Cook by the box III: CERES Fair Food

May 3-17, 2017

In the past two months, we've tried three different services that home-deliver ingredient boxes for home cooking. This week we're running short reviews on our experiences with each one.

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We've been ordering organic fruit & veg boxes from CERES Fair Food for years. We pay $46.75 for a small mixed fruit & veg box. It's intended to last two people a week but we stretch it out for a fortnight, supplementing it with a few extra groceries and, of course, eating out.

What we received: apples, oranges, bananas, pears, carrots, potatoes, broccoli, onion, pumpkin, cabbage, spinach, lettuce.

What we made: salad on lentil tacos, roasted veges (with seitan chops, then sausage rolls), soup, chimichurri pumpkin bowls, okonomiyaki, fruit as-is for snacks and juiced into soda water.

Pros:

• Everything is seasonal and organic
• Total control over what meals you make of it
• It helps me form a habit of eating fruit, which I don't have at other times
• Minimal packaging - they'll even take your box back during your next delivery

Cons:

• Menu planning and extra cooking ingredients are your responsibility
• Staying inspired with the same ingredients in repeated weeks can be challenging (like, what's your fourth favourite recipe for cabbage?)
• Risk of food waste due to poor menu planning, inspiration or timing (we lose at least one orange to mould every. damn. time)

Conclusions: A fruit & veg box has the convenience of home delivery and spotlighting what's in season. However, the rest of the work is on you - prioritising ingredients before they spoil, choosing recipes you'll enjoy, shopping for other ingredients, and cooking the food. Week to week, these are things us two food enthusiasts are content to do!

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That wraps up our recent experiences with food delivery. Do you subscribe to a service? How does it work well for you?

Cook by the box II: Marley Spoon

April 15-19, 2017

In the past two months, we've tried three different services that home-deliver ingredient boxes for home cooking. This week we're running short reviews on our experiences with each one.

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Friend of the blog @pfctdayelise gifted us a one week free trial of the Marley Spoon two-person box that they subscribe to. We received two serves each of three dinners; this would usually cost $69.90. The Marley Spoon MO is eating well without too much effort, curbing the temptation to order takeaway on work-late weeknights.

What we made: warm roasted mushrooms with basmati & quinoa salad, roasted Dutch carrot salad, hearty pearl barley and sweet potato salad.

Pros:

• Although I started with some skepticism, it was possible to prepare the meals in around 30 minutes as advertised
• Everything tasted good and felt nutritious
• Minimal food waste, since all ingredients are portioned to fit the recipe
• The recipes were detailed enough that we could recreate the ones we liked on our own later.

Cons:

• One of the meal packs was missing a crucial ingredient (luckily we had some couscous in the cupboard to use in place of the freekeh)
• No leftovers! This won't be an annoyance for everyone, but we like packing lunches from last night's dinner (perhaps we'd prefer the family box)
• Substantial amounts of packaging (though they do offer some nice recycling tips on their website).

Conclusions: This service is likely to appeal to busy bods who want to make healthy dinners at home while minimising the time spent meal planning, shopping and in the kitchen.

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In our final post in this series, we'll return to our old faithful delivery plan.

Cook by the box I: Rice Kitchen

March 31-April 1, 2017

In the past two months, we've tried three different services that home-deliver ingredient boxes for home cooking. This week we're running short reviews on our experiences with each one.

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We received a complementary trial of the Rice Kitchen Vegetarian Delights Feast thanks to business co-founder Anh (we made friends as food bloggers years ago!). This delivery would normally cost $120 and is intended to cater to six people for one meal. Anh et al. describe their service as a 'DIY dinner party in a box' - it's an elaborate menu that calls for substantial preparation and encourages you to gather together the family or invite some friends over to share.

What we made: soy sauce eggs, tempura eggplant mantou buns, Asian mushroom salad, vegetarian popiah.

Pros:

• The website and printed materials are beautiful, and definitely got me excited to cook!
• They supply all the necessary ingredients except for cooking oil, salt, pepper, some sugar & vinegar
• Everything tasted terrific! The many sauces and sprinklings were particularly good, and made the meal feel special.

Cons: 

• While an experienced cook will fare fine, the cooking instructions might not have enough detail for a novice
• Lots of plastic packaging to dispose of afterwards
• Due to the pre-made sauces and dressings, I could not reproduce these recipes precisely on my own without further research.

Conclusions: This box is for people who don't enjoy meal planning or shopping but are willing to put effort into cooking and entertaining. It would be a fun introduction to Vietnamese cooking for a newbie who's unsure where to source ingredients.

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Next up: a service that's more focused on simple weeknight cooking.