TRANSFERWARE AND FOOD

Summer vegetable and queso tostadas with fairy tale eggplants and spicy crema on a Spode Sunflower pattern blue and white plate.  

 

My family and friends know I hate to cook.  When David asked me to marry him, I told him I didn't cook.  He married me anyway.  That's not to say that I didn't feed my family, although my sons still let me know that eggs aren't really dinner food.  That said, I found that David and I, older adults, were eating in a rather unhealthy and boring way.  We bought prepared foods at our local deli, and often picked up burritos, Chinese, and pizza (all delicious, but heavy on salt and fat).  I wondered what it would be like to try one of the many websites that offered to deliver fresh food and recipes, and promised delicious, healthy meals without a lot of prep time and waste.  After reading lots of good reviews about the Blue Apron,  I  joined two weeks ago.  Last Friday, a box filled with lots of food was delivered.  We had dinner plans on Friday and Saturday, so I was concerned about how long the food would stay fresh.  I needn't have worried. The vegetables were incredibly fresh.  We made our first meal on Sunday, a pasta dish.  It has been a long time since I made anything from a recipe so David and I were a bit like a kitchen comedy act.   Neither of us had a clue what we were doing, so the next night (you get three dinners for the week), I did the prep work before we began.  The second meal went more smoothly, and the results were astounding.  I have never eaten a more delicious porchetta sandwich, and I don't even like pork.  The ciabatta roll was perfect (you toast it in the over with a bit of olive oil drizzled on top), and the spices that come with the meat were perfect too.  The pesto, made from kale, cheese, capers, lemon zest, and garlic lemon mixture, was the best I have ever eaten.  You make the pesto with these ingredients.  Nothing is from a bottle. The third night, we made summer vegetable and queso tostados.  The vegetarian recipe sounded as if it might be boring, but the play between the cheese, lime, and vegetables was perfect.  Again, this was one of the best dishes I have ever tasted.  Am I a gourmet?  No.  Have I eaten in many superb restaurants around the world.  Yes.

Obviously not a transferware plate, but I hadn't thought about a food post before I bit into the sandwich.  This is the porchetta sandwich with baby kale and marinated cucumber salad.  The plate is Arabia's  hand-painted Valencia pattern, ca. 1970. 

The food was delicious, and cooking with my husband was delicious too (this may be a new hobby we share).   My mother always said that "everything tastes better on a blue plate."  I think this saying could be amended to "everything looks better on a blue plate."  The taste is a whole different thing.  I look forward to making more Blue Apron meals and photographing more food on transferware.   I just have to grab my camera before I start eating!