Spiced Bread Mix

Only 1 out of 4 of us liked this.  Directions say to make and then eat the day after.  Very moist, kinda chewy.  Going 'nope' for our family.

Darling Sweet

Darling Sweet Handcrafted Honey and Salt Toffee.  Milky buttery treat from Darling, South Africa.

Dried Goldenberries

Authentic Peruvian Aguaymanto Dried Goldenberries, organic. If raisins tasted like dried apricots and were double sour.  I like them (in SMALL amounts, a few at a time).  Thumbs down from the kids.  Now I'd like to try completely hydrated goldenberries!

Udon Noodle

Miso Udon Noodle Soup with Purple Daikon, Bok Choy and Soft Boiled Egg
Another thumbs up from our family for this Blue Apron meal.  We'll use the recipe for the broth as a base for many Udon dinners to come, it was nice and rich!  And a plus, I had previously never used a dried lime (just what it sounds like).  It was used to flavor the broth.

nibs and blueberries

Pure Nacional cacao nibs and blueberries. Just like they sound... organic unsweetened cacao nibs and dried blueberries www.nacionalcacao.com
No in between.  You'd either LOVE these (like my son and I) or loathe them (like my daughter).  

Feqqas Anis

Homemade Anise cookies (more like little chunks of cookie) from Morocco. VERY STRONG. It's a really small jar (2.5 oz) but you really only want a little bit at a time.  Great little crunch with my morning coffee.

Churrasco

Chicken, Beef and Veggie Churrasco

Ramen Bowl

Or more accurately, Chicken Hiyashi Chuka.  Blue Apron meal.  My family loves what we call "build your own" meals when all the ingredients are on the table and you add what you want (that way, the boy can pass on the green beans!)  Whole family enjoyed this dinner, traditionally served COLD, after a hot, muggy August day.

Flatout Good

I bought these (Flatout Artisian Think Pizza Crust) on accident thinking it was a wrap for sammies (I was in a HURRY).  Glad I did, I have been making ABFAB lunches everyday since.  Today was spread of mascapone cheese, hard salami, provolone, strip o bacon and topped with giardiniera. *for crispy crust pre cook many minutes longer than suggested on pkg.

Plungerhead Old Vine Zinfandel

Supa Smooth.  I will buy again.

Lamb and Beef Pita

Lamb and beef with Greek spice blend, marinated tomato, cilantro and feta/greek yogurt mix spread.  (added cucumbers too).  With a side salad and a Boulevard Single Wide IPA.

SW Burger and summer salad

Daughter said this Blue Apron meal was "Amazing"!  Burger spiked with Mexican spice blend with mont. jack chee, guac and cilantro with a sauted corn tomato salad.

A box and a bag

Surprisingly delicious meal made with (bagged) Dole poppy seed chopped salad (pepita, cranberry, kale, brussel sprout etc) I added some fresh tomato and a (frozen from box) Hot Dang grain burger, southwest burger.

Strawberry salad

Leftover panko fried chicken, makes yum-o next day salad.  Arugula and romaine, toasted walnut, feta, strawberries and balsamic vinaigrette. 

Sweet and Smoky Spiced Salmon

Sweet and Smoky Spiced Salmon with dijonnaise Potato Salad and Green Beans.  This was my firday afternoon delivery recipe from Blue Apron.  Easy to make and salmon has become a huge hit with the picky 9 yr old.  The potato salad with the fresh garlic was SPICY (too spicy for the kids) but... WHO CARES, it was awesome.  I will reek of garlic for day and days and it was worth it.  And who doesn't like green beans!  Blanched so still crispy with a shallot lemon olive oil mix tossed on.  Another really enjoyable Blue Apron meal!

Sushi

Kato Sushi in Kansas City. Rolls on the platter Spicy Tuna, Las Vegas, Caterpillar, Rock and Roll, Spider and Tiger (wrapped with cucumber) in the bowl.  Good stuff with a Lychee Martini and Mai Tais.

Fig jam

Charles Antona confitures de corse. French Fig jam!  Makes your bagel taste like a really good fig newton.

Mediterranean Meatloaf pizza??

Mediterranean Meatloaf pizza?? Meatloaf Nachos? Deconstructed meatloaf? Not really sure what to call it... my family likes "build your own" meals so this is what happens when the ingredients are just put on the table.  I made a simple meatloaf (meat, egg, breadcrumb) and added sundried tomato, feta, fresh chopped basil, oregano and garlic into the mix.  Fried Pitas and served with hummus, arugula, a fresh veggie mix  (cucumber, tomato, onion, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper) and sprinkled feta all over top.

caprese salad

Fresh basil, fresh motz, tomato, olive oil, salt and pepper......What say you? Lemon or no? (this one yes)

Boddingtons Pub Ale

This beer has a nitrogen ball in the can like a Guinness creating a head. Fun! THANKS to whoever left it in my cooler after a cookout party! :) Would totally buy this.

Patriotic Quiche!

Another Blue Apron meal. Arugula salad (only thing I changes is that I added crutons).  The quice was red (red onion), white (ricotta) and blue (blue potato) for the forth of July.  Teenager loved it, had good flavor but the blue potato was not super appealing color wise (re:grey is not a good food color).  I would totally make again with russet or yukon gold potato.

Chestnut Spread

Chestnut spread (umm, like it sounds) or "crème de marrons" is a French classic made of chestnuts, confectionery syrup, sugar and vanilla.  Tastes like slightly thicker grainier honey. We tried it alone and on shortbread.  Interesting but I wouldn't seek it out. Suggestions are to eat on crepes or with ice cream. 

True Made Foods BBQ sauce

To quote the bottle itself:
"True Made Foods is making American food nutritious again.  We infuse vegetables in our products and drastically cut back the sugar, providing you with a tasty healthy alternative."
20% of every bottle made with spinach, butternut squash and carrots (low sugar, non gmo and gluten free)
My EXTREMELY finicky eater ate every bite of dinner and the rest of the fam loved it!!  I'm ordering a big bottle along with their veracha sauce and katsup!!

Beef Tacos!

Blue Apron lunch today.  Beef Tacos & Roasted Green Beans with Cucumber-Avocado Salsa.
The salsa was AWESOME, I could just spoon it in my mouth (which is what I am probably going to do with the leftovers). Simply: chopped cucumber, chopped avocado, chopped radish, EVOO, salt, pepper and the juice of one lime.

Swedish gourmet crisps

Tried some crisps from Morsjo deli and I LOVE them... looking at their website, I am eager to try more goods!
http://www.morsjo.se/

FRANCE

Try the World Box!  Mustard, tea, peppercorn sauce, chestnut spread, fig jam, spice blend, caramels, shortbread......

Steam Buns

Blue Apron meal. Hoisin Steam Buns with Miso-sesame slaw, cucumber and cilantro.
4 outta 4 thumbs up here.
Now on the hunt for buying the Chinese Steam Buns....

Chickpea Stew

Blue Apron meal.  Middle Eastern Chicken and Chickpea Stew with Chermoula & Pita Croutons.  I made a side of plain couscous for the kids to put theirs on. We ate it all!

Colors

Purple Potatoes, asparagus and pink lemon.

Crispy

...and chocolately.  Winning combo. From Sweden.

SWEDEN

Try the World box came and it's Sweden! The kids are ALL OVER this one!

Chopped

Who doesn't just love a chopped salad?

Bacalhau

Broiled and Crusted Codfish with ingredients from my Try the World box (Portugal). Super easy and very yummy! The Chorizo Tomato Kale combo with the  breadcrumbs on top is going to be a regularly occurring side dish from now on!

Confession

Cheap canned Sardines in oil...grind some sea salt and pepper, grab some crackers and jarlsberg.  I ain't ashamed.

Samosas!!

From my Blue Apron delivery recipe: English Pea and Potato Samosas with Spiced Cauliflower and Cilantro-Mint Chutney!
I was dubious, thought it might be on the bland side but it was really good and super easy with the samosa pastries.  Now where do I buy those again?  The 2 extra condiments are Pataks Hot Mango and the Rocha Pear and Port Wine Jam from my "Try the World" box (Portugal).

Mackerel toasts

I used the mackerel from the Try the World box (Portugal) and their recipe for it's use!  Great snackage!  (served with the piri piri hot sauce) and we also had some excellent super duper SHARP cheddar with crackers and the port wine and pear jam also from the Portugal box.  The combo was outstanding!!

Blue Apron Meal #2

Chicken Khao Soi. So far it is 2 for 2 on the Blue Apron meals.  The hubs and I have really enjoyed them both.  My ONLY complaint about this particular recipe is that for adding the curry paste there were no suggestions of amount other than "as much as you'd like, depending on how spicy you'd like it to be". And since all curries are different I just went for it and added a little less than half of what was provided which made it perfectly spicy for us and completely inedible for the kids.

Steak, Mushroom, Tater Kebab

18 yr balsamic from Heavenly oils, EVOO, salt, pepper and rosemary for marinade.  Next time I will use red wine vinegar instead (and there will be a next time!)

Crispy Catfish!

Tried my first recipe from Blue Apron: Crispy Catfish and Paella style rice with English peas and saffron aioli.  The fish and rice would have been solidly ok but the addition of the fresh lemon, the raw green onion/parsley and the whopping dollop of saffron aioli pushed into a really YUMMY meal! So far so good!

Here we go....

Ice packed delivery of my 2 Blue Apron meal ingredients!  Tomorrow recipe #1

Piri Piri Hot Sauce

I'd give it a 10 for packaging design art.  The tongue logo is pretty much totally awesome.  The hot sauce... is just hot sauce, I'll use it. Meh.

Portugal

New Try the World Box came in the mail!!  Portugal. Cod, beaches, port wine... I am looking forward to trying my goodies this month!

Smoked Beer

Smoked Beer!?  I approve!
Tried these two varieties of  Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier: Urbock and Fastenbier.
Smoked beer (had with a creamy brie type cheese YUM-O).  Since 1405. A very strong smoke taste, especially on the Urbock!
 Here is their website:http://www.schlenkerla.de/indexe.html

Carnitas

I found jalepeno feta at the grocery store.  Perfect with carnitas!

Best Kept Secret?

The sign outside says it's Kansas City's best kept secret.  I don't know how that could be possible because I am constantly telling people about Wally's Pastry Shop.