Cooking up a storm with Hello Fresh…Day 1

So, it’s been a long time since I wrote a home-cooking post – although a recent quick-poll on Twitter revealed that people would like to see more cookery and domestic Goddess posts on TLLWTL. So I thought we’d oblige, and what better place to start that at the beginning…with Hello Fresh.

Hello Fresh is a new service, which is based around healthy convenience. Basically, they deliver a box of fresh ingredients to your door, complete with really simple to follow recipe cards, with step by step instructions that suit both novices and experts alike. And best of all? They don’t assume you have anything in your cupboards. They delivery EVERYTHING, from individual measurements of olive oil, to the freshest, best quality meats and vegetables – it is all there, perfectly packed (and not over-packed, which I love) and hand delivered to your door.

So, as I am currently in recovery and unable to cook (or do much at all, to be honest) – feeding time responsibilities are laying firmly on the shoulders of my boyfriend this week. Now, he’s a good cook already, but time is definitely precious, as he doesn’t get home from work until late. So, we were really pleased when Hello Fresh got in touch and asked us if we’d like to try out their meals this week. Timing really couldn’t have been better.

I was genuinely surprised when the box arrived. I had been promised ingredients, sure, but wasn’t expecting them to be of the quality that arrived. I was also really impressed with the recipe cards – not only did every one of them look delicious – but they were so clear, and nothing took over half an hour from start to finish. Marvellous.

So, at 8.15 tonight, we started with our first meal – Teriyaki Chicken with Coco-Nutty Rice and Bok Choi.

Absolutely nothing was complicated, and the directions were almost fool-proof. I say almost, as despite being nearly perfect – they advised you to chop garlic – then unfortunately never told you what to do with it. For anyone who has ever cooked anything before, this would have been obvious, but for new cooks it’s not ideal. But still. A minor issue, and one I’m sure will be sorted soon.

So, in exactly 25 minutes, complete with perfectly cooked rice (something I have always found tricky to master), dinner was served. And I’m not going to lie, it was delicious. The chicken was tender, rice fluffy, vegetables crisp and tasty and home-made teriyaki sauce full of flavour.

It’s one of those dishes you will remember and cook again – as the simplicity belies the result.

Day 1 was most definitely a win. We’re looking forward to the rest of the week!

(Excuse the quality of the photo’s- we used the phone. Will try to remember to use the camera tomorrow!)