New services to try out

    

So its been a while since I've updated my blog but I have been busy trying new food services:


Next week I will be recieving a Natural Blender Box for the first time and cant wait to see how it goes!


I have also signed up to the BakedIn Baking club after trying thier double chocolate brownie kit (which was amazing!) and thier range of mug cakes.

Reviews to follow very shortly!

Im also tempet to try out a few others, the number of companies offering good quality food subscription and delivery services have soared in the last year, here are some I'm considering:

Bacon Wrapped Pork Loin With Peppercorn Sauce

Following the Pork theme of my last recipe HelloFresh seem to be quite generous with the pork!

For this recipe and the Spiced Pork Skewers I only needed 300g of pork fillet but was sent at least 600g so  an looking forward to making them both again.

300g Pork Fillet, 450g potatoes, 4 Rashers Streaky Bacon, 100ml Milk, 1 Clove of Garlic, 3 Tbsp Double Cream, 1 Beef Oxo cube, 3 Tbsp diced Shallot, 150g Broccoli, 1/2Tbsp Black Peppercorns

As usual chop everything up; Peel and finely dice the garlic and shallot, peel the potatoes and chop into just smaller than golf ball size pieces.

Boil two pans of water, with a pinch of salt in each, and add you potatoes to one of them. Let them boil for 10-15 minutes until soft throughout and drain.

lay the bacon out, overlapping the edges to make a sheet to wrap your pork loin in. place the loin on end and roll carefully into a giant pig in blanket.

Heat a pan with a tablespoon of oil then seal your pork roll and let brown a little on all sides.

Slice the roll into discs about 2cm thick then pop them back in the hot pan and fry for 90 seconds on each side. Let rest on a warm plate.

fry the shallots and garlic in the pan containing your pork juices then add half the stock cube and 200mls of water. Allow to simmer until reduced by half then crush the pepper corns and add these plus the cream to the pan. Leave bubbling until thick.

Now cook your broccoli for 3 minutes in the second pan of boiling water and mash your potatoes with the milk, a nob of butter and a little salt to taste.

Serve the pork on top of the mashed potatoes with a good splash of sauce and broccoli on the side.

Result:

A little bit fiddly rolling up the pork and bacon but worth it in the end.

An impressive dish with lots of flavours.

Recipe score:

Spiced Pork Skewers with Carmelised Onion Rice

Another lovely recipe from HelloFresh! last night.

After taking a bit of a break from proper cooking over Christmas I decided to give the healthy January boxes a go.

300g Pork Fillet, 200g Basmati Rice, 1 Red Pepper, 1 Clove of Garlic, 80g of Onion, A pinch of Smoked Paprika, 1tsp Curry Powder, 1 Lime, 300g Broccoli

First put the skewers in some water to soak, this stops them burning when the skewers go in the oven.

Chop up all your vegetables remembering that the garlic and onion need to be finely diced to go in the rice and the red pepper should be large chunks to go on the skewers. Chop a little off the top of one of your broccoli florets so that you have a teaspoon on tiny buds to garnish.

Chop your pork into bite sized chunks, again remember that they are going to be threaded onto skewers.

Heat a pan with a tablespoon of oil then add the garlic and onion, stir and allow to cook for 5 minutes.

Next add a generous pinch of paprika, a pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Add the rice and stir for a minute than add 300mls of cold water.

Once the pan starts to boil turn the heat down and pop on the lid. Turn your grill on to high and put a pan of water on to boil for your broccoli.

Meanwhile mix up a marinade of one tablespoon of olive oil, the curry powder, zest of half the lime and juice of half the lime. mix well and add a couple of pinches of slat and pepper then coat your pork and peppers. If you have time you could make the marinade the night before and leave the meat and pepper sot soak up the flavour in the fridge.

Thread your meat and peppers alternately on the skewers and pop onto a baking tray and put on to the top shelf under the grill. Cook for 10-12 minutes making sure to turn every 3 minutes. Be careful as the skewers will heat up very quickly!

Lastly put the broccoli into the pan of boiling water and cook for 4 minutes and drain. check your rice and turn off the heat if all the water has been absorbed.


Serve the skewers on top of the rice with your broccoli bud garnish sprinkled on top and the florets on the side.

Result: 

Lovely tender Pork with plenty of flavour and the rice was good enough to be eaten on its own!

All that at under 500 calories.

Recipe Score:

Decadent Wild Mushrooms and Truffle Macaroni

This was a very luxurious twist on a normal macaroni cheese and also suitable for vegetarians (depending on cheese). I usually make a spring version of macaroni with bacon, leeks and peas.

The HelloFresh! recipe card layout has changed slightly since I last had a box, I'm not sure if it is better or about the same!

250g Macaroni, 100g Wild Mushrooms, 25g Butter, 250ml Milk, 25g Plain Flour, 80g Cheddar Cheese, 1/2 Tsp Mustard, 1/4 Tsp Truffle oil, 30g Breadcrumbs 150g Broccoli

First I grated the cheese and put 2 pans of water on to boil. I added the pasta to one of the boiling pans with a pinch of salt and rubbed any dirt off of the wild mushrooms, don't wash as this will affect the flavour.

I pulled my mushrooms apart into managable chunks as some were quite big or joined and then fried in a little olive oil until softened.

In a large pan I melted the butter and added the flour, once the flour had slighly cooked through I added a dash of milk, stirring well and slowly adding the milk till you have a thinner paste, stir until all the lumps are gone and add the rest of the milk. This is a roux and is a great white sauce base for many recipes. Finally add 2/3 of your cheese the mustard and truffle oil and cook on a low heat until the sauce coats a wooded spoon easily.

I then added my pasta and mushrooms to the sauce and put the broccoli in  the remaining pan of boiling water. Heating the grill to high I transferred my pasta and sauce into an oven dish, topped with breadcrumbs and the remaining cheese and grilled until brown.

Serve with the broccoli!

Result:

This wash such a lovely rich version of macaroni cheese that I will definitely be looking for where to get wild mushrooms in the future. My other half didnt even notice that there was no meat tonight!

Recipe score:

Sponge!

Sponge is a cake company based on the North Norfolk coast. On their website you can buy lovely big 10" Sponge Cakes, 7" Sponge Cakes, Baby Sponges and Slices.

How easy was it to order?

The website is easy to navigate and I liked how each flavour showed exactly what was in the cake.

I chose a box of eight different mini sponges and 2 slices of Carrot Cake.

At the check out you can enter your details and any discounts you may have, NUS extra holders enter your card number to get a discount.

If you sign up for the news letter you can also get a give one get one free deals, that's 2 for the price of one delivered!

Delivery and Packaging

Delivery is £5 or free when you spend over £50.

The baby sponges arrived in one box and my slices of cake in another well padded with greaseproof paper and paper napkins.

The box had nice clear messages saying "this ways up" and even had a message on the bottom of the box!

What's in the box?

Only good things! 

 That's what's in the box! 

 

 My baby Sponges were Chocolate, Victoria, Coffee, Carrot, Lemon, Bakewell, Chocolate & Orange, and Apple Crumble. I also ordered two slices of carrot cake as that's my favourite and they include lovely napkins which is a nice touch!

Ratings

 Delivery - £5 for next day delivery isn't bad

Packaging -The Sponges were well packaged and arrived safely. 

Quality & Taste - Really good quality cake

 
Value for Money -Quite pricey for what they are but good for a special treat

Other comments: I was very pleased with the presentation, packaging and speed of delivery. A bit expensive for everyday treats but worth money for a special occasion.

     Overall Rating:

Hello Fresh!

Hello Fresh is advertised as a high quality service for busy people. Every week(or fortnight if you choose) they will send you a box of ingredients and recipe cards. Everything you need to prepare fresh meals in about half an hour. You are expected to have salt, pepper, oil and butter otherwise everything you need is provided.

I decided to try this service with a discount code for my first order. (use Z3548X to get £20 off)

Hello Fresh - 3 meals for two people

 

How easy was it to order?

The website is modern, clean and very clear.  Navigating the site you can find out about Hello Fresh, what to expect in your box and even free access to their recipes.

Ordering is a simple as clicking "try now", enter your postcode and select your box choice (3 meals, 5 meals or 3 vegetarian  meals. Next choose how many people you are feeding, how often you want a box. I chose a 3 meal box for 2 people once a fortnight. This option is £39 for 3 meals but you can get a £20 discount on your first delivery.

Finally register your details, enter the payment bits and enter your discount coupon (£20 off!).
I've included my code below but if you have a friend subscribed you can use theirs and both benefit!

Delivery and Packaging

My box arrived as promised on Tuesday. It was packaged in a sturdy box, with wool insulation and ice packs. 

The wool is used as an eco-friendly option and can be used for composting etc. if you remove the plastic wrap. The box as you would expect can be recycled in your household recycling bin

What's in the box?

My box included recipes for Tiger Prawn Linguine with Chilli and Sun-Dried Tomatoes, The Ferrari of Orange Beef stir Fries, and grilled Lamb Pittas with Cucumber Salsa and Summer Salad.

I was also please to receive a complimentary bar of chocolate with my first delivery!

The ingredients were well packaged down to the little brown bag of bits and pieces such as chilli flakes, soy sauce and brown sugar.

Everything lasted well ecept for my pitta bread which went mould on the 3rd day but HelloFresh customer service apologised and gave me £5 off my next box.

I will post my  cookery attempts separately!

Ratings

 Delivery - Free delivery but only on a set day

Packaging - Lots of packaging but most is recyclable 

Quality & Taste - Really good quality ingredients 

despite my pitta going mouldy!

Value for Money - Quite pricey for the average family but not bad considering the effort involved in sourcing ingredients and cost of eating out.

Other comments: I liked that this service encouraged me to try recipes that I wouldn't usually try and new ingredients which I wouldn't usually buy.

     Overall Rating:

Riverford Organic Farms

I've been receiving veg boxes from Riverford Organic Farms for a couple of months now.

I'm not really into organic food, if I'm at the supermarket and have a choice between organic apples or supermarket own I'll tend to go for the cheapest if they look good. What I do lack tends to be variety, if I walked around the supermarket once a week and picked up vegetables I would always end up with potatoes, carrots and occasionally sweetcorn (exciting I know).

The beauty of a veg box is that you get what's in season and you get variety without the supermarket sorting and cleaning and packaging.

Riverford Organic - Mini Veg Box

How easy was it to order?

The website itself is very easy to use on the front page I can easily select boxes, shop or recipes. There is also a tool to help you choose what size and type of box suits your needs.

Once you've chosen a box you can set up a regular delivery or stick to a one off purchase, add other items if you wish.

At checkout you enter your postcode, select frequency of your delivery and all the usual details.

Delivery and Packaging

On my specified delivery day my box was hand delivered by a Riverford van from my local farm (about 40 miles away). By sticking to set delivery days they are able to offer free delivery when you buy a box or spend over £12.50.

What's in the box?

A mini veg box aims to feed 1-2 people with 7 items included.

My box contained onions, carrots, a bag of rocket, a large cauliflower, two heads of broccoli, four portobello mushrooms and a bag of potatoes.

Ratings

 Delivery - Free delivery but only on a set day

Packaging - Minimal packaging, collected and re-used by farm

Quality & Taste - Nice quality fresh vegetables



Value for Money - Expect to pay more for organic


Other comments: It can be difficult to use everything in the box although you are provided with recipes and news. It would also be nice to have more choice on what you like and don't like. Otherwise I cannot fault the service I've received.

     Overall Rating: