matching dishes.

I made this as a late lunch/early dinner for Simon and myself while the kids napped because it's a treat to get to eat together (and Phoebe, but she keeps her talking to a minimum) even though Blue Apron just started offering a family meal plan that's designed for four people but was plenty for all six of us for a meal plus leftovers. Plenty. And Theo and Phoebe are huge eaters ... despite being the youngest kiddos.

Things that surprised me about the service:

+ the family meal plan is $8.74 per person (with free shipping) which is a lot less than we spend when we ever dare to dine out once we factor in drinks and fat tip for the poor waitstaff left to clean up the leftover floor and table carnage. There's no fee to delay or cancel the service at any time which is so nice because I forget that sort of thing all the time (thank you new yearlong magazine subscription - oops). The two person meal plan is $9.99 a person.

+ average prep time for their meals is 35 minutes which is more than doable if I get a little head start at the tail end of naps. 

+ I knew everything would be included (other than obvious items like salt and pepper or a tablespoon of olive oil here and there) but it was really a nice and refreshing change not having to pause and ask Simon to run to the store for the inevitable forgotten ingredient because it was all right there - labeled and perfectly portioned. And best of all - no waste. I'm the WORST about that.

+ I always thought I hated (HAY-TED) mushrooms but this recipe included Enoki mushrooms ...

... middle culprit on the cutting board.

and I really liked them. Miracle of miracles. So now I'm eying my other nemesis (olives) and wondering if there's a variety I might tolerate somewhere over the rainbow ...

+ the box the shipment came in was refrigerated. I knew it was outside waiting to be brought in and I kept saying, "okay after this diaper I'll grab it" or "let me just sweep the kitchen again" or or or ... so it was outside in the not-freezing weather for quite a few hours and by the time I brought it in - everything was still cold cold. The meat especially - which is obviously the most important.

+ I kept thinking what a great gift this would be to send to a postpartum mom a few months after the baby is born. While meals ready to pop in the oven are amazing (seriously) immediately post-delivery ... I thought it might be a nice surprise gift to get once you're sort of back on your feet and craving something that doesn't require a freezer and a microwave but just aren't up for a big trip to the store or thinking up a fancier meal quite yet. Something to keep in mind as a lot of my friends get ready to have sweet summer babies, for sure.

So if you ever dare to  come over dinner and the meal seems a little bit too good to be Grace Patton true ... you'll know my dirty little secret.

And if you'd like to give Blue Apron a try - the first fifty readers can snag two free meals with their first order right here!

Thanks for reading and thanks to Blue Apron for the fancy feast. The kitchen is still reeling from all the highly unusual excitement.