Fresh Realm Unboxed

Ordering from Fresh Realm was different than all the others.  Instead of ordering a certain number of meals, you're free to choose as much or as little as you want from dozens of choices, including snacks and fruits.   I ended up ordering three meals and two snacks and scheduled my delivery for Saturday.
I received the email notification from Fed Ex on Thursday, alerting me that my order was on the way.
But Saturday morning, I got an email from Fresh Realm that the pork I ordered was out of stock, so they had refunded me the full $28 for that meal.   I was a little irritated that they hadn't notified me before they shipped, so I could choose something else.

The box arrived shortly after 11:00 Saturday morning.  And it was certainly different than the other kits as well.   First, you notice that it's not an ordinary box.  It has plastic latches on the front and handles on the sides.

The latches are sealed with a paper wrap, similar to the wristbands you get at a club or event to show you're over 21.  You break through those and unlatch the box.  Inside, we found an insulated case.  You pull the door off of that and see several drawers filled with the prepped ingredients, as well as some frozen packs.  Each ingredient is in its own clear plastic container. Something about the whole set up had a somewhat sterile, medical feel about it.


And it turns out, they did include all the ingredients for the Asian Pork and Asparagus that I ordered, except the pork.  So they mostly gave me a free meal, I just have to stop by the grocery store for a pork tenderloin.  I'll take that.





Check out how Fresh Realm stacks up against the other meal kits companies with my comparison chart.

Chicken & Fresh Basil Fettuccine

I have been looking forward to this pasta dish all week.  I finally got to make it and I was not disappointed.  I'm a sucker for fresh pasta, so I was thrilled to open the box and find this meal came with fresh fettuccine.   This dish was super easy to make.

You start with setting the water to boil and prepping the veggies.  Chop the red onion and garlic.  Dice the tomatoes and pluck the leaves from the parsley and give those a chop.  Set all of those to the side and turn to the chicken.

Place the chicken in a hot pan with some olive oil.  Cook, breaking up the chicken as it browns.   When it's mostly browned, add in the red onion and garlic and cook those until softened.  Then squeeze in the tomato paste pouch.  Let that cook for a couple more minutes until it's fragrant.  Add salt and pepper with each layer.  Add in the diced tomatoes and a cup of water.  Let the whole thing simmer for about ten minutes until the tomatoes start to break down and the sauce thickens.

When you have about five minutes left on the sauce, start the pasta.  Fresh pasta doesn't take nearly as long to cook, so it will only need 4 to 5 minutes.
When it's done, put the drained pasta into the sauce, adding in the creme fraiche and most of the parsley.  Gently fold in the pasta, tossing it in the sauce.  When it's good and coated, plate the pasta.  Top it with the parmesan cheese and the remaining parsley.  Then dive in!

This felt like more than 2 servings, but was so yummy, we slurped it all up.  The tomatoes gave the sauce a nice freshness and the red pepper flakes made it have just a bit of spice on the back of your tongue.  I'm all out of meals to cook for now.  I'm waiting on my Fresh Realm delivery in two days, so I'll be scrounging through the pantry tomorrow looking for some dinner.

Porchetta-Style Sandwiches

My Blue Apron box arrived four days ago, so I had some concerns that the ciabatta rolls for this meal would either be hard as a rock or moldy, but I'm so glad I was wrong.  I put them in the fridge when they arrived and they held up great.   The were still really soft and delicious.


My other hesitation about this meal was the kale pesto on the sandwiches.  The only veggie I'm more afraid of than kale is brussels sprouts.  But I'm glad I didn't chicken out.  The salty bite of parmesan cheese really balanced the bitter kale and made a great pesto to spread on those rolls.

To make this meal, you start by rubbing the seasoning mix into the pork and sear it on all sides.  Then finish the roast in the oven at 450 degrees.

While that cooks, chop the cucumber and capers and zest the lemon.  Make a paste out of the garlic, either by running it down a micro-plane or mashing it with salt and the back of a knife.   Combine the garlic with the juice of the lemon.

Make the salad by combining the cucumber with chopped parsley and half the lemon-garlic mixture. Dress it with some olive oil and salt and pepper.

While that marinates, cook the kale in the same hot pan you used for the pork.  Let it wilt for about a minute then add some water and it will steam the rest of the way.  After a few minutes, pull the kale from the pan and finely chop it.
You'll mix that with the rest of the lemon-garlic, the parmesan, lemon zest and the capers to make the pesto.  Mix in olive oil until it has the consistency of a paste.


Pull the pork from the oven and let it rest for about five minutes.  That's just enough time to get the bread ready. Cut the ciabatta rolls in half, drizzle with olive oil and toast in the oven for a few minutes.  When they're slightly charred, spread the pesto on the top and bottom pieces.  Slice the rested pork and layer onto the bottom bread.  Top with the other half of the bun and enjoy with the salad on the side.  I really think there was enough pork here for three sandwiches, so feel free to save a little for leftovers.

This pork sandwich was succulent and the salad was the perfect crisp side. The spice mix on the pork gave it just enough heat.  But really, I'm just counting the minutes until tomorrow's dinner: Chicken & Fresh Basil Fettuccine!

Seared Salmon and Sauce Gribiche

The thing I most dislike about Blue Apron is the limited choice.  On the site, they make it seem like you get to choose your three meals from six, but really you are limited to certain combinations.  If you want Entree A and B, you can only get Entree D.  Or maybe you want Entree C, you have to have E and F.  That's how we got stuck with this Seared Salmon & Sauce Gribiche.  I'd never even heard of Sauce Gribiche, but since it's made hard boiled egg and cornichons, I was hesitant.   And skin on salmon has never been my thing.

But I bravely went forward to making this meal anyway, knowing I have 2 meals I actually do want waiting in the next 2 days.

You start with boiling the egg.  I've seen many different methods for hard-boiling eggs, all slight variations and varying levels of success.  This method worked really well.  You put the egg in already boiling water for exactly ten minutes.  Let you egg come up to room temperature before putting it in boiling water.  I didn't wait long enough and mine cracked.  But it still worked just fine.

While the egg boils, start prepping the veggies.  Dice the potatoes, trim the beans into 2 inch pieces, chop the shallots, tarragon and cornichons and run the garlic down a microplane.    Put the shallots in a bowl with the white wine vinegar to sort of pickle for a few minutes.

When the egg is done, pull it out of the boiling water with a slotted spoon and run it under cold water to stop the cooking process.  Use the same boiling water to start the potatoes.  When the potatoes are done, you'll mash them with the pickled shallots, half the tarragon and some olive oil.

While you're boiling the potatoes, cook the beans and tomatoes.  It doesn't take much to excite me, so I was pretty eager to cook these beans.  You may not be able to tell from the ingredients picture above, but some of the beans were purple.  The chef's note on the recipe card said they would turn green while they cooked and they actually did.

You cook them with some garlic and the tomatoes in olive oil in a skillet.  Just let the beans and tomatoes blister a bit, then add a few ounces of water to steam them the rest of the way.

Remove the cooked veggies to a bowl and cook the salmon in the same skillet, skin side down first to get it crispy.

While that cooks, the last step is to make the Sauce Gribiche.   Mash up the hard-boiled egg with the dijonnaise, cornichons and remaining tarragon.   It makes a very thick sauce.

I can't say that I loved this meal, but we got through it.  I was happy that we gave it a shot and tried some new ingredients.  Also, I'm so ready for Porchetta-Style Sandwiches tomorrow!

Unboxing Blue Apron

I was actually home when my Blue Apron box arrived.  I brought it in off the porch and got ready to crack it open.  One side was a little smashed, but everything inside turned out to be okay, so that was just fine.










Once the box is open, inside is a large cooling package, which contained all the food and several cool packs.

 All the ingredients for all three meals are jumbled together in the box.  There's no color coding system to let you know which ingredients belong to which meal.  Instead, you have to pull out the recipe and check through all the ingredients to make sure you have everything you need.


There are paper bags with some of the ingredients, labeled for the recipes, too.  I ended up putting everything into a drawer in the fridge and put the meats in the freezer.  I knew it would be a couple days before I got to cooking these meals.

The pic below shows everything for the three meals laid out on the table.  The box also included recipe cards for Seared Salmon & Sauce Gribiche, Porchetta-Style Sandwiches and Chicken & Fresh Basil Fettuccine and an info card all about capers, which was interesting, but I didn't have any capers in this box, so I didn't get to test any of the tastes mentioned on the sheet.

Apricot-Glazed Chicken

The picture of this meal on the Green Chef recipe card looked so delicious that I couldn't wait to dive in to this meal.  Chicken and roasted potatoes... I'm so excited.

It's completely irrational, but something about multi-colored potatoes and heirloom tomatoes makes me feel like I'm eating something really fancy.

So I was feeling pretty dashing about this meal that had both.  First thing, quarter the fingerling potatoes and chop the rosemary.  Put the potatoes in a large bowl with some olive oil and add in most of the rosemary and the included spice blend.  Toss well and spread the potatoes on a prepared baking sheet. Roast for 20 minutes.  


Then it's on to the chicken. Sear it in a hot skillet with some oil.   After you flip the chicken, rub some of the apricot glaze on top and put the whole thing in the oven to roast for about 18 minutes.

While the potatoes and chicken cook, make the salad.  Slice the radishes and quarter the tomatoes. Put them in a bowl with the arugula. Then dress it with the marinated corn.

That's my biggest complaint about Green Chef, so far.  Each meal has included a sauce or spice mix (in this case, three) that's pre-made.  I just prefer to make the sauces myself, so I know everything that's in it and could make it again, if I really love it.  And I did really love both of the sauces in this meal.

When you're ready to plate, fill half the plate with salad, pile up some potatoes and slice the chicken and add that, too.  Top the chicken with a little more of the apricot glaze and dig in!  I've had three really great meals with Green Chef, but now it's on to Blue Apron.

Pesto Orzo Steak

Green Chef's Pesto Orzo Steak was the perfect 25-minute meal, plenty of protein after our long run that morning and pasta and pesto were delicious notes that made us want to clean our plates.
First thing you do is start the water boiling for the pasta.

Then you prep the fennel, squash and snap peas.  Remove the core from the fennel and give it a fine dice.  Chop the squash and then clean the peas and cut them in half.

Then toast the walnuts over low heat and give them a chop.  They only take a few minutes to toast. Be careful not to burn them.

Turn the heat up on that pan, toss in some oil and sear up your steaks for about 4 minutes.  Flip them and add in the fennel and squash.  It wasn't until I got to this step that I noticed an ingredient was missing.  I didn't have any fire-roasted red peppers.  When I unpacked the Green Chef delivery, Jesse double checked that I got everything out, so I don't think I just missed it in the box.  But the meal seemed fine without it. After a few more minutes, remove the steaks to a cutting board to rest and toss the pasta in with the veggies.  Pour in the pesto and stir it all together.  Let it cook for a couple minutes.

Slice the steaks against the grain and plate.  I used pasta bowls and filled the bottoms with the orzo and veggies.  Top with the sliced steak and garnish with the chopped walnuts and gorgonzola (yum!).

This steak was really tender.  It had a really earthy, organic flavor.  I love  the tangy and salty pesto and the slight crispness and freshness of the fennel and squash.  It was filling and satisfying, while still being really healthy.

And since college football season kicked off, we moved the bistro table into the living room, so we could enjoy this delicious meal in front of the tv.

Next up: Apricot-Glazed Chicken. I can't wait!