We all lead busy lives. We are constantly on the go, with our jobs, travels, deadlines and a hundred-and-one other things that demand our attention. So who has time to go marketing, buy fresh produce and then having to clean them and store them? I don’t know about you but I’m not exactly fond of cleaning fish and peeling prawns, to tell you the truth.
We are so busy we constantly have to either eat out, buy takeaways or just contend ourselves with the regular instant noodles and fried egg. And if we are not living with the parents or have a reasonably competent domestic helper, forget about having hot meals cooked at home.
Instead of spending so much more eating at restaurants, why not cook your own meals in the comfort of your home?
Now, thanks to some bright sparks and innovative souls who have formed Urban Stove, busy people like us can rustle up some nice hot meals at home after a hard day’s work. They have taken away the hard work by providing the recipes, buying the ingredients, preparing them and pre-portioning them before delivering them right to your doorstep!
When I received my Urban Stove delivery, I was impressed by their customised box. I was further impressed upon opening the box and found everything packed professionally in insulated materials, layered with icepacks and wrapped nicely in thick premium quality plastic bags. I kept and recycled all those materials!
Comprehensive recipes
Accompanying the fresh ingredients were comprehensive recipe cards printed in colour. Easy step-by-step instructions with colour photos ensure fool-proof execution of the recipes. Seriously, they were so easy to follow that even kids can have fun cooking the dishes.
I checked out 3 items from Urban Stove:
Ikan Pepes – Balinese Baked Fish
Chicken Piccata
Spiced Lamb Wrap with Mint Raita
Ingredients for Ikan Pepes
Just before the dish went into the oven…
The Ikan Pepes was to be served with rice and there’s a small packet of rice included as well. So while the rice was cooking, I got right down to cutting up the vegetables. I then arranged the two thick seabass fillets on a pyrex dish, poured the prepared pepes paste on top and scattered the cut vegetables all around. Then into the oven it went and my Ikan Pepes was all ready to be eaten 20 minutes later. I must say it’s a very appetising dish, especially when eaten with plain white rice.
Ikan Pepes – all ready to be eaten with plain white rice!
The Chicken Piccata and Spiced Lamb Wrap with Mint Raita were easy to prepare too. It’s good to organize the tasks to ensure no time was lost if you are going to serve all these dishes together. For example, put the spaghetti to boil first. Then chop up the vegetables for the raita and leave it to chill in the fridge before going on to fry the chicken breasts and later the minced lamb, while keeping an eye on the boiling spaghetti.
Ingredients for Chicken Piccata
Ingredients for Spiced Lamb Wrap & Mint Raita
Cooking Chicken Piccata
Tadaaa… Chicken Piccata!
Two very decent portions of Chicken Piccata
Spiced Lamb Balls and Mint Raita waiting to be wrapped. I think I didn’t flatten the balls enough, haha!
It’s true that the meals can be whipped up in 30 minutes or less, by following the step-by-step instructions on the recipes. While most of the ingredients are included, do note that you are expected to have some basic pantry items in your kitchen like oil, salt, pepper and eggs (I guess eggs are just too fragile to be packed in the delivery box).
The recipes on Urban Stove are changed every week, varied in themes and cuisines. Right now they even have a “Family Christmas Special” on the menu!
After a hectic workday, there’s nothing more relaxing than sitting down to a delicious and healthy self-cooked meal, minus all the hassle of sourcing & cleaning the ingredients.
Ordering is super-easy, now you can do it via SMS, WhatsApp, email or even Private Message on their Facebook Page after you have signed up.
Please go to www.urbanstove.com for more information.
This actually looks much better than I thought it’d be.