Goodfood Recap #35

We took a little break from the normal cooking so managed to order in 2 boxes this month for Goodfood. We’re definitely enjoying it while it lasts because if I remember correctly, we will be skip for the next month or so. This box has been some really interesting meals and to be honest, I saw most of them as being fairly successful.

Mushroom Dan Dan Noodles
with Yu Choy

The last Dan Dan Noodles weren’t awesome. I’m going to be honest that they weren’t but this one tastes fantastic. The two types of mushrooms used and the yu choy as the veggie base with the noodles and the sauce all turned out so great. I really enjoyed this noodle bowl a lot.

Skillet-Roasted Chicken Thighs
with Meyer Lemon, Zucchini & Olives over Zesty Quinoa

We rarely cook with quinoa unless its for one of these boxes so its always refreshing to eat it. Its something that I have thought about incorporating more into our lives outside of these meal boxes. This meal was pretty good in general. Chicken thighs are always super tasty to eat but then my biggest issue with it was the olives and that is based on preference as I don’t like olives but my husband loved this because he loves them and loves everything else about it.

Coconut Chicken & Sweet Potato Stew
with Roasted Brussel Sprouts

So..this meal was considered somewhat of a fail on my part. I’m not sure if I just didn’t follow the recipe properly or the recipe didn’t quite work with my appliances but this meal took about 3 times its estimated time. Usually for me, if there’s more cooking involved, it might take almost double the estimated time. It tastes pretty good and stews are always very comforting to eat. The idea of coconut milk base and then having carrots and sweet potatoes is really nice as well. It just was an incredibly long time to cook..oddly.

Pork Chops
with Homemade Maple-Bacon Jam, Sauteed Bok Choy over Spinach Rice

Welcome the star of this box. This meal is amazing! For one, the maple bacon jam is awesome. Literally, the best thing I’ve made from these boxes. Then the pork chops turned out good and paired with the jam is delicious. I like the spice blend that was mixed with the rice and the spinach. Then there’s the bok choy which always was great. I love this meal so much.

That’s it for this recap!
It was a pretty solid batch of meals.
It should be a month or so before we get another one of these boxes.
Just because of selection and time conflicts. 

Goodfood Recap #33

After an over-extended break from Goodfood, we finally got back to one of these boxes. It was a huge help to get back to cooking some Goodfood meals especially with some cool new recipes to try out. They all looked very delicious so I was excited to give all of these a go.

Let’s check it out!

Shrimp Ramen
with Quick-Pickled Ginger, Spinach & Mushrooms

Seafood meals are always the first to be done. Its been a while we’ve done anything with shrimp. Its winter and ramen is a great option as a nice cozy food to warm up. Another really great about both shrimp and ramen and spinach because these foods all cook very quick so its a nice efficient meal. The only thing here that needed a different pot was to make the pickled ginger which is also a fairly easy thing to do also. In terms of taste, the broth here is what stands out. The pickled ginger has always been the portion of these meals that I don’t quite care for. Everything else from the fresh ramen to all the flavors here is pretty good.

Polenta-Crusted Chicken Breasts
with Endive-Spinach Salad & Honey-Herb Dressing

I don’t normally make food thats heavy on the crusting and stuff. So, its a nice little change in pace to do this one. What really adds to this is that its actually pretty easy to put together. Plus for something with both the oven roasted and frying in pan, everything times together really well to do simultaneously and not feel too rushed. However, I didn’t actually try the salad on the side. It does look fresh and good, plus it uses endives which I’ve only ever cooked with once and still wondering how to incorporate it into other meals when possible.

Agedashi Tofu & Sweet Soy Dipping Sauce
Garlic-Furikake Green Beans, Daikon & Rice

I’ve only had Agedashi Tofu in restaurants. In my memory, it uses the softer tofu than the one used in this recipe. However, it is a fun little one to put together as well. On top of that, I’m a big fan of daikon but never know how to make it so this is a lovely way to do it especially since the seasoning in the rice as well also makes it mega delicious. I really liked this one a lot. Agedash Tofu’s magic is also in the sauce and this one is very similar to the Japanese restaurant around my area. Not my habit to cook a lot of Japanese food at home except with these boxes, however, its a nice change in pace from the normal. I’m probably going to make the rice, daikon and green beans outside of the box and make the fried tofu instead of the agedashi one though.

Spiced Pork Bowl
with Blistered Cherry Tomato & Pepita Salsa over Red & White Quinoa

The last meal we made was this bowl. We always love to make bowls because they are so convenient to put together. Credit goes to my husband for putting this together on the weekend when I had to go to work for some overtime and it turned out to be the star of the box for myself. The pork had delicious seasoning. The crunchiness of the lettuce and the acidity of the cherry tomatoes plus the quinoa blend all matched together so awesomely. I ended up eating both of the meals for dinner and lunch the next day. That is how good it is. Definitely one that I’m going to try to make on my own time.

Overall…this week was pretty good.
It had a lot of fun meals with all kinds of different spices and meats. 
Also, all the meals were within the 30 minutes cooking mark so efficiency also gets it some points.
My favorite goes to the Spiced Pork Bowl but everything was really good this time. 

Recap: Goodfood #5

We take a tiny break to share a little of the last Goodfood meal box!

This time was a pretty interesting mix. I honestly got it for one of the recipes and then had to take a chance on the other menus. A lot of times that is truly the fun part of these boxes to learn more about how to cook certain ingredients and take away the parts we like from it all. Do note that I couldn’t eat two of the meals and I really only realized that after the meals came and I took a closer look at the menus.

Let’s start!

Okonomiyaki with Edamame, Chinese Broccoli & Sriracha Mayo

First up is the recipe that I got this box for. Its the Okonomiyaki which is a Japanese pancake. It is filled with chopped cabbage. This meal was really good. I skipped on the sriracha mayo since I can’t take spicy foods too well but he also loved it a lot. The standout meal of the box right off the bat. I actually really love the sides of using edamame and chinese broccoli. Its a tasty mix for healthy sides.

Balsamic Glazed Pork with Rice Salad & Roasted Broccoli

We’re big fans of pork chops. For the most part, this meal was pretty good. The acidity of the dish was well-balanced. The roasted broccoli was pretty interesting since I’ve never made broccoli like that and particularly with those spices. The only part that turned out a tad funky was the rice salad and it really had to do with using figs. But that might be my fault because I’m horrible at cutting anything into fine and small pieces. The figs turned out to be just a tad odd for both our tastes. It felt like I had tossed in fig newtons and I like fig newtons, just not in my rice.

Stuffed Sweet Potatoes with Quinoa & Roasted Red Pepper-Tahini Dressing

The next two meals are the ones that I couldn’t eat.

Stuffed sweet potatoes looked really good and I could have done these without the sauce but I felt like it wouldn’t make much sense plus the sweet potatoes were so tiny and they weren’t doing too hot after sitting in the fridge for a few days. Its odd for it to go bad so quickly but I had to toss one of them out. I’ll talk about this issue that I’ve had with even the other box I ordered at the end. However, it was a pretty cool experience making the quinoa blend and especially the roasted pepper tahini dressing which could be useful for future recipes for my husband.

Pappardelle a la Bolognese with Parmesan Chips & Celery Salad

Excuse the messy presentation

Funny how being on vacation turns out to be the hardest time to actually sit down and make a meal. So this meal turned out to be an afterthought particularly in the photographing it part. However, my husband learned that he’s not a fan of pappardelle which I figured since he’s not a fan of thick pastas with the exception of lasagna. The parmesan chips turned out to be overcooked however, the husband said it was good (although I think he’s just being polite). We skipped on the celery but instead used it to make a shrimp and celery stir fry for me since I was pretty much left with nothing much to eat after discovering that the pasta seemed to have cheese all over it, although I’d have to research a little on pappardelle to know if it is but I wanted to be extra safe.

Overall…

This box was half and half. We loved the Okonomiyaki, liked the Glazed Pork, thought the sweet potatoes were decent but didn’t really like the pappardelle. We’ve definitely had better boxes but this one did really fulfill the whole foodie eating experience to learn to cook new things and try new flavors.

**Referring to the thought back in the sweet potatoes section, we’ve had issues with the previous box as to the order to best cook these menus. Obviously, we just stick the bags in the fridge and sometimes, the humidity in the fridge will cause certain veggies to go bad quicker than normal. However, if we split it up then we’re scared that we’ll lose and ingredient or something. Either way, it always baffles me how the companies don’t give a general idea of numbering their menus as to the order they should preferably be cooked to avoid any veggies losing their freshness or going bad. For the most part, its not a huge problem but sometimes, it could be and it sucks to lose out on ingredients especially when its just the fact of being one day later due to life happening. Maybe it sounds like a silly complaint and its great that they already put best before dates on their meat, which I like a lot, however, its how I feel.**

We are still loving Goodfood experience and already have our next box chosen and waiting for it next week. Its been busy so we’re particularly appreciative of having this option.