So I struck out with Blue Apron. Week after week I read the selections, and week after week I just wasn't interested in paying $60 for any combination of three items that were available to me that week. Then Facebook, as it does, started telling me I should try all these other meal services. Facebook is really good at telling me what to buy. Sloth tee shirts, meal kits... you name it. Suddenly my suggestion sidebar was full of banners that said "$30 off this meal delivery service", and I decided it was time to try some others.
Martha Stewart's new service, Marley Spoon, seemed like an obvious one to try, given my new-found love for Martha that developed when she decided to do a hilariously entertaining cooking show with Snoop Dogg on VH-1. I had no idea this celebrity ex-con dynamo was also hilarious. What a pleasant surprise. Take my money, Martha...
Greek Poutine - This dish was VERY tasty, but it gave me heartburn. It was also pretty basic - potatoes with ground pork and a sauce that was just feta whisked in a bowl with some water, then all topped with arugula. I would unquestionably make this dish again, with ground chicken instead of pork.
Pan Seared Wild Salmon with French Lentils and Cucumber Salad - This was a good dish, but I didn't love it. I almost always love lentils, so it was disheartening to feel this way.
Cauliflower and Beet Grain Bowl - I loved this, but it's basically oven roasted vegetables topped with not really that spicy Greek yogurt. I can reproduce this dish for $5. I couldn't taste the harissa at all, short of adding a large amount of harissa powder from my own collection. It was similar to Blue Apron in that way. It definitely increased my awareness of how amazing golden beets are when you roast them. I will always be grateful to Marley Spoon for this piece of information.
The truth of the matter here is that I definitely considered Marley Spoon a step up from Blue Apron in a lot of different ways. There was a bit less waste, there were more options, and I was not limited in which options I could choose together and thought the food was really good. My main complaint here was that I thought the meals were simple enough that I didn't really need a meal box to make them. I also thought that, once again, the spice and seasoning level did not measure up to what I was hoping to get. Also, the recipes called for a lot of oil. Like, A LOT OF OIL. At this point I just knew not to use it (I would have been taking a bath in the stuff if I'd followed directions)...
On the other hand, there was not a single thing on this plan I could not have made for significantly less money. These dishes are basic and lovely (though someone should really talk to the people making the recipes about not drowning their food in cooking oil), but I see this more as a place to find ideas than a service to order. I can do the same on Pinterest, and it does not cost $60 a week...
Sorry, Martha. I still love you, though.
Recipes here, in order of love. Make them. Use less oil. You're welcome.
https://marleyspoon.com/archive/10279-greek-poutine-with-spiced-pork-creamy-feta-sauce - Very delicious. Needs a tone-down on the grease, so I would reduce the EVOO and substitute ground chicken for the pork if I made it again. If you like grease, then we're good here.
https://marleyspoon.com/archive/11942-cauliflower-beet-grain-bowl-with-harissa-yogurt - Best vegetarian dish I've had in awhile. Needs significantly more spice than provided in the meal box. Luckily I am the type of person who keeps personal containers of harissa on hand, so this did not turn into the disappointment it otherwise might have been.
https://marleyspoon.com/archive/11943-pan-seared-cod-with-french-lentils-cucumber-salad - Not my favorite, but not bad, either.
