Creativity in the Kitchen

Posted by Kate on Aug 31, 2010 in Groupon News | 0 comments

I may have forgotten to mention in previous posts—Although I’m a lover of all things food, I’m a pretty bad cook. Comparatively speaking, I don’t think I’m really that bad, but after stinking up the kitchen for two days following an attempt to make “trail mix,” I’ve been banished by those nearest and dearest to me [who knew it would burn so quickly in the oven!]. This, of course, has its benefits. No one likes to eat alone, so often I’m chosen as the dinner partner. Usually their invite is accompanied by a remark about how I would probably starve otherwise. But hey, I probably would.

Pick up fresh ingredients from one of London's many markets, such as Borough!

That being said, I still LOVE to hunt for recipes. Each day I get an inbox full of e-mails from various free subscriptions, ranging from healthy eating to quick and easy. Once in awhile I will attempt these, if I have the right ingredients. Most of the time I send them to friends with the subject line of “saw this and thought of you” —HINT: make it for me.

For those of you who know your way better around the kitchen, here are just a few of my favorites. And if you’re looking for a plus one, feel free to send me an invite!

Spoonfed Suppers
Offers one quick and healthy meal recipe a day; sent free to your inbox beginning every Monday. To top it off, each Friday a shopping list is mailed to you so you know what is in store for the following week. Recipes include Apricot Chicken Curry with Couscous and Raspberry, Prosciutto and Asparagus Salad. Yum. All the meals can be prepared under 30 minutes, contain less than 550 calories and 10g of saturated fat. If you don’t want to sign up, you can still browse the selection of recipes by keyword or ingredient (such as: Chicken). The Guardian, too, is a fan, this past July it wrote its own review.

Or bring goodies from abroad to add, such as these Turkish 'delights' from Istanbul

Epicurious
Every Wednesday Epicurious sends me a “Recipe Flash,” an e-mail covering some of their best recipes for week’s theme. Just a few weeks ago, due to the heat wave (It’s a US based company), they sent out no-cook healthy recipes, made without the need for a stove. Watermelon Gazpacho and Spicy Cucumber Avocado Soup were just a couple of the treats featured in this addition. You can also join one of Epicurious’ various Member Groups (such as Chocolate, Entertaining, or Cocktails), making it easier for members to find recipes, articles or blogs on a specific topic or even find members with similar interests to exchange ideas or tips.

Recipe Chimp
If you simply just don’t feel like going to the market and can’t figure out how to throw together the ingredients you have in your kitchen, this is the website for you. The layout of the site is simple. Like Google, you are simply greeted with a search box prompting you to “Enter your ingredients”. You can even write what not to include, such as “chicken, peppers, onions but without potatoes”

A yummy finish could include fresh fruit, such as these pomegranates with icecream.

Can’t Boil Water 2.1
I know there are quite a few recipe blogs out there. But I just want to share this one, for now. Call it great marketing, but I just loved the name. You can filter results here by Meal Type, Food and Region and tags such as “easy” give you an indication of how much time/energy will need to be spent in the kitchen.

If you still feel like going to a restaurant, rather than cooking at home, have a look at today’s deal, wtih 7 courses of Japanese yumminness!