Home Chef

One thing I despise, no, let me rephrase, HATE, is going to the supermarket. I love to cook, but I hate to shop for the supplies I need. I always seem to forget something, even when I have a list. I'm on an app called Nextdoor and someone was advertising Home Chef, a meal delivery service. I was super excited to try this out! Some of my friends at work buy their meals through a meal delivery service and they seem to enjoy it. Now, let me warn you, it is a bit pricey.  

I'm going to be honest and say that I didn't do a ton of research before picking this company to try. Originally I scheduled four meals to be delivered, for the two of us (the hubbers and me). The price was $9.99 a meal. My first set of meals ended up being $49.60 for 8. I was given a $30 discount for my first purchase. Not too shabby. My next set of meals cost $59.70. 

The food is delivered straight to my front door, every Tuesday, in a large box with lots of ice packs. So much ice, in fact, that by the time I got home, the bottom of the box was broken. Could this be because of the moisture? The box I got was very heavy. I had a heck of a time trying to carry it upstairs to my kitchen.

When you register for an account, you fill out a profile page of things you like and things you dislike. For example, I don't eat beef or pork, so I can plan my meals around chicken and fish only. You can also request for meals low in carbs and calories. 

WHAT I LEARNED

I realized that four full meals was too much for the week. I ended up cutting it down to three. There are other dinners I still like to make on my own. 

I have to be careful and only select meals that are easy. It takes me a while to navigate the kitchen. I really do love to cook, but I still have to follow a recipe card. I don't have the cooking styles of Monica Geller, but I'm no Rachel Green either. I know that a traditional Trifle does't have meat, peas and carrots (Friends reference). I thought that the food was going to come to me precooked and all I would have to do was heat them up. NOPE. I have to actually cut the potatoes into cubes, core tomatoes and mince the garlic myself. The prep is what takes me forever. The recipe cards have a suggested time that it takes to make the meal from starting prep to finish. What takes a normal person 45-50 minutes, takes me an hour and fifteen 

I don't have nonstick pans and most recipes call for them. I'm not a fan of the nonstick variety. I think they cause cancer, and while don't know if this is scientifically proven, I want to stay as natural as possible without having to build a fire out of wood with my hunters and gatherers. So, how do I use my "non" nonstick pans without having my food stick? Someone please tell me. 

Each meal card gives a recommended cook time. The fish products say to cook within three days, while the chicken says five. This is all fine and dandy, but why did my fresh basil wilt before the recommended three day cooking period. My tomatoes did the same thing. The plantain that arrived in my box was already black. I don't know much about plantains or how they're supposed to look, but aren't they a banana? 

THINGS I LOVE

So far what I've made/eaten has been very tasty and healthy.  I love that they sent me a recipe folder to hold my recipe cards.  I love that my ingredients are delivered straight to my door and I love that the time spent trying to figure out what to make for dinner has been cut. I love trying new recipes and I love to cook the food. 

As of this post I made three of my four meals for the week, a Dover Sole Piccata, Shrimp Pomodoro and Jerk Chicken with Brown Sugar Plantains. 

The Jerk Chicken didn't stick on my stainless steal pan. This made me very happy!!

I really do love to cook. It's very relaxing. 

I love buying organic food, but  I'm not sure if this is organic or not. The meals, however, are very healthy and the ingredients are fresh.

The packaging can be recycled and the ice pack are reusable (according to the Home Chef website). 

I love the recipe cards. They give you step by step instructions and all of the nutritional information for the entire meal. This is something that is very important to me. 

THINGS I HATE

I hate that it still takes me forever to cook my food!!! How does Rachel Ray make it look so easy? I hate that my "non" nonstick pans make my food stick. 

I had the toughest time cooking the Dover Sole Piccata. The fish stuck on my stainless steal pan and eventually turned to mush. The only fish I'm comfortable cooking is Salmon. 

I don't like the fact that some of my greens wilted before their recommended cook time.   

FINAL OUTCOME

I am only going to keep this service for a couple of weeks. I like that all of the ingredients are healthy and fresh. I like the ease of having the food delivered to my home. I like the recipe cards. The meals are pricey but, I would absolutely recommend this service only if you can manage it in your budget. If you are interested in this type of service, here is a link to the registration page.  Home Chef

Spring Break in Texas

I have been a California girl my entire life, born and raised, but I love to travel. I love history and I'vealways wanted to visit San Antonio. I remember watching Miss Congeniality and seeing Riverwalk and wanting to be like "Sally Freebush" (what a horrible alias, I know the intended implication). Last year when Tim and I traveled to Florida, we had a layover in Texas. That's when I decided that Spring 2017 we were going to the Alamo!

This trip was very different than the trip we took the year before to Orlando. I felt like we were on the go every day in Orlando. In San Antonio, we moved at our own pace. We could relax and have fun.

First off, my husband wasn't to keen on the idea and when asked whose idea was it to go to Texas, he quickly responded with "It was Jonelle's idea."  Whenever we told people our travel plans, we were met with the following replies, "Oh.....Texas?" "Ugh, why Texas?" "Who goes to Texas?" "What's there to do in Texas?"

I was starting to have some doubts



Day 1: Saturday, April 15th. Our flight from John Wayne to Phoenix was a disaster. I LOVE my husband, but traveling with him is always a disaster. He moved in the X-ray, (extremely dangerous radiation) security machine. Because of his movements, he had to have a cavity search (just kidding, but he was padded down extensively). In the meantime, I had collected his belongings. When I gave everything to him, he was missing his boarding pass. An argument ensued, I left  him to his own devices to grab lunch. Of course we made up by the time we boarded the plane and he was able to get a new boarding pass from the counter.

Our landing in Phoenix was bumpy and I thought I was going to get sick. The Phoenix airport is the worst airport. I really do hate it. It's too crowded and the walk from one gate to another is ridiculous.

Our arrival in San Antonio was 1000 X's better!! We got to San Antonio at a reasonable hour, grabbed our car rental and drove the short distance to the Wyndham La Cascada. We were treated so well by everyone at the hotel!! The view was spectacular. We were right on the Riverwalk. Because it was late and we hadn't eaten, we decided to walk a few blocks to a local "tourist trap" called Mi Tierra Cafe & Bakery.  The decor was similar to Buca di Beppo. It was loud and bright, but completely fun. The food was good, not great, but extremely satisfying. After dinner we walked around the city then went back to our condo for the night.

Mi Tierra Cafe and Bakery

Wyndham La Cascada

Day 2: Sunday, April 16th. We woke up late. Tim went to the cathedral for Easter Sunday mass. When he got back we got our car and explored the city. Stop 1 Whataburger. Definitely not In n' Out. I know this is the big burger chain in Texas, but In n' Out is so much better. We then went to Trader Joe's to pick up some basic groceries for the week. We had a kitchen in our condo, so why not save a few bucks and eat a couple of meals at home. That night we strolled Riverwalk, took a boat tour and again walked around the city. Riverwalk is beautiful, but lacks really good shopping. You have the Riverwalk Center Mall, where we bought Spurs T-Shirts, go Gasol!!, and La Villita Arts Village. I wasn't impressed with the mall or the stores. There was nothing spectacular and this trip, I didn't get to go outlet shopping.

Day 3: Monday, April 17th. Another day of a lot of walking. We walked to the mall, grabbed some ice cream, and some coffee. We went up to the pool on the roof of our building. We didn't go swimming, just looked at the city view. That night, I went to my very first basketball game. Since Gasol is a former Lakers player, I didn't feel bad about rooting for the Spurs in their playoff game. After the game we listened to music at Rock n Brews. We have one right by our house, but it was fun anyway.  We watched a local cover band and got to listen to some rock music.

Day 4: Tuesday, April 18th. The Alamo. We spent this day at The Alamo.  I love history, so this was one of my favorite days. The actual museum is very small. It only takes a few hours to go through the grounds and read all the plaques. We rented the audio guides for $7, not worth it. I loved the Alamo. After The Alamo we ate sandwiches at Potbelly Sandwich Shop. From there, we walked back to the condo and got ready for our fancy martini bar, called SoHo Wine and Martini Bar. It looked like a 1920's speakeasy. I loved it in there. I tried their coconut creme brulee and s'mores martinis. They were yummy and almost too pretty to drink. The bar had late hours, but since it was a Tuesday, things started to die down by around 11.  We Uber(ed) it to the bar, but since it was really close to the condo (something we realized after taking Uber) we just walked back home. We met some really cool people and had a really great night.



SoHo Wine and Martini Bar




Day 5 Wednesday, April 19th. This day was another favorite. We drove a few miles out of the city to the San Antonio Botanical Garden. It was just lovely. I picked up a few souvenirs for family and then we spent the rest of the day enjoying the beautiful gardens. In the middle of this garden there's a little lake with a cabin. It was so peaceful and beautiful, but very hot!! After the garden, we went home to get ready for our "anniversary dinner"  at the Chart House in the Tower of the Americas. Our concierge said that if we told them we were celebrating an anniversary, they would give us a free dessert. Well, they didn't. We did get a custom paper menu wishing us a happy 9th anniversary. Our anniversary isn't until June. I have to say I wasn't impressed with The Chart House. We have one in Orange County, so it really wasn't special. What was special was the rotating restaurant during sunset. The ambiance was so romantic. The drinks were yummy. I loved my lobster mac and cheese. My husband wasn't impressed with his dinner, so we shared the mac and cheese. Again we Uber(ed) that night, but when dinner was over we walked through this beautiful park, back to our condo. We didn't realize how close the Tower was until we got to the restaurant and could see our condo.



San Antonio Botanical Garden

Tower of the Americas




Day 6 Thursday, April 20th. The start of Fiesta. We got to hit up the beginning of Fiesta, San Antonio's annual celebration, which is similar to Mardi Gras, but according the residents bigger than Mardi Gras. This was the day that I tried to purchase something from an aroma wax shop and my ATM card was declined. Someone had cloned my card and spent over $500. My bank was amazing and they took care of things immediately. So back to fiesta, people collect these pins, like Disney pin collectors. You can earn them for free or purchase them. I donated money to an animal rescue, so I got a cute pink dog pin. That night we ate at a really cool hipster restaurant outside of King William Historic District called La Tuna Grill. The food was very good and healthy. My husband got the Country Chicken Fried Steak and I ordered the Garden Bean Veggie Burger. Again, I loved the ambiance. The night was warm, not too hot, but being outside under the stars was nice.

La Tuna Grill

Fiesta San Antonio

Day 7 Friday, April 21st. Our last full day!! At this point in my trip (during any trip) I start getting depressed. Having to leave makes me sad. The day started with a walk up the river to the King William Historic District. I felt like I was back in New Orleans. We walked all around the beautiful houses then had coffee, and soup and sandwiches at the Mad Hatter's Tea House. I loved it there. It obviously is decorated like Alice in Wonderland at the Mad Hatter's Tea Party. From there, we walked to the Menger Hotel to await our very exciting dinner and ghost walking tour!! Our guide was featured on Ghost Adventures, the Myrtle Plantation episode. We went with the Sister's Grimm Dinner Tour, just FYI. They have a few different tours to choose from. What I like about these, and I've been on many,  is that you get a historical tour of the city, with some ghost stories added in. Who doesn't love a great ghost story? This was the day we walked the most and the furthest. I won't go into details about the ghost tour, except that we started with dinner at the Menger hotel and then went from there. This was another one of my favorite days. Our tour ended pretty late. We stopped off for coffee at Starbucks after,  and hit up Whataburger one last time. This was the first weekend of Fiesta, so the city was out of control crowded. Police were everywhere. Yes, it was a Friday night, but the Saturday before was completely dead.


Mad Hatter's Tea

Sister's Grimm Ghost Tour

King William Historical District

Day 8 Saturday, April 22nd.  Our last day. Our flight left San Antonio at six in the evening. That day, we went out for breakfast at a German restaurant called Schilo's. Our waitress was great!! After that we went back to the Riverwalk Mall to watch Gifted (me) and The Fast and the Furious movie (Tim).  Once our movies were done, we drove to the car rental and jumped on the tram to catch our flight. We had a layover in Phoenix once again. This is probably one of the worst airports I've ever flown into.



Things I've learned.....
I didn't need a rental car for the $24 a day we had to pay to park. We only used it twice during our trip.
Don't fly into Phoenix for a layover. That airport is way too crowded. We had a problem the year before, I should have known better.
I love San Antonio and would really like to visit again.
Oh yes, I forgot, we did eat BBQ one day, at a place called Augie's Alamo City BBQ. They drink a special drink, I forgot the name.
Next up Chicago!!!  I can't wait!!!!

Foodie Con LA: A Food Lovers Paradise?

Earlier in December I had to opportunity to attend Foodie Con LA. The inaugural event took place at The Reef, in Downtown, on Saturday and Sunday. Proceeds from ticket sales went to a good cause; The Los Angeles Food Bank. I arrived around 11:00 a.m. and the first place I headed, the San Antonio Wine Booth. Just kidding, that was the second place I stopped by.  After the ride up to the second floor, my husband and I decided to take a photo at the always present "dress up" photo booth. Those are always fun. The floor had about three to four rows of exhibitors. Surprisingly, most of whom were from my neck of the woods, Orange County. Many exhibitors offered samplings  and deals on their products.

Being a wine connoisseur, I did enjoy my sample of the San Antonio Winery wines. Next to the San Antonio Winery booth was a beer booth. The beers were delicious. My husband ended up buying us beers for later., way later because after almost a month, they're still in our fridge.

Did I have a good time, yes. Did I feel that the exhibitors were a bit lean, yes. This was the first year that Foodie Con came to LA. I was a bit disappointed to see that not many local restaurants were in attendance. One in particular who was scheduled to attend, but didn't, was Vampire Wines. I became interested in them when I saw a Groupon (long before Foodie Con) featuring their tasting room in Beverly Hills. It would have been nice to sample some of their wines at Foodie Con. This is by no means Foodie Con's fault.

Zama Tea and Kombucha was a tea company that I bought from at the Anaheim Packing House. One day they disappeared. As fate would have it, they were one of the distributors at Foodie Con. I was pleased to find out that they have a tea house located in Tustin. I will definitely head out there for some tea. I found them all because of Foodie Con LA.

The best part of the day, the food trucks! We ate delicious seafood from Mess Hall Canteen, a truck I've eaten at before.

Overall we had a great time sampling food and drink. I hope that Foodie Con comes back to LA in 2017. I also hope that there will be more local exhibitors next time around, especially with so many amazing establishments in LA like those at the Grand Central Market. I'd like to see what 2017 has in store for foodies.

Sweet Desserts

Saucy Sauces

Watching a Demo.

Chicken and Waffles Anyone?

Sad because he couldn't get his chicken and waffles

I typically don't post my reviews about restaurants up on my blog, but this one I have to.  Just this past Sunday, the hubbers and I decided to try a new joint, Mrs. Bea's Chicken and Waffles in La Habra, California---not Louisiana.  After reading some of the reviews on Yelp, I was concerned. I love southern comfort food so we decided to give the place the benefit of the doubt.  Here's what happened;

We walked in and were greeted and seated right away.

We ordered right away, this is where the tides started to turn.  First I think it's ridiculous to not include any sides with the meal.  Every side you're charged for and they up sell you, even if you've already ordered a side.  We ended up with 2.  Not good. 

Next we sat and waited and waited and waited and waited some more until we asked for our check to leave.  We kept getting excuses.  The food is made to order (yeah so is In and Out, it doesn't take over an hour). Fine, but you can't tell me that my chicken takes longer to cook than the 4 other parties that came in after me and got their chicken before me.  I'm a little confused??  Why did my chicken take so much longer to cook?

We brought it to the staffs attention and were just given the runaround/excuses.  No apology. 

My husband told the server that I'm a Yelper.  She asked me to not mention the long wait for our food.  How can I not?  I'm giving an honest OPINION about MY time here.   I'm also a blogger and a Facebooker and I tweet. Word of mouth on social media is pretty important. 

Our server asked us to please recommend this place to all our friends and family.  I simply can't.  With no clear reason and no apology I can't subject my family and friends to the same service we received. I've never fried chicken, but does it take over a hour?  We got there at 12:21, we asked for our check to leave without our meal at 1:30 and the food finally arrived at 1:45.  Is this right?  

Here are the positives:  the chicken was good.

I copied this review straight from my Yelp account sorry for the white.

I'm being generous here, but I give Mrs. Bea's Chicken and Waffles 2 Gerber Daises out of 5.  

Tonight I don't have a quote.  Sorry!  Happy eating!