Homemade Sourdough Pita Bread

It's funny how one thing leads to another. I was looking for recipes to use up the excess thyme we have in the garden, and came across Bint Rhoda's za'atar bread. From there, it was only a link away from khubiz arabi cooked in a cast iron pan, which inspired me to compare it to pita bread.

My homemade sourdough pita bread.

Susan's pita bread on her Wild Yeast blog looked amazing, seemed pretty simple to make, and used up a lot of sourdough starter, so I decided to go with her recipe. I generally try to follow the instructions carefully, the first time I make something, but I discovered I didn't have quite as much starter as I thought, which meant I ended up only using 320g of it rather than her rather exact 376g.

It became too late for baking, so I put the dough into the fridge, where it sat for 2 days before I had time to do anything with it. To bring it back to the right temperature, I transferred it, in its covered bowl, into a warm water bath in the kitchen sink. Unfortunately, some water got into the bowl, and I hastily patted the dough dry with a paper towel. Fortunately, that was the last of the mishaps I encountered.

I divided the dough into balls, flattened each one to a few millimetres thick, put two or three of them onto a baking sheet, and slid everything onto a pre-heated pizza stone in the oven. It didn't take long before the bread started puffing up!

Dough rolled out into flat rounds.

Starting to puff up.

Bigger bubbles.

Conjoined bubbles.

It was a lot of fun watching the dough rise in the oven, sometimes with multiple bubbles joining up into a giant air pocket. I was worried that it may not be fully cooked through, so left the bread in the oven for a few extra minutes, which made the pitas a little dry.

I used to wonder how bakers got the holes into pita bread. Who knew it would be so simple? You can and should experience the magic too, whether you choose to use supermarket yeast or a sourdough starter!

A pita pocket.

This post is part of Our Growing Edge, a monthly blogging event aimed at inspiring us to try new things. This month, it is hosted by Kerene from The Dream Baker.

Farro Foodkits

The week we ordered WOOP meals in, it was reassuring to know we could have dinner after work in no more than 20 minutes. On the other hand, it felt like we chose a bad week compared to other bloggers, and we would not have picked some the meals we received if we had been given a choice.

For the sake of comparison, we decided to give another meal kit delivery service a go. Farro Foodkits is actually quite different in that it's not based on a weekly subscription. Launched in March, the company lets you choose the meals you want, and buy just one or many of the packs.

Picking the Foodkits

I was initially excited that I could look through the different meal kits and pick the ones that would work best for us. They were sorted into a number of different categories, and it was great to see one called "Express".

Many categories of foodkits.

The home page also had a section showcasing featured foodkits, which have not only been designed by Masterchef judge Ray McVinnie, but also looked delicious and very affordable, at around $10 per portion.

Featured foodkits for the week.

It was only after I clicked through to the foodkit listings that I realised those options would take quite a long time for a midweek meal, with a prep time of 20 minutes and a cooking time of 30-35 minutes.

I then navigated to the Express category, which had 10 items on offer. They didn't really seem all that quick to make though, ranging from 25 minutes for Ray's Steak and Guacamole Wraps to 45 minutes for Ray's Meatball Pizza. Some meals from other categories take about the same amount of time, while other ones need you to cook the dish for an hour, on top of a 20 minute prep time.

Foodkit listing from the Healthy Eating category.

To be honest, I found the meal selection process to be quite draining. I wanted an ingredient delivery service to save me time, and here I was wasting plenty of it, browsing through the options. It wouldn't have been so bad if there were a way of sorting the foodkits by time required, or if I could have had an overview of what's available across all the categories instead of having to click through into each one (or I guess, if I weren't trying to optimise my choices). I started to wonder if I would be better off picking a quick recipe from the internet, and ordering the ingredients from the supermarket.

In the end, I decided to go with:

• Express: Ray's Thai Fish with Cucumber and Peanut Salad (serves 4)
• Tempt Your Tastebuds: Ray's Balti Chicken Curry (serves 2)

Ordering the Foodkits

Once you've decided what you want to eat, you choose a delivery date and suburb. A great advantage of Farro Foodkits is that you can order for the next day, if it's between Tuesday and Saturday. You could be tempted into going overboard and ordering a pack to be delivered each day, but a $10 delivery fee shown in your shopping cart would remind you to be more reasonable.

Shopping cart showing delivery fees.

Another thing I liked about Farro Foodkits is that you can add sides (various salads and carbs) to your meal, along with drinks (wine) and other extras you might need (such as milk, butter, eggs, bacon, and olive oil). This means you can make sure you eat plenty of greens, as well as save a trip to the supermarket for simple grocery items.

Some of the sides on offer.

Foodkit Delivery

I realised after I ordered that we would be out on the night we were getting the food delivered, but the company was happy to put extra ice in the box for us. We took everything out when we got home and it was all still safely chilled.

The meat (and icepack) was in a completely sealed silver bag, which we needed scissors to open. The rest of the ingredients were in Farro Fresh shopping bags, grouped by meal. A plastic sleeve contained a thank you letter, the recipe instructions for each food kit, and an ingredients checklist. It was then that I discovered the Balti chicken curry did not come with rice, though it wasn't an issue as we have plenty of rice on hand anyway.

Contents of box delivered.

Meal #1: Ray's Thai Fish with Cucumber and Peanut Salad

We decided to start with the fish meal on the assumption that it wouldn't last as long, even though it was intended for 4 people and we would end up needing several days to finish it. There was a very generous portion of fish supplied, and we were surprised that the rice was raw, given the foodkit was in the Express category. The first instruction on the recipe was, of course, to cook the rice (we cheated and used a rice cooker, which took us around 40 minutes—supposedly it takes only 25 minutes on the stovetop).

Ingredients for Thai fish meal.

The other thing that took a long time was preparing the cucumber for the salad. After scooping out the seeds and dicing the flesh, you let the cucumber sit in salt for 15 minutes before squeezing it dry. I had plenty to do while waiting for it though: chopping the coriander and garlic for the fish marinade, separating and cleaning the leaves of cos lettuce, chopping the peanuts, picking the mint leaves and slicing the tomatoes and limes.

Chopped coriander and garlic on the fish fillets, before marinating.

The only thing that was different from what you might buy yourself from the supermarket was the liquid mix, which the recipe sheet told us contained sweet chilli sauce, fish sauce and lime juice. The coriander did not come attached to the root (we got this our WOOP meal kit), so some leaves were a bit yellow, speckled and wilting, though in general, the ingredients felt fresh.

Preparing the salad.

We disobeyed the recipe on more than one occasion, refusing to cook the fish without salt or additional oil. We sliced the lime into wedges, rather than serving half a lime on each plate. There was so much fish we needed to cook it in three batches, and we left one batch marinating overnight for pan-frying the next day.

Our rendition of Ray's Thai fish with cucumber and peanut salad.

The end result? We loved the salad, which was savoury, spicy and crunchy. The fish needed salt for flavour, and I'm not sure that all the work chopping coriander and garlic improved it that much, though it does look impressive. We would prefer the fish meal we had from WOOP for its quick preparation time and beautiful tamarind flavour, but this cucumber salad is something we would definitely make again.

Meal #2: Ray's Balti Chicken Curry

We didn't get to Ray's Balti Chicken Curry for several days, because there was enough fish for 5 - 6 people in the previous meal, though only about the right amount of vegetables for 3 - 4. The letter accompanying the food told us to cook our meals within 3 - 4 days, so I was dismayed to discover that the free range chicken had a "best before" date only two days from the delivery date, and we were two days past it already. We decided to cook it anyway, since it smelt fine and we hate food waste.

Ingredients for balti chicken curry.

I'm not sure why the yoghurt came in two separate containers. I mention this because I found them difficult to open, and while trying to prise the lid off at the same time as cooking our curry, I actually made my thumb bleed (I also found it annoying I needed scissors to open the coriander and spice packets, but that's another matter). The ginger came in two pieces as well, and they looked so different (one piece was sprouting) that I thought for a moment they were different ingredients.

Again, everything was pretty much as you would buy it from the supermarket, apart from the spice mix, which combined cardamom pods, chilli flakes, cinnamon and turmeric for you.

Chopped ingredients for the curry.

Once you've chopped the vegetables (onion, garlic, ginger, green chilli, tomato, coriander, lemon zest) and chicken thighs, the cooking part was pretty straightforward: fry the aromatics, add the chicken, then the tomato, then the yoghurt. It was fun and fascinating watching the contents of the pan change in colour, and it smelt mouth-watering too.

Cooking chopped chicken thighs with vegetables and spices.

The finished curry was fragrant, with the flavour of the spices brought out by the fresh ginger. We managed to get 3 meals out of the $20 kit so it was not expensive either—a great option if you have the time to prepare it.

Ray's balti chicken curry.

Comparison with Supermarket Shopping

What if, for argument's sake, I already had Ray's recipes, and decided to get the ingredients from the supermarket myself?

I plugged the items for the Thai style fish into Countdown's online shopping website and the total came to $75.94, including a delivery fee of $15.75. Excluding delivery, it was $60.19. The fish foodkit only cost $45, so it compares very favourably. Of course, you would end up with leftovers when you buy from the supermarket. For instance, you only need one tablespoon of fish sauce, not a whole bottle.

I tried again, this time assuming you already have the sauces and garlic at home, and grow your own limes, mint and coriander. This reduced shopping cart would cost you less than the Farro Foodkit, but not by that much if you include delivery for both.

Minimal shopping from supermarket for Thai style fish meal.

Entering the ingredients for the chicken curry gave me a similar result, even though Countdown didn't have a free range option for the boneless chicken thigh, so I had to substitute a cheaper item.

Conclusion

Farro Foodkits produce high-quality, inexpensive and delicious meals, but you are essentially cooking from scratch, so you need more time to prepare them than the previously reviewed WOOP dinners. If your chopping skills are not honed and sharpened, you are likely take longer than the recipe suggests too, unless you have a helper in the kitchen.

The service offers more flexibility with delivery dates than I have seen elsewhere, and there is no minimum order or ongoing subscription. You do, however, need to spend time choosing what meal(s) you want, and take note of whether extra ingredients are required (e.g. rice for curry).

I liked the fact that you can purchase additional salads or grocery items such as bread and milk, even though it adds extra steps to the ordering process. Also, you can reuse the recipes, because even when ingredients have been premixed, you are told how much of each component went into it.

Overall, Farro Foodkits are great if you want a tasty and healthy home-cooked meal, and can spare the time and energy to prepare it. It can be cheaper and more convenient than buying ingredients from the supermarket, and you can be pretty sure the result will be good. You will have fun in the kitchen and maybe learn some things too. If only we weren't always so tired and hungry when we get home from work!

A Meal in Brief: Indochine Kitchen

We came here because the newly opened Beirut restaurant was packed at dinner time, and Lucky Buddha down the road was fully booked out, though we thought we spied some free tables.

Large painting on one wall.

The menu was not too long and not too short, with tempting Vietnamese tapas dishes, many cooked on a charcoal BBQ. There was also a $25 prix fixe menu with several choices for three courses (including a vegetarian/vegan one for each), but we chose to order a la carte.

The setting was dim, casual and aesthetically pleasing. On the night we went, there was a person dining alone, as well as a work group of around 30 people. Stay away from the toilets if you can though, as you have to go outside and down a long corridor a couple of doors down, to use the facilities shared with neighbouring restaurants.

Hanging lights and small picture frames on another wall.

The service was warm, particularly from the bartender, who always seemed to notice even if you didn't manage to catch the attention of one of the waitresses. We were also given complimentary spiced peanuts to munch on while we looked through the menu.

What we ate included:

• Uncle Ho cocktail ($12) - although not food, I thought I would mention this as we really enjoyed this drink made with white rum, coconut milk, lychee, pineapple, ginger infused syrup and kaffir lime

Uncle Ho cocktail (right).

• Tôm nướng ($7) - a pair of charcoal grilled Black Tiger king prawns, seasoned with lime, coriander and chilli, split open for easy access. Nicely cooked and a great start to the meal.

Black Tiger king prawns.

• Nem rán ($8) - these crispy fried springs rolls (with prawn, pork, vermicelli and vegetables) were still tongue-burningly hot when they arrived at the table. Thoughtfully sliced in half to reveal the contents, this also helped to scoop up the warm vinegary dipping sauce they were served with. Pretty good value considering the quality and quantity of these rolls (I think we already ate a piece or two before I took the photo below).

Beautiful spring rolls.

• Bún chả ($15 for three serves) - I looked around for a vessel of fish sauce to pour over the charcoal BBQ pork belly and pork mince on rice noodles, but it turns out the condiment was already sitting at the bottom of the bowls, of which there were strangely three. I guess it makes for easy sharing and a more artistic presentation. We would have liked more herbs (there was only a small piece of perilla and a couple of coriander leaves in each bowl), but overall a tasty rendition of one of our favourite Vietnamese dishes.

A single serve of bún chả.

• Rau Hấp ($10) - the steamed Asian greens with sesame and organic soya sauce included snowpeas, green beans, a leafy vegetable that I would guess was gai lan, and pea sprouts. Mostly blanched, I liked the generous portion size and variety of vegetables. We didn't notice until afterwards that there was fish sauce on the table—we would probably have added a bit of that to add another dimension to the flavour.

Asian greens - nice helping of vegetables.

• Xôi xoài ($12) - the coconut sticky rice and fresh mango pudding was the weakest part of our meal, even though it was the only dessert option on the a la carte menu. It was not very sweet, which is how I like my desserts, but it just seemed a bit bland, if you can say that about a pudding. I was also surprised the sticky rice was at room temperature, neither hot nor cold.

Coconut sticky rice and fresh mango pudding.

Overall, Indochine Kitchen is a small but stylish modern venue with some well executed little dishes, great whether you only want something light, or a more substantial meal.

Restaurant Details

Indochine Kitchen
42 Fort Street, Auckland Central
(09) 974 2895

Opening hours:
Mondays 11am - 3pm
Tuesdays to Fridays 11am - 3pm. 5pm - late
Saturdays to Sundays 5pm - late

WTF is with this Foodie Question?

A few months ago, the only WTF joke I had seen was this:

T-shirt design from SnorgTees.

So I thought it was pretty clever when I came across this printed on a menu at a cafe in Amstedam:

Part of the menu at Ted's.

Imagine my surprise when I came home, and saw this plastered across multiple buses around town!

Bus advertising for Zomato.

And this when I went to check out the newly opened Fokker Bros in the Viaduct!

WTF at Fokker Bros.

WTF is going on? Why is everyone making the same joke now, since it seems this acronym has been used since at least 2011 and 2012?

Good thing I found something to calm myself down with...

Doormat from Coco Mats 'n' More.

Well, that's fabulous. Wasn't That Funny?

Auckland Diner's Diary: September 2015

Central City Street Food

• Fat J's - you might have seen them at various night markets, but since the end of August their sliders have a spot opposite the Central City Library, and they facilitate random acts of kindness with their #PayChipsForward idea
• Viet Sandwich - originally just a market stall, this banh mi vendor has opened up a second home on Elliott Street
• Bing&Go - this container store, on Elliott Street as well as opposite the Central City Library, reinvents the Chinese jianbing as an Asian burrito

Downtown Delights

• Beirut - polished Middle Eastern restaurant, which is also a cafe by day, at the end of Fort Street, from the co-owner behind Mexico and Orleans
• Fokker Bros - GE free burgers, dogs and chicken in the Viaduct
• Al's Deli - Montreal tomato pie, grab-and-go sandwiches and salads, and their new Deli Dog are now available at this Montrealer's second shop on O'Connell Street, along with old favourites such as pastrami and donuts
• Le Chef - second branch of this French cafe and bistro has opened on Vulcan Lane, where Cépage used to be
• Ima - this Israeli restaurant has relocated a couple of doors up Fort Street to where Ima Deli was, to make room for Brian Campbell's dessert bar and patisserie
• Goodlife Juice Company - smoothies, juices and mason jar salads (you can buy the jar for $3)  on Fort Street

More City Eats

• PappaRich - months after this Malaysian franchise announced its imminent arrival, it has finally opened in the IMAX building
• Weirdough & Tuck - now that Scratch Bakers HQ is open, the Scratch at City Work Depot has turned into a "tuck shop style sandwich bar" offering a full cafe menu, with the same team on board
• Ät - little eatery serving European food on Victoria Street (prevously site of My Mother's Cafe, and before that a vegan restaurant), though its name and several dishes suggest Swedish inclinations
• Daebak BBQ - Korean BBQ buffet restaurant off Albert Street, opposite the Sky Tower
• Beijing Lu Bar (北京擼吧) - Chinese BBQ (halal) on K'Rd, where 155 Restaurant used to be
• [Added 13 February 2016: Michelin Canteen - casual Chinese food on Mount Street, available for delivery]

Life on the Fringe - Mount Eden, Kingsland, Eden Terrace

• Sen Kitchen & Bar - with its name meaning "lotus" in Vietnamese, this contemporary Vietnamese eatery staffed by the team from Parkside Cafe has opened in Mount Eden, where CAC used to be
• Brothers Juke Joint BBQ - lovers of craft beer and American style BBQ will rejoice to hear that Brothers Beer has opened a second brewery and eatery in a former leather factory near the Mount Eden train station
• Mash Inn - burgers and duck poutine are on the menu at this boutique bar in Kingsland
• Bluebell's Cakery - the second branch and new flagship of this popular cafe is in Eden Terrace, with savoury items as well as cakes

Life on the Fringe - Newmarket

• Cali All Day Eatery - light and airy eatery in Newmarket, with such items as a bulgogi reuben
• [Added 16 October 2015: The Bean - previously on Upper Symonds Street, this cafe has re-opened in Newmarket, offering breakfast dishes, burgers, and smoothies]
• [Added 16 October 2015: Love Organics has opened near the train station in Newmarket]
• [Added 19 December 2015: Smile Kitchen 蘭桂坊 - Asian fusion food in Newmarket]

Life on the Fringe - Ponsonby, Parnell

• George - Ponsonby bar from the people behind its older brother Harry next door, where the Ponsonby Working Mens Club used to be
• [Added 5 October 2015: Fuse Cafe & Urban Thai Eatery - cafe breakfast items or Thai meals in Ponsonby, where Sunday Painters used to be]
• [Added 5 October 2015: Pepitos Parnell - third branch of this Spanish tapas bar, after Milford and the CBD]
• [Added 10 November 2015: Hog heaven 2, or "Hoggie's Cajun Saloon", is now serving their Louisiana smoked meats in a pub atmosphere at the top of Parnell]

Other

• Beard papa's - Japanese cream puffs from this international franchise are now available from Westfield St Lukes
• [Added 3 November 2015: Cafe Puff - cake and coffee in Orewa]
• [Added 30 November 2015: Musashi has added a sister restaurant Kojiro Japanese Kitchen in Penrose]
• [Added 11 January 2016: Browns Eatery and Store - cafe with a "general store" feel in Remuera]
• [Added 6 March 2016: The Deli Llama - $10 gourmet sandwiches for delivery in the CBD]

Coming Soon

• Pasta & Cuore - Italian restaurant in Mount Eden by Stefania Ugolini, a professional pasta maker from Bologna
• Barilla Dumpling House is opening another branch in Mount Eden, where Sukumen used to be
• Andy's - burgers and craft beer at SkyCity
• Brian and Roselle Campbell are opening their first dessert bar and patisserie in Fort St, where Ima Restaurant used to be
• The Foodstore at the Viaduct is being renovated and turned into an oyster bar
• Handi Indian Restaurant is opening a new branch on Federal Street, where Miami Grill used to be
• Farro Fresh is opening a branch in Epsom

Events

• October is NZ Cheese month - today there's baby goats and milking at Sabato, as well as a free mozzarella making demo at Farro Fresh

Free October cheese classes at Farro Fresh.

• Otahuhu Food Festival - ethnic food festival on Saturday 10 October
• Auckland Diwali Festival - Indian food and performances around Aotea Square on the weekend of 17-18 October
• Scandinavian Christmas Market - food stalls and live music at Danish House in Penrose on Sunday 1 November
• Taste of Auckland (5-8 November) is being held at Western Springs instead of Victoria Park for the second time
• Auckland Coffee Festival is further away in March

WOOP! Easy Midweek Meals

WOOP! Makes you feel happy already, right? The first time I heard about the ready-to-cook meal delivery service (actually short for World On Our Plate), it was because I was on the TOMeTTE mailing list, and founder Thomas Dietz, whose new venture this was, offered us a $25 voucher to try it. I liked the idea of being able to create a tasty meal in 15 minutes, but then promptly forgot about it. I came across a thoughtful review of the initiative from Genie at Bunny Eats Design, again with a $25 discount offer, and again I filed it away in the back of my mind as something I needed to look into. It wasn't until someone at work had a flyer about it that I actually did something!

Part of a WOOP flyer.

And do I did! Not only did I sign myself up for a WOOP box with three meals inside, I bought shares in the company through Snowball Effect, even before I tried the service. It wasn't that I thought WOOP would be better than all current and future competitors; rather, it was the only such company that gave me a chance to have a slice of the pie, and I am guessing that having a quick and easy dinner on hand would be more and more important in our busy lives. So there you go, full disclosure, though I will still give you an honest opinion below.

Ordering my WOOP Box

Getting started was pretty easy: just create an account, select your plan (I picked Table for Two for $109 per week, then used a $25 discount voucheer), and choose your delivery date (always a Sunday between 4-8pm). The only thing that I found unexpected was the 6-day lead time you need to start or stop your subscription. That's quite a bit of forward planning required!

WOOP Box Delivery

On the Saturday before delivery, I got an email telling me what the three meals for the week were, so even though I wasn't there when the courier turned up on Sunday, I knew what would be in the box.

My first WOOP box.

The ingredients came in discrete packets, colour-coded by meal. The same coloured spot was printed onto the matching menu to make everything crystal clear. In case you were feeling guilty from all the packaging you generated, the bottom of each recipe reminds you that the box and ice pack are recyclable (supposedly the vacuum pack film and trays are too, but I don't think the council would take them). There was even a little handwritten thank-you note inside!

WOOP box unpacked.

An index card told you what you needed for each meal, and I checked that everything was in the box. The main thing that confused me was that there were four tomatoes which weren't colour-coded. The fish meal called for "tomatoes", and the steak meal listed "small vine tomatoes" even though the name of the dish had "cherry tomatoes". I decided to use two tomatoes for each.

Index and recipe cards.

Meal #1: Fresh Monkfish Infused with Tamarind Served on a Bed of Rice with Poppadoms and Snow Peas

Because of the expiry dates of the ingredients, you basically had to eat your meals in a particular order. Our first dinner had the most components, sounded the most exciting, and was actually better than we expected. And it took us less than 15 minutes to put together!

Ingredients for monkfish curry meal.

First, we opened the packet of raw monkfish and tipped out any liquid (though we briefly wondered if we were meant to do that, since there was no mention of it in the instructions). Then we poured in the tamarind marinade (labelled "fish marinade"), and mixed it around. It was good to see the marinade ingredients listed on the bottom of the container.

Marinating fish.

Meanwhile, we prepared the vegetables, and exclaimed over what a great idea it was to leave coriander attached to the root.

Coriander with root.

We also zapped the poppadoms in the microwave to make them crisp and bubbly, though they emitted a strange smell and weren't as crisp as the ones you get at a restaurant.

Poppadoms before and after 20 seconds in the microwave.

Then we basically heated up the curry sauce and poached the fish in it, and chucked the rice in the microwave.

Curry sauce.

That was it! We threw everything onto a plate, and devoured it. We didn't care for the poppadoms, but the curry itself was fragrant and beautifully flavoured, tangy with plenty of ginger. We would happily eat this again!

Monkfish curry - not that pretty, but tasted great!

Meal #2: Softly Baked Chicken Thighs Served with Traditional Spanish Patatas Bravas

Our second meal was even easier to prepare, but took longer because you needed to preheat your oven before baking the chicken and potatoes.

Fewer ingredients for baked chicken.

I was pleasantly surprised to find whole cherry tomatoes in the sauce, though it tasted a bit thin compared to the complexity of flavours we experienced the previous night. After 20 minutes in the oven, the chicken and potatoes heated through, but didn't really crisp up. Perhaps it could have done with a higher temperature.

Baked chicken and potatoes.

The portions were large (we didn't manage to eat the three chicken thighs), but sadly, we didn't enjoy our dinner as much as before.

Meal #3: Juicy Sirloin Steak Served with Salsa Verde, Roasted Kumara, Cherry Tomatoes and Mesclun Salad

For our last WOOP meal, we baked the kumara for longer and at a higher temperature than specified, and also cooked the steak the way we normally do.

Steak meal ingredients.

The end result was actually pretty similar to what we might have put together ourselves, except that we would have cooked the kumara from scratch, and not have had the salsa verde (we didn't have much of it anyway because its strongly garlicky flavour overpowered the rest of the meal).

Simple steak with kumara and salad.

In fact, we would probably have cooked a better meal ourselves, because we could have done a better job of the kumara, bought better meat, and picked a more interesting vegetable like Brussels sprouts, courgettes or asparagus. Mesclun is the kind of thing we buy when we can't be bothered, and if we were to sign up for a food delivery service, it would be to get away from that.

Still pink in the middle.

Conclusion

I think there's a demand for home-cooked meals that are quick to prepare, yet fresh and delicious. If all the meals had been like our first one, we would be chuffed. Unfortunately, you can't know what you will have in your box until after you have ordered it, and we had food envy looking at what Genie got in hers (she only had one set of boring leaves, and at least it came with edible flowers!).

There is no point in keeping the recipe cards, because you would need the prepped ingredients to make use of them. Having said that, I am often home so late that I would pick this over cooking from scratch, and it is more fun and fresh than a freezer meal, and more healthy than a takeaway.

At around $18 per meal per person, it feels a bit too expensive for what it is, especially when I consider how basic meal #3 was. However, it does include delivery so it saves on travel as well as cooking time, and as this service is still new, I am confident the team will be able to take on feedback and improve their offerings. Looking forward to trying this again, when they have had more time to work on their menus!

This post is part of Our Growing Edge, a monthly blogging event aimed at inspiring us to try new things. This month, it is hosted by Hannah from Love The Little Bakery.