When I first started cooking with Blue Apron, my goal was simply to learn my way around the kitchen. Neither Michael nor I had learned much about cooking growing up, so after our roommate moved out last year (aka the one person in our house who wasn’t afraid of the stove) dinnertime became fraught with stress and anxiety and, well, a lot of pizza. We hoped that the weekly deliveries of fresh recipe ingredients would teach us a bit more about how to cook, while alleviating some of the stress and cost of our normal meal planning routine (or lack thereof).
If you’re new to Blue Apron, the concept is pretty simple: each week they send you a box filled with enough ingredients to make three complete meals for two (or four if you go the family route). And the only thing you have to supply is salt, pepper, oil, and your time. The ingredients are sourced from small farms whenever possible, utilizing fresh, seasonal produce and local pastas, breads, meats, and cheeses. There’s actually a great behind the scenes look at one of their farms on Cup Of Jo right now, and if you’ve been thinking of trying them out, Blue Apron is giving two free meals to the first fifty people to sign up with a new account.
So far, our Blue Apron deliveries have been a game changer for our household. We’ve stopped fighting about dinner, our kitchen has become a more organized and egalitarian space, and while we originally were concerned that the $60 per week investment would inflate our grocery bill, we have been pleasantly surprised to find that we’re actually saving about $200 a month on groceries (not to mention throwing away a whole lot less food). But most importantly, we no longer feel like newbs in the kitchen. Having used Blue Apron consistently for about six months now, here’s what I’ve realized we were doing wrong before:
One: Don’t be a tool: Once we started using Blue Apron, it became obvious that our kitchen resources were severely lacking. Each recipe takes between thirty to sixty minutes from start to finish, and a big chunk of that is comprised of prep (chopping, mincing, slicing). But you can cut down on your prep time significantly with the right tools. And they don’t even have to be expensive. The tools currently saving my sanity on a daily basis include:
- A garlic press: Blue Apron uses a lot of garlic. They even have a whole series on their website on “what to do with all that extra garlic.” Get a garlic press and thank me later.
- A zester/Microplane: Blue Apron recipes often call for citrus zest, so save yourself the hassle of trying to do it the manual way and get thee a zester. Also, if you want to see the proper way to zest citrus (long strokes! It turns out I had been doing it wrong my whole life), check out this video here. (Note: I recommend getting the skinny microplane, which produces a finer zest, but I’m pretty sure mine is lost behind our cabinets somewhere, so the wide one you see above is our backup.)
- A citrus juicer: Okay, squeezing citrus to get the juice out isn’t that hard. But I get a lot more out when I use my citrus juicer (it’s the green contraption above).
- A good knife: Like I said, there’s a lot of prep work involved in getting Blue Apron each week. This might be where you want to invest a little money. Because hand cramps are no fun.
While you can find most of these items at any store that sells housewares, the Blue Apron marketplace also offers lots of beginner tools (including this great starter bundle).
two: Spice it up: Before Blue Apron, I used three ingredients to make food taste better: butter, sugar, and cheese. My lazy night staple was candied kielbasa and glazed carrots. Which is delicious, but not the healthiest approach to meat and vegetables. But Blue Apron is all about utilizing herbs and spices, so I’ve had to learn a whole new approach to adding flavor to my meals. Apparently it’s called seasoning? Go figure. These days we always keep some shallot on hand (you can do anything with shallot, is what Blue Apron has taught me) and make sure to stay stocked up on lots of good spices so that on our off nights, we can whip up a dish that doesn’t involve a candy coating. And you don’t even need to have a Blue Apron subscription to take advantage of this part, because they make all of their recipes available to the public in their online cookbook.
Speaking of which, if you’re looking for an easy fall dish, I loved the gnocchi recipe I got in my Blue Apron box this week. (Brown butter is God’s gift to the inside of my mouth.) On our off nights, Michael and I usually have a simple pasta dish, and I feel like this could be easily modified using whatever we happened to have around.
A few weeks ago, I was at a friends house helping make a quick dinner and was pleasantly surprised as I found myself confidently pawing through her pantry looking for ingredients to ramp up the flavor of our semi homemade meal. Last year? I couldn’t even do that in my own house. And I’m pretty sure I have Blue Apron to thank for that.
are you and your partner confident in the kitchen? What advice you do have for aspiring home chefs? Alternatively, if you’re struggling in the kitchen, what’s got you stuck?
If you’re looking to improve your game around the kitchen, Blue Apron is offering fifty APW readers two free meals when you place your first Blue Apron order. Just click here to create your account.
This post was sponsored by Blue Apron. Blue Apron simplifies mealtimes by delivering fresh ingredients straight to your door. Blue Apron’s recipes help support local farmers and utilize fresh, seasonal ingredients whenever possible. If you’ve been thinking of trying out Blue Apron, the first 50 to sign up with a new account will get two free meals with their first delivery. Click here to sign up!
