#culiniste

New Post has been published on http://www.torontonicity.com/2016/01/25/making-filipino-chicken-thighs-with-crunch-bok-choy-tips-from-culiniste/

Culiniste Dinner Subscription Service: Filipino Chicken Thighs

Culiniste Dinner Subscription Service: Filipino Chicken Thighs with Crunchy Bok Choy Tips

In the last week, I have been trying Culiniste Dinner Subscription Service, a food delivery service that is now available in Toronto. This is my second delivery of food ingredients from Culiniste. As you may have read in my previous blog post about Culiniste, Culiniste delivers fresh food ingredients, along with detailed recipe instructions, to your home so that you can prepare healthy meals with your family.

My second delivery of fresh food ingredients will be used to create Filipino Chicken Thighs with Crunchy Bok Choy Tips.

Ingredients from Culiniste to prepare Filipino Chicken Thighs with Crunchy Bok Choy Tips

This recipe requires using a zester to make a paste out of garlic and ginger, as well as chopping of green onion and bok choy. So far, I have found the chopping and preparation of vegetables to be the most time-consuming steps of these recipes. While I was chopping the vegetables, I boiled the rice for about 15 minutes.

Chopping the Bok Choy and other vegetables

Now it was time to sauté the chopped chicken thighs.

Sauteing the chopped chicken thighs

After removing the cooked chicken from the pan, I added the garlic, ginger and green onion to fry for about 30 seconds and then I added the bok choy with some water to cook for a few minutes.

Cooking the Bok Choy

When the bok choy was ready, i added the cooked chicken, soy sauces, and corn starch to the pan and simmered everything for several minutes.

Cooking the chicken, vegetables and soy sauce

When the chicken and vegetables were ready, I placed half of the cooked rice on each plate and then placed the chicken and vegetables on top of the rice. For garnish, I added chopped cilantro, chopped scallions and sesame seeds. I love how visually appealing these recipes are. From my experience with Culiniste, I have learned that my own cooking could benefit from adding garnishes, both for the finished look and added flavour.

Filipino Chicken Thighs with Crunchy Bok Choy Tips from Culiniste

And with regard to flavour, the Filipino Chicken Thighs with Crunchy Bok Choy Tips was another winner. The blend of crunchy and chewy textures was satisfying while a melange of sweet, sour, bitter and citrus flavours burst in my mouth. I am so glad to add this recipe to my culinary repertoire.

Culiniste dinner subscription service costs are reasonable: the cost for ingredients for 3 meals for 2 people is $59 per week (includes taxes and shipping) while ingredients for 3 meals for 4 people is $115 per week (includes taxes and shipping).

Get a $25 credit when you sign up for Culiniste

New Post has been published on http://www.torontonicity.com/2016/01/21/culiniste-delivers-fresh-ingredients-to-prepare-meals-at-home/

Culiniste Delivers Fresh Ingredients to Prepare Meals at Home

Culiniste Food Delivery Service

We all know the benefits of cooking together at home: you share duties, you get to spend valuable time together and it’s much cheaper than going out to a restaurant. Montreal-based Culiniste food delivery service, now available in Toronto, makes it easy. It allows you to select meals online and Culiniste will deliver the fresh ingredients and recipe to your home so that you can prepare meals without having to search for new recipes or shop for ingredients. The subscription service ends up costing less than $10 per person per meal and the delivery is free. You select three out of six meals each week (gluten free and vegetarian options are available). I was approached by Culiniste to try their food delivery service on a complimentary basis for two weeks. I was eager to try Culiniste because I enjoy cooking, but I have to admit, I sometimes find it time-consuming to shop for ingredients. I was advised that I would receive fresh ingredients and recipes to prepare three dinners for two people each week.

Fresh ingredients from Culiniste

The ingredients for all three first week meals arrived on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. via UPS. The food was packed in ice packs and insulated material so you don’t need to worry if you are not home when they arrive because your food will be kept cold.

Salmon Fillets with Warm Barley Salad and Chopped Herbs with Lemon Juice

The first meal I prepared was Salmon Fillets with Warm Barley Salad, Chopped Herbs with Lemon Juice. Culiniste recommends preparing any seafood dishes first.

Fresh Sorrel and Dill

I was really impressed with the quality and freshness of the ingredients. The salmon was gorgeous and both pieces were approximately the same size. The baby spinach was also super fresh, as were the aromatic dill and sorrel.

The first steps of the recipe involved cooking the barley and then washing the produce. I then had to chop spinach, grate garlic and lemon rind and pick sorrel and dill leaves off their stems. I found the last step time-consuming. Perhaps there is a better way to remove herb leaves from their stems, but I was meticulous because I didn’t want to taste any stems in the finished product.

Boil barley then drain thoroughly.

The next step involved sauteing the garlic, lemon zest and spinach until wilted. I never would have thought to saute lemon zest with spinach, but it is a brilliant idea!

Sauteeing garlic, lemon rind and spinach to prepare Salmon Fillets with Warm Barley Salad

Now it was time to cook the salmon. Very simple: Just a few minutes on each side in a frying pan with olive oil.

Saute salmon fillets in a few tablespoons of olive oil

Once the salmon was cooked, all I had to do was fold the spinach mixture into the barley and add a few remaining ingredients and then combine the dill and sorrel for the garnish.

Here is my finished plate. Ta da!

Salmon Fillets with Warm Barley Salad and Fresh Herbs from Culiniste

I have to admit that my meals don’t usually look this visually appealing. In fact, I don’t think they ever do. I was quite impressed with the end result and it tasted delicious. The recipe instructions were very clear leaving no room for error. It did take me longer than the 35 minute preparation time that Culiniste had indicated, but I did all the preparation on my own.

Stay tuned for further posts on my remaining meals from Culiniste! Do you think you would use Culiniste food delivery service?

Last week, I was lucky enough to sample the weekly dinner service, Culiniste, for Ottawa blog, Apt613. (For more details on this very cool company, keep an eye out here for the link or check out their website.) We were so satisfied with our meals that I’ll be sharing these three very delicious recipes over the next few weeks!

On Culiniste, you have the ability to choose which meals you are sent. When we perused our six options for the coming week, the Pan-Seared Bavette Steak was a no-brainer. A classic dish, just the anticipation of the savory cut of beef paired with a fresh salad dressed with a tomato vinaigrette was simply too mouth-watering to deny.

A generous serving size for two, any leftovers can be quickly transformed into an equally appetizing lunch the next day. Keep reading for the recipe and leftover suggestions!

Culiniste Aims to Be the Frank & Oak of Groceries