a peek inside the fishbowl

This is something I think about a lot:

• I only have one body.
• My body needs to last a long time.
• I should take care of my body the best I can. Therefore it stands to reason that I should be feeding it the best kind of food I can.

Right?

I want to take a minute to welcome a new patron to the Fishbowl: Scratch Kitchen. If Scratch seems seem familiar to you. It’s because I’ve written about them before in a very long and ranty post about frozen food here.

To summarize: Scratch Kitchen makes healthy and delicious meals in a commercial-grade kitchen, packages them in heat & serve containers, and then delivers them to your home. I love this concept. If you are a busy person who doesn’t have the time or the energy (or the gumption!) to whip up a healthy dinner seven days a week (and I’m willing to bet this describes 90% of us!) and want the added convenience that comes with pulling something out of the freezer … well, this is for you.

I’ve been delaying this posting because I’ve been busy sampling food from Scratch and waiting for the announcment of the new menu. And it’s up! Chef Sean Murphy has developed some new dishes to warm our tummies, which is great, because this time of year it’s the kind of thing I really crave.

What’s exciting for me is that these are the kinds of meals I usually wouldn’t bother to cook myself AND they also come in single servings. For Mark, who works downtown, it’s like bringing a home-cooked meal for lunch. Healthy AND fast AND cheaper than lunch at the Lone Star (or wherever!).

I really like how they lay it out on the Scratch website:

At Scratch Kitchen, we prepare all of your meals in small batches out of our commercial-grade kitchen. We use locally sourced and, organic ingredients whenever possible and we don’t add any preservatives, or additives, and we go easy on the salt. Our menu includes vegetarian and gluten-free dishes. We planned the menu for the global “foodie”, but we also saved some comfort foods for those days when you just want some down home cooking.

Scratch Kitchen meals aren’t just for time-strapped families. Individuals from all walks of life, from older family members who may not have the means to prepare good meals for themselves, to work-hard, play-hard singles who don’t have the time to cook yet want to eat well, will appreciate our single portion servings.

I think that sums it up rather nicely.

The new menu includes:

Thai Beef and Vegetable Red Curry
Canadian beef, red peppers, eggplant, potatoes, mushrooms and onions Thai basil, lemongrass, galangal and chilis in a Thai coconut red curry. Mark and I both tried this and we loved the flavour, which had a spicy kick we both really liked. We served it with rice and it made a great meal.

(Do you what I REALLY liked about it? The ingredients. I recognized every single one. And it’s gluten-free. I know that’s something a lot of you are looking for.)

Italian Three Cheese and Meat Lasagna
Layers of pasta in imported tomato sauce, stuffed with a blend of ricotta, mozzarella, and cottage cheeses, and ground Canadian beef. Mark brought a lunch-sized portion to work and RAVED about it. RAVED. I am very sad I didn’t get to try it.

Steamed Atlantic Salmon and Wild Rice Medley
Steamed fresh Atlantic salmon and vegetables in a Vietnamese-inspired vinaigrette over a bed of wild rice. Once again, Mark brought this one for lunch and really liked it. NONE FOR ME. *grumble*

Sweet Potato Casserole
Whipped sweet potato, Maker’s Mark Bourbon, and Muscovado sugar. This was a popular dish from their Christmas menu that they decided to keep. It’s waiting for us in the freezer (we haven’t tried it yet) but I am really excited about it. I LOVE SWEET POTATO.

Thank you Scratch! Your support and patronage is appreciated very much. As for the rest of you, do have a wee roam around the Scratch website when you have a sec. I bet you will find something that tempts you. :)