Meshach Ramnath, Author at

What A Week

It has been a very stressful week for my wife having to deal with the erratic behavior of our chickens who just can’t seem to get along at the moment. My wife has become the first official chicken police and it is the most hilarious thing I’ve seen this week. She has Mary in solitary confinement, Elizabeth in a detention center, and Catherine is being pampered like a queen. Chicken drama along with dreary and wet weather did not set the tone for a happy weekend. With all of this going on I decided to be a gentleman and cook my wife a meal (no I did not cook any of her chickens, she would not let me). Instead, I was going to treat her like my queen for the night and Blue Apron was here to help change the mood to a nice relaxing date night at home.

What’s On The Menu

Tonight we are having Pork Chops & Garlic Picada with Brown Rice & Spinach which I am going to pair with a spectacular red wine while relaxing in the comfort of our home. The box arrived with all of the key ingredients for the meal and they were measured and packaged to ensure the correct amount for a tasty meal. The wine is not included but can be ordered online if your state law allows the shipping of alcohol. Be sure to have your common salt, black pepper and olive oil as this is not included in their shipped meals. The instructions were very simple and easy to follow, I was on my way to provide my wife with a dinner to be desired. I started by washing, drying, and chopping the fresh produce which I sorted into separate containers.

Yogurt Serving Sauce

Next up would be the yogurt mixture for serving. Half a cup of plain greek yogurt mixed with the cilantro, some paprika and half of the included vinegar. This is now starting to get interesting. Never in my life would I have ever put this recipe together on my own. I have always wondered what goes on in the mind of a great chef, now I know you have to be a little adventurous in all aspects of life. I cook a lot of different dishes at home without using recipes and my wife would compliment the meals even our son who does not like to eat would happily enjoy my cooking.

Rice Another Way

Cooking the rice was very straight forward as I would hope, I cook rice very often but always it has been my way. Cooking rice with Blue Apron has shown me another way. Here goes the process, add olive oil to the pot and heat on medium-high until hot. Ok, I knew that, now add chopped white bottom of scallions and half of the minced garlic to the oil…What! I knew then I was cooking like a professional in my own kitchen. The rice was then added along with the water and cooked according to the directions.

Wrapping it up

The garlic picada was then prepared followed by the pork chops. The meat was rinsed, pat dry, seasoned and set into the pan. Cooking for four minutes per side while enjoying a glass of pre-dinner wine and conversation with my wife gave us the chance to unwind. My wife rarely eats pork so this was going to be another opportunity for me to impress her with my cooking. As long as you follow the directions you will have a very appealing meal on the table for all to enjoy. The spinach was cooked in the same pan using the fond from the pork chops which added more flavor.

Bon Appetit

After seeing this meal come together I knew it had to be presented as a finished product. After all, this was date night and I was going to amaze my wife with a restaurant style dinner at home. I followed the serving directions by transferring the rice to a dish. Topped the rice with the cooked spinach and added the pork chops. It was then garnished with the garlic picada and topped with the green of the scallions.