In my search for Vegan food delivery I have found myself reviewing this new prepared food delivery services. This week I ordered four dishes to try out. This week we're trying Mama Sezz.
Here's a bit about the company.
My food arrived in two days because I happened to order just in the right time window. The package comes with a return FedEx label. You have to put all the product back into the box and schedule a pick up from FedEx.
I was so excited to see Mac & Cheese as an option. Of course I tried that first!
Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson
I ordered Gardener's Pie.
Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson
Moroccan Stew
Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson
Quinoa Stack
Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson
We also ordered the raw bread which we did not care for at all. We ended up tossing that into the bird feeder. They loved it.
My mac and cheese was pretty tasty. I warmed it on the stove but I think next time I would do it in the microwave to avoid the mac getting broken up. The flavor was great. I was really pleased.
Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson
The next thing we tried was the Moroccan Stew. The smell was incredible. It was extremely hearty and looked amazing. About three bites in however the spice was over the top. I had to stop eating it because it was so spicy hot. This would certainly be something I wouldn't order again.
Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson
Our next adventure was the Gardner's Pie.
Well, I had high hopes for this one but again, I was disappointed. The potatoes were loaded with an onion puree that over powered the entire dish. Then the carrots on the top were almost raw. It did not make for a pleasant experience. we ended up tossing the whole thing. :(
Finally we got to the Quinoa Stack and it just didn't look right. We decided not to eat it. I contacted the company to let them know about the quality of the food we received and they were amazing. The founder herself contacted me and we spoke on the phone. She offered me a full refund on my order which I accepted and she included my choice of anything on the site to test out. I opted for some chili and another go at the Mac Attack. This time I'll heat it in the microwave and hopefully it will be better.
I really love the concept behind this company and with this personalized dedication to quality and customer service I believe they will go far. If you have a chance, head over and check out Mama Sezz. I highly recommend them!
Continuing my review of Blue Apron. Today I'm reviewing the Laotian Vegetable Laab with Soy-Glazed Mushrooms and Coconut Rice. The dish is about 720 calories and packed with tons of vitamins as well as flavor.
A few negatives though. My shipment arrived on Friday and I cooked this dish Monday morning. My herbs were a bit wilted. They still had flavor but I was sad to see them all limp and soggy in the container. The coconut milk powder was really hard to reconstitute. I was whisking until my arm was tired and there was little lumps in the milk. I would suggest that they just give you a can of coconut milk and be done with it.
Tips for those cooking this - When I started making my carrot marinade that it was too dry. When you add the sugar and the little bits of lime juice it looks more like a paste. Don't panic. Just put the carrots in there and let it do its thing. The lime juice reacts with the sugar and makes a really nice marinade. You just need to give it a little bit of time.
Ok, let's get on with the steps for making this dish. Everything comes in the exact measurements that you need to complete the dish. Before you freak out about waste, Blue Apron offers a recycling program.
Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson
The first thing we do is our mise en place. Washed, peeled, picked and chopped everything that needed it.
I think started with that coconut milk powder. Yeah it's ugly. I whisked and whisked and whisked. When I make this again, I'll just use regular coconut milk and be done with it. After I whisked a bit more I got this in the post with the rice to cook. A tip here, when the timer went off, I thought the rice wasn't done yet, as there was some moisture on top. I opened the stop and gave it a stir and the right was fine. It cooks differently in coconut milk than water.
Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson
I mixed my sugar and lime juice together and added my carrots. As you can see it looks like, "Umm where's the marinade?" But the sugar breaks down with the lime juice and creates great flavors. Also I used very little of the Serrano pepper. I think next time I'll add a bit more of the seeds/ribs to bring up the heat a little bit.
Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson
Next I added some olive oil to my pan and started the mushrooms browning. I cut mine really thin, as I hate mushrooms. Here's another ingredient that I can't stand but I'm going to try it anyway because that's what this is all about. Trying new things and challenging my taste buds.
Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson
While the mushrooms are browning I started on the peanut butter sauce. The soy glaze was a bit tough to get out of the little bottle but over all easy peasy.
Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson
Next, put the mushrooms in the glaze bowl, wipe out the pan, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and repeat with the broccoli. Only this time after they're brown, you'll add some water to finishing cooking them a bit. I actually added more water to mine to soften them a bit more.
Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson
After the broccoli is finished add it to the bowl with the mushrooms and sauce and stir around to evenly coat everything.
Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson
And tada! You're done. Here's the finished dish. I was really surprised that I liked this. The mushrooms weren't too mushroomy and the carrots added a great crunch. I will also add that I have never used a cabbage as a wrap component and this was simply amazing. Savoy cabbage is my new favorite cabbage. Green cabbage is really strong and sometimes bitter when you have it raw, but Savoy cabbage was fantastic. I really enjoyed this offering from Blue Apron. Much better than the salmon dish we tried last time. This one I'll be saving to make again and again.
Being Vegan in rural North Carolina is hard. Most of our meals out on the town consist of salad with the occasional Pad Thai dish. We have managed to get some pretty good meals from Ruby Tuesday with their new Vegan menu, but for the most part, it is actually just their vegetable side dishes on one plate. Nothing really created with the intention of being a completely vegan meal.
Recently hubby and I found our way to Fiction Kitchen. Fiction Kitchen is a little place in downtown Raleigh (about an hour and a half from us) that is really amazing. They offer a complete Vegan/Vegetarian menu.
Photo Credit - Renee Olson
We finally managed to get over to their area at a reasonable time to stop in for dinner, and it was amazing. I'm going to give you a run down on what we had. We wanted to try a variety of things so that we could get a good idea of what we could expect. We started out with the Butterhead Lettuce Cups.
From the Menu on fictionkitchen.com
I'm not a huge spicy fan but we tried them anyway. Here's how they arrived.
Absolutely beautiful food. I didn't even pull the onions out like I normally do. I just picked it up and ate it. It was really good. Those microgreens on the top certainly packed a punch, too. When I read "radish" in the description I was a bit worried. I'm not a big radish fan. These however were really good. They didn't taste anything like any radish I had ever had. Really a fantastic dish.
Next we ordered an entree and a side. For the entree we selected the Curry Bowl.
From the Menu on fictionkitchen.com
This is how it arrived. Both hubby and I love curry so this was a safe dish for us to try. The curry was fantastic. We asked the server about the spice level and settled on a 2. This was spicy for me. If I were to reorder this, I would probably back it down to 1 but for someone who likes heat 4 is probably the best selection. I couldn't imagine it any higher. Over all a really good dish. It had these tiny tomatoes in the curry that burst open when you bite into them. It added a much needed cooling element to the dish. Nothing one note about this dish either. All the veg still maintained their independent flavor but were married together nicely in a right curry. We both really enjoyed it.
Curry Bowl with Rice - Photo Credit - Renee Olson
For an additional side we ordered the Root Vegetable Fries. We passed on the gravy and went with the chipolte buttermilk dressing.
From the Menu on fictionkitchen.com
These are absolutely the best fries I have ever had in my entire life. I cannot begin to sing the praises of this dish. The server told us that this dish includes golden beets, potatoes and other assorted root vegetables. The fries alone were amazing but when added to that lovely dressing they were simply amazing. When I need a french fry fix, Fiction Kitchens' Root Vegetable Fries are going to be on my list!
Root Vegetable Fries - Photo Credit - Renee Olson
Fiction Kitchen is located in Raleigh NC and offers dinner and a weekend brunch. Be sure to head over to their website to check out their amazing menu as well as their facebook page.
Note: I tried their website using Firefox and had some issues. I recommend using IE for the best browsing experience.
So just a few nights ago hubby found out his step-mother was in a hospice situation. They've not had much contact since his father passed away. Just a week from now is Thanksgiving. We're not much into holidays because ours weren't that great as kids.
As you all know my relationship with my mother and sisters has been extremely strained to put it mildly and I wasn't looking forward to going over there to see them. I wondered if maybe I was allowing them to rule me. By them dictating when I was going to see my grandmother. She's old. She won't be here much longer. Should I really allow them to make it so that I cannot go on Thanksgiving. I'm at a point where I don't really want to leave the house any more. When I do leave, hubby drives. I feel the cars getting closer and closer when we drive. It's almost like I can't breath.
Yesterday I destroyed a pot of chili on the stove and hubby took me to dinner. We were on the way home when I realized I was being insane at dinner. I was reviewing over and over (OUT LOUD) how to find out if my sister was going to be there and what time that would be so that I could go over there and avoid seeing her. Hubby sat and nodded across the table. I noticed him stop at one point and say. Look. I don't think we should go at all. We can go on Tuesday, or Wednesday or hell NOW. But I really think we should avoid going there on Thursday.
We were supposed to go to a friends house for the holidays but we've had a litter of puppies dropped to us and the rescuer hasn't confirmed that they will be picked up before then. I think we may end up being here. PLUS, if his mother passes, he'll need to go to California.
I realized this last night in the car and a wave of panic rolled over me. My brain started playing out ever possible outcome. What if he's gone, should I go over to grandma's? What if something happens? What should I do? How do I drive back from Raleigh? What am I going to do?
The stories go on and on and on. My brain goes faster and faster. It's like being in the tunnel in Willy Wonka's Candy Factory. You can't stop it. It seems like it will never end.
Then he picks up my hand and says, Don't Worry. It will be OK.
And it is.
Sometimes we have trouble with holidays. Sometimes the world seems as though it's spinning out of control. Hang on tight and embrace the sparkle.
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