"How so?" you ask, do you? Well, the idea is that they allegedly do the shopping, chopping and cleaning, while you do the "assembling". The result is a bunch of meals (with cooking instructions that anyone with more than two braincells could understand) that are ready to be served with at most 15 to 45 minutes of preparation time, and a smug sense of accomplishment plastered on one's mug. At first I tended to look at this entire scheme with something of a jaundiced eye; assuming --- true to my cynical nature --- that it was just another scam designed to afflict the unsuspecting Bay Area inhabitant, leading inevitably to heightened yuppiness and moral degradation.
But I didn't have the heart to dissuade the dear girl. After all, that shine in her eyes could only come from one who suffered from the full forty-three hunger pangs that she daily endured. So she did try it, after conning another friend (Vandana) into accompanying her and splitting the fare. Here's a sampling of the results:
- Mustard encrusted pork loin
- Maple-soy glazed salmon
- Artichoke-tequila chicken
After a hasty bit of math, we realized that this scheme worked out to an average of about $5 per meal, per person, which is way less expensive than eating out (something we end up doing too often if we're lazy). And after listening to her drool on about the atmosphere of the place, and the cleanliness, and the fresh organic ingredients, I'm almost tempted to accompany her on the next round.
For now at least, we've justified it to ourselves by interspersing the Deeelish meals with our regular cooking, and only consuming them when we feel the need to have something more exotic. So maybe I've turned more yuppie, but I think it's great. I'm one of the few men in the world whose wife is happy to arrive home bellowing "Hi honey! I'm home!" with 24 servings in tow.
Some assembly required, of course.
