Every so often, comes along an app in our inboxes that blows our senses away. There’s a special category of apps that I know has little use for me. Yet, there’s something about that app that just yells to be bought and downloaded. Your first few minutes with the app are usually spent staring cluelessly at it — wondering how something so beautiful exists. You start playing with the app, swiping & tapping your way through the different screens and sections of the app till you get to the point of realization, “Wow! The designers/developers of this app have truly put in their heart and soul into this. This is just marvelous.” These are some of the moments & thoughts I went through when I first found out about Green Kitchen Stories‘ iPad app.
Green Kitchen Stories is a wonderful site run by Luise & David (and their gorgeous little girl Elsa) that revolves around the whole idea of a green kitchen. The site has a ton of content about healthy vegetarian food cooked with natural ingredients, whole grain, good fats, fruits and vegetables. They recently released their iPad app and boy is that a wonderful app in itself.
Developed by Amazing Applications, the app’s UI feels like is has been carefully hand-crafted with love. The most striking thing about the app, one that I absolutely love, is the collection of photos included in it. These photos by themselves will set your mouth watering. There is some very tasty stuff in here that I, for one, would pounce on. The app lays out these photos in a beautiful grid and tapping and holding down on each cell gives you the name of that healthy dish. This layout is also extremely responsive and there’s no lag whatsoever.
Once you choose what recipe to view, you’re presented with a gorgeous large size preview of the thumbnail image you just tapped on and on the right, a brief description of the recipe along with the cooking time duration and # of portion it serves. Swiping horizontally on the photo reveals even more beautiful photos of the dish. On the left, you have glyphs for saving as a favorite, returning back to the grid or alternatively, viewing all recipes in a list. You can also share each recipe on Twitter & Facebook or email it to a friend.
The actual recipe is also wonderfully laid on on a textured background. On the right, you have the list of ingredients and on the left, stepwise instructions. Tapping each one strikes it out, so it’s easy to keep track of where you are into the procedure. “It’s the little things.”
Overall, the iPad app is a solid, well executed presence of the website and it’s easy to get lost in it. The app is available for $4.99 on the App Store and makes for an excellent recipe book. Go ahead, buy it from the store; I’m off to make the Indian Lentil Soup.