Having subscribed to an Abel & Cole vegetable box a few months back I decided to keep a food diary for one week – to show where and how my produce got used. Read my Abel & Cole 5 A Day post first to get the veg box background and then come back here to read my dining diary.
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Beef Stir Fry
Stir Fry has to be the easiest meal on earth to create and a veg box makes it easy. Chop stuff that was in the box. Fry it. Stir lots. My top tip is to sprinkle with sesame seeds.
- Carrots
- Broccoli
- Onions
- Steak
- Noodles
- Sesame Seeds
- Ginger & Garlic Sauce
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Salmon & Courgette
Super quick. Strip the courgette into tagliatelle shaped pieces using a veg peeler… Chuck them into a pan and season – tip in the creme fraiche – place a salmon fillet on the top and then cover so that the courgette cooks in the creamy sauce and simultaneously steams the fish. Quick, clever, tasty.
- Courgette
- Salmon
- Creme Fraiche
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Spaghetti & Greens
This is a recipe from the Abel & Cole book – it’s a great quick meal with loads of strong flavour. You make an oil from anchovies garlic and chilli to coat the pasta and bulk it up with greens. That way you use less pasta per portion so it’s healthy too.
- Chard
- Anchovies
- Pasta
- Garlic
- Crushed Chilli
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Fruit
Don’t forget that fruit can be consumed in a multitude of ways! Juicing was a long forgotten art for me but since the veg box came into my life juicing is back. And it’s fruity. A few years back I had a fangled (and very expensive) juicer that did all kinds of fruit but soon enough it was relegated to the back of the cupboard because it was stupidly hard to clean.
These days I’m exclusively citrusy but it’s a great feeling to drink freshly squeezed OJ with breakfast. The oranges in my veg box were enough for two glasses.
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Sunday Roast
It’s not much fun cooking a Sunday roast for one! Seems like a lot of effort to go to so instead of getting all the pans out I just roast the vegetables… Adding them as I go along depending on how much roasting they need! (potatoes in first, Broccoli in ten minutes from the end).
- Steak or small Rib joint
- Potatoes
- Onions
- Carrots
- Broccoli
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Vegetable Curry
Curry got me through Uni… I’ve got it down to fine fragrant art! Use a paste as a base – much better than a pre-made sauce. Add a tin of tomatoes to your left overs from Sunday. That’s the secret to Monday curry!
- Carrots
- Broccoli
- Onions
- Potato
- tomatoes
- Curry Paste
- Coriander Seeds
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About The Pears…
You may have noticed the pears in my 5 A Day post and you may have noticed their absence from the food diary. I’m not going to lie… They ended up in the bin. They aren’t my favourite and they do just sit there for about a week – hard as a rock and then you turn your back for 5 minutes and they turn to mush. I’m paraphrasing an old Eddie Izzard sketch here but it’s a valid point. Catching a pear at the optimum ripeness just doesn’t happen. I’ve since put them on my “don’t likes” list so I won’t be getting them again.
Everything else got used and stayed fresh for 7 days.
Wow I’m impressed! I’m beginning to consider using Abel & Cole now…the salmon and courgette looks amazing, I’m stuck in a rut when it comes to cooking meals and tend to rotate about 5 recipes this could be what I need.
Thanks Vicky… I can’t remember where I saw that recipe originally. I may have made at least part of it up. I am the king of taking two different recipes and creating a new one. With mixed results!! This one works though. I find lower fat Creme Fraiche works best as it tends to be a bit thinner… or you could always add a little water. I find patting the stripped courgette dry before frying helps them to brown a little before I add the Creme Fraiche too.
…thanks for the tip – I’m going shopping after work and will be trying this tonight!
[…] To see what I made with this weeks harvest you can read my Dining Diary. […]
You could have juiced the pears with apple, carrot, celery and ginger or poached them rather than just binning them?
Chris… You are spot on. That is what I should have done. Unfortunately, I left it far too late and ended up just putting my finger through one when I tried to pick it up…
I’m much better with old banana’s – my banana loaf is famous within these Rock My Style office walls. I wonder what pear loaf would be like?
This is great, thanks Adam…Salmon and courgette for dinner tonight! Looks really easy and very tasty. (And healthy – triple points!) Approximately how much creme fraiche do you think is best to use?
Really enjoying the variety of the blog by the way. Awesome stuff.
P.s Grilled pears with vanilla ice cream are a very handy way to use up pears when they aren’t at optimum ‘ripe-ness’. (i.e. all the time)
Thanks for the tip Sian.
For the creme fraiche I used a 300ml tub which was good for two courgettes. It made loads so I had some left over for lunch 🙂
you need a frying pan with a lid so the salmon steams – cook on a medium heat for about 10 or 12 minutes (resisting the urge to remove the lid!) The courgettes will be ok – they are pretty hardy! And obviously make sure the salmon is cooked through.
I sprinkle the courgette with a bit of salt before cooking and add black pepper once plated. Good luck and make sure you share your results – you can find us on instagram @rockmystyleblog.
I think I could be tempted with a veg box we used to be so good at cooking nutritious meals and then Mr H changed his job and now works shifts – meal times are all over the place and cooking for one often seems a bit pointless so I end up eating junk or toast!! That curry looks really tasty and is such a fab simple way of using Sundays leftovers 🙂 ooh on the pears front poaching them in red wine with cinnamon and sugar makes for a lovely dessert if you have a sweet tooth!!
Hey Helen, curry is my ‘go to’ meal for speed… taste (or if the fridge needs clearing out).
The pear thing sounds ok… But I’m not totally sold… Pears in the bin – glass of red wine in the hand – that’s more my style 😉