thistlechaser: (Pancakes - catbutter!)
[personal profile] thistlechaser
Swedish Meatballs & Braised Kale
with Lingonberry Jam & Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Recipe here.
Time: 20-25 minutes (I left the kitchen for a few minutes in the middle of things)

Almost as if Blue Apron could go back in time and react to me canceling their service, this meal was a disaster.

1) The flour was missing.
2) The container of lingonberry jam came open in the bag and made a mess.
3) The pork had gone bad.

I had been looking forward to this meal for a while. I wanted to try making meatballs, I like Swedish Meatballs, and this looked like one of the simpler things to make -- only three things to chop up!

I got the potatoes going, no problem. Then I opened the pork. It smelled off. At first I didn't trust my nose, so I continued on with the recipe. But the longer I smelled it, the more sure I was that something was wrong with it. I wish I had trusted myself off the bat, since then I could have saved the spices and breadcrumbs and tried again some other time with my own meat.

I didn't bother trying to make the kale, becasue without the meatballs there was no meal, and kale isn't a new food for me to try.

$60 for three meals = $20 per meal = I paid $20 for two small potatoes, a pat of butter, and a splash of milk. Go team me. The mashed potatoes were good, but not $20 good, plus that's a lot of potato for one person.

I don't want to tell them about it and try to get my money back, since they'd likely think I was doing it just because I canceled and was trying to get more out of them. My time with them is done, I don't want to continue to deal with them.

Date: 2014-04-13 12:14 am (UTC)
hamsterwoman: (Default)
From: [personal profile] hamsterwoman
Bummer, as this sounded like the best meal :(

I think it might be worth letting them know about the issues, though, as clearly they're having some kind of quality problems (missing items, the meat either stored incorrectly or not bought fresh enough on their end, container for jam that isn't up to shipment), and should probably know about them, since they're likely to affect other orders -- the missing flower and spilled jam is annoying, but spoiled meat could make someone ill... Maybe not even bother asking for a refund if you'd rather not deal with it (though maybe they'd offer one on their own? likely just credit you have no intention of using, though...)

Date: 2014-04-13 12:58 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] thistle-chaser.livejournal.com
Yeah, it makes me want to go to Ikea and get a replacement meal.

I was thinking about that. I might do it. Surprisingly I thought it would be the chicken that would have been bad -- it slipped out from between the two layers of ice, so the edge of it had defrosted (but was still cold). The pork was well in the middle of the box. I guess if one thing slipped, the other could have as well.

Date: 2014-04-13 01:53 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kelen.livejournal.com
That sucks! :( I second warning them about the meal. Because that means something very wrong is going on for them. Repeated meals have issues for the same person? Oh yeah.

Date: 2014-04-13 04:55 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] thistle-chaser.livejournal.com
Yeah, I was surprised there were three issues in one meal! The meat especially...

Date: 2014-04-13 02:58 am (UTC)
ext_13461: Foxes Frolicing (Default)
From: [identity profile] al-zorra.livejournal.com
Meatballs are not simple.

This entire thing, like your soda thing, seems to prove a rip off, yaniwattahmean?

Cooking, mealmaking, doesn't work like that.

You gotta shop, alas, and you gotta do stuff, and you gotta have thing on hand, you gotta learn what works with what-- this service for making real food - meals, from what you tell us, is bs.

Love, C.

P.S. Making good healthy nutritious tasty meals takes a lot of work -- ingredients, knowing how they work together, etc. Alas, I grew up this way, so it's hard for me to understand how people don't understand how food works -- from digging the garden to killing the chickens to butchering etc., and the what goes on in the grain fields etc.

So don't pay attention to me!

Love, C.

Date: 2014-04-13 04:56 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] thistle-chaser.livejournal.com
Or maybe pay more attention to you! :)

I'm not sure if it was a ripoff or not, I think for some people it might work (people who want to try lots of new stuff, eat exotic, but don't have time to shop?). I'm not one of those people though. :/

Date: 2014-04-13 05:21 pm (UTC)
ext_13461: Foxes Frolicing (Default)
From: [identity profile] al-zorra.livejournal.com
Well, at least you should pay attention to the fact that you deserve to treat yourself at least good as you treat others, and that comes to your breakfasts and dinners as much as anything else! :)

Love, C,

Date: 2014-04-13 06:05 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] changeling72.livejournal.com
I'd never even heard of a lingonberry!

Date: 2014-04-13 04:58 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] thistle-chaser.livejournal.com
They're pretty good! If you have an Ikea near you, you can try dishes with it there.

Date: 2014-04-13 11:43 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] teaandfailure.livejournal.com
I am so sad to hear about this one! That looked like it was going to be a good recipe and I am horrified to hear the pork was off! The quality must have gone downhill since I used them. Well, now I know it would be a terrible idea to resubscribe ever!

I bet they started buying meat that was about to expire because it was cheaper. Sad, they could have had such a good service.

Date: 2014-04-13 04:59 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] thistle-chaser.livejournal.com
I was thinking that, too. They could buy everything about to expire, since you have to use it in a week (they say outright everything will stay good for a week).

Oh well! It was a really good idea, wish it had worked out! <3

Date: 2014-04-13 12:46 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] ashmedai.livejournal.com
Well, damn - that blows! You were right to cancel.

I disagree with the above commenter; cooking a good meal doesn't have to be complicated or even a load of work. It does take some basic knowledge, yes, but you aquire that through reading and a little experience, then work your way up as far as you want to go. Don't allow yourself to be discouraged. :)

Date: 2014-04-13 03:14 pm (UTC)
ext_13461: Foxes Frolicing (Default)
From: [identity profile] al-zorra.livejournal.com
You're right about the actual making of a meal doesn't have to be a lot of work. But you have to have the things to make it, and that is work. Or, at least, organization and planning.

OTOH, probably unlike you, I live in an NYC-tiny apartment; like most NYers who aren't wealthy, with huge kitchens and "help" I need to shop nearly every day, because there's not much storage space. And fresh produce does needs to be generally used within a day or two of purchase. Though I do keep a freezer and "pantry" well-stocked -- that's still such a small space, that doing so, thinking of what needs replacing (before it runs out), what goes with what, what is on sale, what's in season, meal planning around such thinking, is part of my daily life, like bathing, teeth cleaning, working on The Current Writing Job and library, and bi-weekly chores, like laundry and so on. As well, we carry our groceries home -- we don't shop in cars, and the stores are generally small, not like the giant supermarkets and Whole Foods we shopped at while living on the Eastern Shore and New Orleans (where we did have a car and shopped, together, once a week).

As well, I have the added incentive beyond health and nutrition of living with someone for whom food really matters, who is always deeply appreciative. Beyond that, busy as we are, dinner is "our time," particularly Saturday night dinner, during which, while eating, we discuss the book we're writing together, listen to music, and talk about everything. Good meals are about healthy relationships too, including the relationship each of us has with ourself! We deserve to treat ourselves just like we do our partners. But I'm the first to say that if he's out-of-town, I'm always tempted to just nosh on unhealthy stuff or go out. I've gotten a lot better at that though, in the last years.

O my goddess, look at me lecture! No -- ignore me! That would be better!

Love, C.

Date: 2014-04-13 04:24 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] ashmedai.livejournal.com
LOL! No problem, I don't ignore anyone here, and I apologize if I sounded rude.

Yes, storage space is definitely a problem in some apartments! We're fortunate to have an extra room as a pantry with a lot of cabinets and a huge freezer chest, alongside the space in the kitchen. So keeping things on hand and taking advantage of sales is a lot easier. I still shop every second or third day, though, since like you said, produce and meat should be as fresh as possible. For the rest, I keep inventory lists and update those weekly, which helps me remember to replace anything that's running low or we're out of. If we had less space, of course, it'd take even more planning and shopping, so I think I get where you're coming from. It'd also mean less variety, probably, since leftover ingredients take up space too.

We live in a suburb, and the supermarket here isn't huge either. I don't drive at all, so since I'm in charge of the shopping, I do it on foot. Sometimes it takes several trips and I have to supplement the things in the grocery store with extra trips to the bakery, produce farmer, butcher and so on. Anything more "exotic" requires a trip downtown, to places like a bigger grocery or the ethnic supermarkets. My partner drives, but his work schedule is chaotic (swing shifts) and gruelling, so I only bum a ride in the car if there's no other option.

Sounds like you put a lot of effort into your meals, which I think is a great thing. At our house, we usually eat at different times, and eat different things. We're on completely different schedules meal-wise and also prefer very different foods, so that works for us. My partner usually does his own cooking, I just have to buy the stuff, and two, three times a week I'll cook for him since he gets off work so late on those days. Fortunately, I love cooking and since I'm unemployed at the moment, I have time to prep a good Cassoulet over three days, or go to three different places to find REALLY fresh mushrooms. Not everyone can do that, so I see your point that it can be a lot of work. Still, with a bit of planning and list-making, baby steps with more easy recipes until you've got the hang of it, it's do-able, I think.

Date: 2014-04-13 05:16 pm (UTC)
ext_13461: Foxes Frolicing (Default)
From: [identity profile] al-zorra.livejournal.com
You do cassoulets! That is a lot of work and time, all right. Woo, chapeau off to you!

As far as me putting in a lot time on our meals --as mentioned dinner is Our Time (I don't do three meals a day; breakfast is usually steel cut oatmeal with fruit, lunch for him from the healthy (and delicious) foods cafeteria at the CUNY grad center; my lunch is often yogurt and nuts. Uually Sunday dinner is a pickup/leftovers from Saturday whenever either of us feels like it. And one other day a week we go out or bring something home because My Person thinks I shouldn't have do this 7 days a week, every week.

However, My Person's gastro health is iffy at the best of times, and what he can and cannot eat is in constant flux, so that does take a lot of planning and prep. But we both swear my cooking has kept him from adult set-in diabetes, which all the men in his family have developed -- because it takes no investigation at all to see how much more healthy our eating lifestyle is than theirs -- fast food, lots and lots and LOTS of red meat, often fried, etc. Also we are very physically active, living in a city, while they seem to spend most of their lives sitting: in a car, on a lawnmower, on office chairs, on a couch. Even when they go to their lake houses they sit in a boat or a lawn chair. :)

Still that someone truly cares and appreciates what one is doing food-wise, is the greatest incentive there is to do it. It's much harder to care about ourselves ourself like that. But we all deserve it!
Love, C.

Date: 2014-04-13 06:34 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] ashmedai.livejournal.com
I've been cooking (or helping in the kitchen as a child) ever since I can remember. My grandmother is a great cook, and taught me things from the start. Ironically, I hated cooking for a long time until I got ahold of good books by chefs like Anthony Bourdain or Jacques Pépin, who de-mystified more advanced cooking than I'd been doing, since they really walk you through it, and I discovered it's a great creative outlet too. Now I really enjoy it.

But we both swear my cooking has kept him from adult set-in diabetes, which all the men in his family have developed -- because it takes no investigation at all to see how much more healthy our eating lifestyle is than theirs -- fast food, lots and lots and LOTS of red meat, often fried, etc.

That is great! And yes, diet is such a huge factor when it comes to preventing illness. I wish my partner ate healthier, but he's the typical meat-n-potatoes guy and consumes a lot of junk on top of that. I try to eat healthier - not much meat, almost no red meat or processed meat, and I never liked sweets. So I feel best on the food I was raised on as a child with lots of fresh vegetables, some fresh fruit, milk and dairy, and a bit of whole-grain carbs and olive oil. My grandmother raised me until I went to school, and I never saw or tasted junk food, or anything that wasn't prepared fresh, until I did go to school. I'm grateful for that now, since I never developed a taste for junk food. Kentucky Fried Chicken or a pizza now and then, but I'll eat it once and then I'm basically done with it for the next three months. LOL

Still that someone truly cares and appreciates what one is doing food-wise, is the greatest incentive there is to do it. It's much harder to care about ourselves ourself like that. But we all deserve it!

I agree, and my partner really appreciates my food (and I try to make it healthier than the stuff he prepares for himself), so that's a great incentive. So is reading food blogs for new ideas, or talking to other "foodies", like on LJ. That's always inspiring.

LOL yes, cooking a fancy meal for others and cooking one for myself are two different things. Last night I just threw some vegs into the oven to roast in olive oil for myself, that's as far as I could be bothered. When cooking for just myself, anything I come up with usually needs to meet three criteria: "Healthy, no muss no fuss and tasty". :)

Date: 2014-04-15 08:39 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] voidmagus.livejournal.com
Seconding the Kudos for eating to not be ill. I come from a family of very large people, and I manage to be around normal ranges. I hate most exercise (still hit the gym a few days a week, but hate every second) so food is very much the major factor in keeping me from the slew of family history health issues - high BP, cholesterol, heart disease, strokes, etc.

I also have some GI issues - some of the organs contributing to digestion had to be removed because my body is stupid and thinks crystallizing is a valid thing to do. So the amount of fat and certain vitamins has to be controlled. These issues started back in junior high, living with a family that ate horribly unhealthy food. So I quickly had to learn how to cook food separately such that I wouldn't be in agony or stuck in the bathroom.

Thank the gods for Alton Brown. Good Eats taught me the basic framework for cookery, and my cooking definitely helped secure my spouse.

Given the topic at hand - I highly recommend the Good Eats meatball recipe. I make those in batches of about 20, and the wife&I eat them in various incarnations for a week - swedish, pasta with arrabiata sauce, sandwiches, etc.

I'm really lucky with ingredients sourcing though. I live in the downtown area of a medium-sized southern city. There is the Ghetto grocery store 2 miles away (prefer to drive - not safe neighborhood), a rich people grocery within a 1 mile walk (good for produce, everything else overpriced), a full-service butcher/charcuterie on the way, a marvelous bakery next door (fresh croissants are at least as good as sex), and farmer's markets 2 days a week within 1.5 mile walk. Start to see why we moved there? This is the South. Everyone drives instead of walks. Everyone sits on their ass. If you go to a restaurant, there is a high chance everything is fried. The neighborhood was a huge reason we moved (built a house, actually). Gigabit fiber internet is pretty awesome too. To the person from NYC - our neighbor is from there. She shat a brick when she saw home prices here. Apparently the price of a 2000 sq ft custom-built house here is the cost of a small apartment there. I can't take much credit for planning all these awesome reasons to live where we do - my wife is the planner, I deal with emergencies (she loses her shit).


I know not everyone has the freedom to live wherever they want...but if you get the chance, you can use that to carve out almost exactly the lifestyle you want to have.
Edited Date: 2014-04-15 08:40 pm (UTC)

Date: 2014-04-15 09:11 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] ashmedai.livejournal.com
I hear you - I have to be a little careful too since I have gall bladder issues. Or did have until homeopathy cured me, but I'm still careful.

Thank you! I was in the mood for Swedish meatballs, and that sounds like a great recipe.

Start to see why we moved there?

Definitely, it sounds like grocery heaven.

I know not everyone has the freedom to live wherever they want...but if you get the chance, you can use that to carve out almost exactly the lifestyle you want to have.

Amen to that. I added you, I hope you don't mind?

Date: 2014-04-16 06:17 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] voidmagus.livejournal.com
Don't mind at all! Though my presence on LJ is almost entirely limited to chatting with Thistle - maybe I need to broaden my horizons some (ok, really enjoying the religious discussion going on in your LJ -- living in the South, I basically have to keep my views to myself unless I want to lose friends/make enemies/get lynched).

If you don't mind, can I ask what helped the gall bladder issues? I don't have mine anymore - mine was one of the things that is/was bad about crystallizing.
Edited Date: 2014-04-16 06:29 pm (UTC)

Date: 2014-04-16 06:33 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] ashmedai.livejournal.com
Well, chatting with Thistle is fun and I enjoy it too, so I don't blame you. :D

A remedy called menhorridium or something like that helped me (I don't recall the exact spelling, it was years ago I took it). It not only eliminated the gall bladder issues, but also the constant migraines I'd been having since I was a small child. My gall bladder issues didn't even have an organic cause, i.e., no stones or crystalizing so far, and every doctor check-up I had revealed nothing. But I still had colics that felt like I was being sawed in half by a rusty saw. You know that pain if you've had it. I mostly had them when there was some aggression or emotional upset going on, or when I ate the wrong food (too fatty, for example, or too much coffee). I haven't had a twinge in four years now, and I can eat and drink whatever I want.

The thing with homeopathy, however, is that the remedy has to be tailor-made to fit you, and what helped me might not help another person. The remedies are made to fit the person, not the illness like in standard medicine. A homeopath will ask you hours of questions having to do with all aspects of your person, not just health questions, but general questions, and then think of the remedy that best suits you. It's a pretty complicated process - lol. I'm lucky that one of my two loves is a trained homeopath, knows me inside and out, and shot a bull's eye with that remedy.

Date: 2014-04-15 10:06 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] thistle-chaser.livejournal.com
Yes! I love Alton Brown. I don't watch anywhere near as much as I used to, but he's still great when I do.

You're right about the prices though. My sister pays less for a four bedroom home in the south than I do a small one room apartment here. "Less" being a quarter of the price. It's insane.

Date: 2014-04-16 06:20 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] voidmagus.livejournal.com
Alton really is a nice guy too. He's from Atlanta, but he hangs out in our city a good bit, so I've bumped into him in a few places - farmer's market especially. He seemed quite eager and happy to just chat with a fan.

Date: 2014-04-17 04:06 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] thistle-chaser.livejournal.com
Oh wow, that's great to hear! I hate it when someone's nice on TV but ends up being an ass RL.

Date: 2014-04-13 07:27 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] ani-mama.livejournal.com
It is interesting to see how people have different cooking styles and needs! I live out in the country with a huge basement pantry, couple of chest freezers, and easy access to organic food. We trade our free range chicken eggs, honey and apples with the neighbors' vegetables, venison, etc. This year we will be raising our own meat chickens again.

What I do not have much of is time. So meal planning and shopping lists are still a big part of everyday life. Restaurants and even a decent sized market are far away, so cooking(in mass quantities because of boys that work outside!), is a survival skill.

Date: 2014-04-13 07:39 pm (UTC)
ext_13461: Foxes Frolicing (Default)
From: [identity profile] al-zorra.livejournal.com
You're right that it is so interesting to see how others cope with this on-going job of eating -- eating healthy, eating delicious, and all the rest. Everything of this nature is improved by group and / or cooperative efforts -- whether housework, gardening, butchering, etc.

It's like laundry: no matter (and thank the lordessa they exist!) modern conveniences, such hot and cold indoor plumbing -- no need to carry water from the well and heat -- my grandmother did that! -- washers and dryers -- and me, no longer living on the farm coping with those really heavy and dirty work clothes -- laundry is still a gded chore! That's a real pita!

When we all have jobs and careers as well, somehow, this stuff still ends most of the time our responsibility.

When I broke my elbow in the middle of this January, el V had to cope for at least three weeks doing all the things that I always do. We tried to make it a game and so on, but he constantly said how much he looked forward to eating "your" -- meaning "my" cooking again. I'd be with him, giving him directions, and he was good natured and cooperative, but still, he was bewildered by the number of steps it took, just to get yams ready to cook.

Love, C.
Edited Date: 2014-04-13 07:41 pm (UTC)

Date: 2014-04-13 08:05 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] ani-mama.livejournal.com
I am doing the laundry right now, you are right about the incredibly filthy work clothes! My boys are actually really good about helping with chores, but they are working outside today. So here I am, running the laundry, cooking a huge pot of spaghetti with spicy sausage for lunch, and a work deadline tomorrow morning at 8. Oh, and answering comments on LJ with my tablet while the sausage is browning, ahaha.

Date: 2014-04-13 05:00 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] thistle-chaser.livejournal.com
I won't! And thanks! I need to keep trying, only way to learn. :}

Date: 2014-04-13 07:28 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] ani-mama.livejournal.com
Bah, those packages seem like a lot of work for what it is, and expensive to boot. You should definitely tell them about the spoiled food.

Date: 2014-04-13 11:13 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] thistle-chaser.livejournal.com
Yep, way too much work! It's a relief to be done with it. (Almost done, I have some bits and pieces leftover that I still want to do something with.)

Date: 2014-04-14 03:05 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] spike7451.livejournal.com
sorry to hear the meal was such a disappointment, it sounded like it should have been nice.

The meat being off is pretty poor though and that is sure hell of a lot to spend on mashed potato. :(

Sounds like you made the right decision to cancel!

Date: 2014-04-14 04:33 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] thistle-chaser.livejournal.com
Yep! The potatoes were good, but not much of a meal on their own. I'm quite happy that I canceled!

Date: 2014-08-25 04:59 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] voidmagus.livejournal.com
Harkening to an old post - I want to say thanks. I almost joined Blue Apron after having a craving for good ramen (we don't have ramen here, aside the deep-fried instant variety. No noodle houses at all). Looking for a company that sells fresh noodles online - only Sun Noodle does. That's good, they sell to the best US ramen eateries. Too bad, they only sell to businesses. But they do sell fresh noodles refrigerated to some asian groceries...nearest is 4 hours away. Someone sell them online then, maybe? Nope. Turns out Blue Apron has a few meals with them. Ok maybe I'll...wait. I remember Thistle saying something about Blue Apron.

Yea, think I dodged a bullet there. Thanks.

Date: 2014-08-25 05:38 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] thistle-chaser.livejournal.com
Yeah, I really can't recommend them, especially if you want only one thing from them. If you got a choice on meals, that would work out a lot better (for both of us!), but nope.

Good luck! I wish I could send you some, we have ramen places on every corner around here (though pho outnumbers them).

Date: 2014-08-25 06:55 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] voidmagus.livejournal.com
Ha, thanks. I enjoyed the food last time I was in california. The regional food availability still drives me nuts - I've never lived anywhere in the South with good chinese. Japanese? Sometimes, but rare. Lots of soul food, plenty of Cajun. A surprisingly high number of vietnamese, with respectable pho. Weird what we have and what we don't.

I'll just have to make my own ramen. I have no problem making everything but the noodles - I made legendary ramen back in college. Fellow students used to the instant stuff had their minds blown when I made something that took 2 days of simmering bones and such. Just means I'll have to make a good pot of tonkatsu ramen base, after a visit to my sister in law in the next few weeks (hopefully).

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