Given that this entire site is one large experiment in random life documentation, what better place to start than in the kitchen?

My relationship with food has always been like a season of The Bachelor; sometimes trashy, sometimes complicated, but always delicious. Growing up in an immigrant household in the NYC area meant that food could be both exotic and endlessly comforting like a chicken parm sandwich.

I was also part latch-key kid (is that term even used anymore?) This resulted in also being master and commander of the microwave. Me and Kid Cuisine were besties and I will always appreciate the random stickers gained during our boxed adventures.

Moving to LA just meant that my pallet grew further, as did my options through Seamless.

And pizza. Always pizza.

Yet somewhere throughout all of this I never learned how to cook. Sure, I can make scrambled eggs and grilled cheese, but the finer points never stuck. A combination of laziness and anxiety created a man frightened of his own kitchen. Obviously, something had to be done about this and Blue Apron seemed as good an option as any.

Blue Apron takes the worry of looking like a fool at the grocery store and lets you just look like a doofus in the comfort of your own home. Pre-measured/packaged ingredients are put together for the benefit of man-children everywhere that want to add some respectability to their day-to-day. I’ll move past discussing the initial challenges associated with the service, such as wasted food when you’re too tired to cook for one. What’s most important is that when you do succeed in bringing everything together, you feel like the love child of Martha Stewart and Steven Hawking after completing your first Lego set. and yes, that analogy got away from me.

The featured image is an example of one of these successes. Lamb and beef stew with roasted potato slices, topped with parmesan sounds easy on paper (Ed Note: it really is), but seeing it come together is always a treat. And much like doing actual exercise, once you actually get off the couch to start the cooking process, you realize how much fun the journey can be as well.

Nothing blew up during this particular cooking session, but I’ll likely be posting updates as my adventures in the kitchen continue.