I Tried Farm Fresh To You and Here’s What I Thought

Everyone knows me as the girl that loves her steak. What a lot of people don't know is how much I actually enjoy eating vegetables. From being raw, roasted, stewed, fried or grilled, there's just something so simplistic with the flavor that I can never get tired of. 

I have tons of protein in my freezer. Almost every single day, I would make my way up the street to a market after work. By then, I am unmotivated to cook anything because I am worn out, hungry (the smell of fried chicken every time doesn't help either), and selecting a veggie stumps me every single time. Do I want to roast brussels sprouts again? It doesn't really go with what I want to make. How about potatoes? Do I feel like roasting them? Baking them? boiling them? All these questions become a deal breaker. At the end of all this, there's a possibility that I would either 1) Walk out with frozen corn and just make rice at home or 2) Walk out with nothing and grab takeout. Because by that time, I've spent 30 minutes wondering what I could grab instead of cooking.

This is why Farm Fresh To You changed my life. They deliver various box types and sizes straight to your door so that you get the box that meets your needs. You can select the frequency of which your box is delivered. From once a week, to bi-weekly, or monthly depending on how quick to plow through it. This pushes me to go straight home after work because I know I have produce to work with. Farm Fresh To You takes the distraction away by selecting seasonal items for you or you can swap items in or out based on what you might light to receive. Best part is, it's all organic.

I had my box delivered to my work. Office deliveries are delivered between 8am - 5pm; just your standard office hours

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Some of the items from my Veggie Only Box.

I gave the veggies a quick rinse before throwing them in a 450 degree oven to roast. I had some leftover chimichurri sauce that was harmonious with the vegetables.

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I like to leave the vegetables in the roasting pan and have my guests just serve themselves. Whether it's for yourself or for others, it's definitely pleasing to the eyes. Everything was fresh and delicious.

After trying Farm Fresh To You, this is something I would continue using. The small box (see more boxes here:: Farm Fresh to You)  was only $26, but can feed between 2-4. With all the items I've received, I can utilize everything for a week. This will prevent me from buying takeout or dining out.

The folks at Farm Fresh To You are extending a special offer to all of you. Follow this LINK and type "GET15OFF" to receive $15 Off Your First Box!

Salted Kits

Salted Kits are designed to make cooking at home as easy, stress-free, and delicious as possible. I am the worst when it comes to portion control because I have none. When I cook, it always looks like I'm cooking for 6. Since all the measuring is done, it means less waste and definitely less time grabbing the ingredients I need from the store. 

With each kit, you'll get everything you need to cook a meal that's as incredible as one served at a top restaurant. Each kit serves 2 generous portions. I had coffee ribs YEARS ago in San Francisco, so when I saw the kits available, I had to try their coffee-crusted skirt steak. The kits are portioned, but you just need to grab the protein (in this case skirt steak). 

After removing the ingredients from the box, you will find the simple instructions at the bottom. There's also a link to a video tutorial on the box to make this dummy proof.

Instructions

Serves 2, Prep and Cook Time: 30 minutes

Before cooking, pre-heat oven to 500 degrees and wash potatoes.

1. Slice potatoes in half, length-wise (or into quarters, for larger potatoes). Combine with 1 tablespoon of oil, rosemary, and a pinch of salt & pepper in a bowl. Transfer potatoes onto baking sheet and cook in oven until crispy, 15-20 minutes.
Tip: We suggest letting the potatoes cook for 5 minutes before moving onto the next step, so they’ll be ready when your steak is ready.

2. In a new bowl, combine coffee and brown sugar with cinnamon ginger spice blend.

3. Drizzle 1/2 tablespoon of oil over steak and massage the spice mixture into it. Heat a steel or cast iron pan on high. Put 1 tablespoon of oil in the hot pan and cook steak until charred, about 3-4 minutes per side.

4. Set steak aside and let rest for 5 minutes. Slice steak thinly at an angle, then transfer to a plate and serve with potatoes. Cut lime in half and squeeze juice over entire dish. Enjoy!

Skirt steak was extremely marbled. 

Medium rare goodness

See more kits Here.

The kits are now available at Gelson (click here to find a grocery store near you).

Sushi + Sashimi at home

It's always a drag to find a place for sushi in San Gabriel or at least a place that I would crave. I came upon Yama Seafood not too long ago and kept reminding myself to check it out. They sell fresh seafood to the public. Mostly fish for sashimi (typical ahi tuna, salmon, yellowtail, snapper, scallop, boxed uni, etc). They also have ridiculously affordable cut rolls to grab. We got a piece of salmon a little over half a pound for $15. I believe it sold for $23 a pound. Boxed uni were $14.95 and I think yellowtail went for something like $25 a pound so you can kind of get the idea of the prices. 

The unagi roll came wit 12 pieces for $5.95 and the 2 pc inari with 2 pc CA with 2 pc futomaki went for $4.95.

To sum this up, there were more food outside of what is shown in this photo. We purchased some sashimi soy sauce by Yamasa totalling our bill to $28. Not a bad deal at all. This market also sells a lot of Japanese ingredients like soba and soba sauce. Sake is also sold at 1.7 liters. I also saw instant ramen, wasabi, ginger, rice, seaweed, and dashi. You can practically get what you need here for a good meal at home.

The only negative is, and I barely say anything bad, is how long it took to get our sashimi. The line was not long, but the chef himself runs the whole line. The work he distributes to his employees. There were about 5 people ahead of us waiting to get their fish sliced which took the wait time to around 45 minutes. So be prepared. That said, I'll still be back, but will plan accordingly.

911 W Las Tunas Dr San Gabriel, CA 91776

Closed on Tuesday's. Open 10-7.

Filet Mignon with Cognac sauce and garlic mashed potatoes

Every year for the Holidays I always end up making some kind of steak or red meat. Last year I made prime rib (Here) and even though I told myself I was going to make it again this year, my dad really wanted Filet. He brought over a large filet for me to trip and cut into steaks. I made the cuts 1 inch to 1.5 inch thick depending on who it was going to be for. There were a total of 5 of us so I sliced 6 steaks in case someone wanted more. There's about 2-3 steaks left after the cut (that we cooked up the next day) with the tail of the steak that I am just going to use for some sauté. They are sleeping in the freezer now.

The steaks were seasoned simply with Lawry's Garlic Salt and a good about of freshly cracked black pepper. I wanted a really high sear, so I decided to use peanut oil in my cast iron skillet. After I got great color on both sides of the steak, I turned down the heat to cook the steaks slowly. I don't use the oven. I've done it once and it turned the steaks to medium well. I'm sure there are techniques out there, but this works the best for me. Feel free to cook your steaks to your liking. I like mine medium rare, or just medium with a deep pink. I normally pull the steaks out when there's a nice spring when pressing on them (thumb and middle finger together, touch your palm slightly under your thumb. That's medium rare).

Cognac Sauce

1. 1/2 a stick of butter
2. 2 large shallots - diced
3. 2 garlic cloves - minced
4. salt and a lot of cracked black pepper (1 tablespoon or so)
5. 1/3 - 1/2 cup of cognac
6. I used about 1/2 a cup of milk. If you use cream I would drop it down to 1/3.

After the steaks are removed, I immediately added the shallots and garlic while scraping the bits from the bottom. 1/2 a stick of butter is added with the salt. Once the butter has melted, the cognac goes in and I light it on fire with a gas lighter. Let the alcohol burn off before adding the milk. I finish everything off with black pepper. Put this in a serving cup and just pass it around.

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Mash were just Yukon potatoes boiled with 3 large cloves of garlic. Drain out the water, add 1/2 a stick of butter, season generously with salt, add your cream of choice until you get the consistency you prefer.

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Hot Pot at Home

There's Hot Pot and there's Shabu Shabu. Without going into Google, I can give you my interpretation about the differences between the 2. Shabu Shabu is more about the quality of the meat, the ponzu, and the soup base which is normally a piece of kombu. Only a sophisticated tongue would be able to distinct a good kombu base from another. I don't have a sophisticated tongue, but I can tell the differences between ponzu's, goma sauce, and the quality of meats. Also, some Shabu Shabu's would end with ramen noodles. There's also Sukiyaki, but it's not the same cuisine, though similar. More contemporary restaurants will offer Sukiyaki, a savory soy based broth. I think offering sukiyaki is for those who are unfamiliar with shabu shabu. First timers will think shabu shabu is bland and flavorless. 

Hot Pot on the other hand comes with an array of soup base choices. From herbal to spicy. There's also tomato bases, thai tom yum bases, curry, and satay (and more). Herbal and spicy is more traditional for a Hot Pot set up and also my choice when I do have it, especially spicy. Hot Pot also comes with more than just sliced meats and veggies. We have a variety of beef/tendon balls, squid balls, fish paste, squid balls with filling, all kinds of tofu, bean curd, glass noodles, udon noodles, mushrooms, pig intestines, and all kinds of veggies. The quality of meats for Hot Pot has gone up over the years. There's not really a restaurant that serves $10 AYCE hot pot anymore since the beef quality has gone up to USDA, Prime, and US Wagyu or US Kobe. Throughout the years of doing this at home, we decided to cut down on the extras, and just focus more on the ingredients that we really wanted to eat.

 We bought 3 packs of rib eye, but 2 would've been enough. Some pork belly slices, imitation crab meat, bean curd, shiitake mushrooms, and veggies.

The pork belly was definitely the star. From time to time, I leave the pork belly in the soup. Just for flavor. But even if you eat it 10-20 minutes later, it's still very tender due to the amount of fat it has. We all agree to get more pork belly next time.

Watercress and pea sprouts. It looks like A LOT of veggies. And it was... but these will cook down so it's not as intimidating as it looks. Trust me, you would want to eat veggies with your hot pot.

Dried shiitake and bean curd were soaked in hot water to soften. This makes it easier for them to absorb the flavor of the broth as well as being able to eat them quicker.

Herbal Soup on top and spicy taiwanese on the bottom. Top brand is little sheep. The bottom one is by Baijia - Sichuan Flavor Hot Pot Seasoning. I loved the Baijia Sichuan flavor. It could be more numbing, but maybe I have to find the peppers and add them separately. I smashed a few garlic cloves to add in both soups and loaded them up with cilantro.

I made some white rice to accompany our hot pot. Meats and veggies were served with Bulls Head Satay Sauce. I mixed and egg with my satay sauce with a splash of soy sauce. This is how we hot pot.

Total spent: around $60. If you were to have this at an AYCE "All-you can-eat" restaurant it will cost you $20-$25 NOT including tax/tip. This fed 5 of us and we still had a pack and a half of meat left over. I do like eating out at restaurants for Hot Pot because of the clean up, but having it at home is so fun as well. That plus you could really pick out the quality of the ingredients.

If you have questions about hot pot-ing, just email me (daisy@foodwithinreach) or just leave a comment.