Martha and Marley Spoon – Week 2

~ eatatlus

Dish 1: Pan-Seared Cod & Greens with Garlicky Potato Puree

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Pan-Seared Cod & Greens with Garlicky Potato Puree

Tuesday, March 14, 2017 – My second box from Martha and Marley Spoon arrived, and I made Pan-Seared Cod & Greens with Garlicky Potato Puree today. After the issues with the fish last week, I checked the website and they advised to make the fish dishes first even though it says that it should be cooked within 5 days on the package. I guess they don’t expect people to actually make a dish the day the box arrives because the fish was still pretty icy. The flavor of the fish was better this week, but I couldn’t get a good sear, and the texture was a bit mealy.

The collard greens were delicious, and I loved the addition of dill sprinkled on everything. On the negative side, the garlicky mashed potatoes were just a touch too vinegary. The recipe recommend getting a bit of everything on the fork to ensure the perfect bite, but the vinegar totally obliterated the taste of the fish. I also take issue with calling the potatoes a puree. I followed the directions, and they were not pureed.  They were mashed. It isn’t a big deal, but I hate when people are imprecise with their terminology just to make something sound fancier.

In all, the dish was pretty good. If I were to make it again, I would use better quality fish and cut the amount of vinegar. I’m looking forward to my next meal.

Dish 2: Warm Vegetable Pan Roast with Feta & Arugula-Pepita Salad

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Warm Vegetable Pan Roast with Feta & Arugula-Pepita Salad
Wednesday, March 15, 2017 –  Warm Vegetable Pan Roast with Feta & Arugula-Pepita Salad. This is the best meal I’ve had so far from Martha and Marley. It was full of some of my favorite things: sweet potatoes, mushrooms, pepitas, feta, bread, and a whole onion per-serving which, far from overwhelming the dish, was the perfect quantity of onion. The vinegar dressing was balanced perfectly with the other ingredients, and there was a lovely variety of tastes and textures.  It was a great meal.  Definitely one to save for the future.
I did have two issues, however:
  1. Holy jumping Batman on a pogo stick, this was not a low calorie dish at 810 calories per serving. As my old art teacher used to say, trust Americans to make something as healthy as a salad full of fat and calories. I’ve had chocolate cake with fewer calories.
  2. I wasn’t planning to make this dish tonight. You see, I was planning to make these beautiful black bean veggie burgers that were crusted with sesame seeds, but as I looked over the recipe card, I noticed that the recipe calls for an egg, but egg was not listed in the contents of the bag.  I looked down a little farther on the card, and the egg was listed in the “What You Need” section. I didn’t have any eggs. I ate the last one on Saturday and neglected to pick up more when I went shopping for the week on Sunday. Martha and Marley did send me a message on Monday (a day late) saying what ingredients I would need to supply, but for all of the other boxes I needed nothing more than oil, salt, and pepper, so I didn’t take the time to read it. Stupid me. Stupid Martha and Marley for not supplying all of the major ingredients. Stupid veggie burgers for tempting me with your deliciousness. I am irrationally angry and tired from writing all day.
At least the salad was delicious.
Dish 3: Black Bean Burgers with Sriracha Mayonnaise and a side of radishes and lightly marinated cucumbers.
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Black Bean Burgers with Sriracha Mayonnaise and a side of radishes and lightly marinaded cucumbers
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Everything was nicely bundled together.

March 17, 2017 – My final meal from Martha and Marley Spoon: Black Bean Burgers with Sriracha Mayonnaise and a side of radishes and lightly marinated cucumbers. Like the other meals from Martha, all of the ingredients came bundled in a paper bag, except for that thrice-blasted egg I mentioned above.

The radishes were very soft, so I sliced them and tossed them in the marinade with the cucumbers. The can of beans had two huge dents and a little surface rust. It was nothing dangerous (the dents were nowhere close to the seams and the rust was only on the surface), but I was a little annoyed that the can was in such poor condition.

Overall, the black bean burgers tasted great, but they were very hard to work with. To coat them in sesame seeds, I tried to put them on a cutting board, but they were so soft that I couldn’t pick them up. I ended up finishing them on a piece of parchment paper which made them much easier to flip and transfer to the frying pan. Unfortunately, they only firmed up a little bit when I cooked them, so the first one fell apart when I tried to eat it. The second one firmed up a bit while in the fridge overnight and was much easier to eat after I heated it in the microwave the next day.
The sriracha mayonnaise was lovely, and the vegetables tasted pretty good. The only thing I would change would be to add a little bit of salt to the marinade for the veggies.
I’m still a little bitter about the egg thing and the quality of the ingredients. The taste of the dish was great, but I honestly don’t think it was worth the money. I could have purchased all of these ingredients for half the price.
Next week, I’m trying Plated.
Food

Martha and Marley Spoon – Week 2 Summary

Ease/clarity of recipes: 8/10
Taste: 8/10
Variety: 9/10
Quality: 5/10

How many recipes would I make again? 2.5/3

Verdict:

Positives: Everything tasted great, and all of the ingredients were bundled together in a bag which was wicked convenient.  It was also easy to cancel my subscription and customize my box.

Negatives: The quality of the fish was better this week, but it was still a bit ice damaged.  The quality of some of the other ingredients was also lacking.  The can of beans was in pretty rough shape and the radishes were very soft.  I would have liked to have used the radish tops, but about half of them had gone completely brown and the other half was limp and lifeless.  I’m also a bit bitter about the missing egg.  Part of the appeal of these boxes is that everything is supplied.  I had to make a special trip to the grocery store in order to make one of the recipes and that’s just not cool.  Aside from the fish, the recipes were also surprisingly high in calories with the salad coming in at 810 calories and the veggie burger 740 calories.

I was expecting very good things from Martha and Marley, but I was quite disappointed.  The salad and black bean burger were tasty, but none of the recipes were particularly special.

At the end of this week, I was left wondering how much of the cost of the box went to branding.

Overall rating: C+

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