• Blog
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Tips & Tools
  • International LOVE
  • Love Notes
  • Shop
  • Powered by MSI Media Group

Engaging stories of love, joy, comfort and friendship with proven scrumptious, healthy recipes, we celebrate LOVE as the secret ingredient for wonderful food!

Lovely Citrusy Shrimp Finished On a white gold-trimmed Plate.

Lovely Citrusy Shrimp

February 21, 2021 By Mary 6 Comments

Lovely Citrusy Shrimp with Bulgar and Haricot Vert Crisp, cool, clean. I think that is what we need right now. And that is what you have in a dish like this Lovely Citrusy Shrimp. I certainly needed this with all of the construction going on in my apartment. I am almost losing it, as it is all … [Read More...]

Sicilian Orange Cake with Dark Chocolate Glaze

December 24, 2020 By Mary 10 Comments

I had a little trouble getting this cake out of the pan... This Italian cake is not too sweet but super moist so you can make this a day ahead and eat it for several days without losing anything. … [Read More...]

Pork Chops With Ginger Blackberry Sauce, on a white plate with a side of broccoli rabe.

Pork Chops with Ginger Blackberry Sauce

December 16, 2020 By Mary 4 Comments

My lead construction guy told me, with a wry smile, that this would be my “last supper” in my kitchen. You see, I am completely renovating my kitchen in the city apartment and this recipe that I threw … [Read More...]

Thanksgiving recipes and process in an e-book format, beautifully designed to give you a magnificent feast.

Thanksgiving 2020

November 16, 2020 By Mary 4 Comments

Thanksgiving is around the corner and what are we to do with the pandemic and the growing rise of Coronavirus cases? We’re not supposed to get together with anyone outside of our “pod”. I get … [Read More...]

Finished Braised Short Ribs - savory and a little sweet! garnished with parsley on a white platter.

Braised Short Ribs – savory and a little sweet!

November 6, 2020 By Mary 7 Comments

Finished Braised Short Ribs - savory and a little sweet! I love this time of year - the beautiful fall colors, the weather getting crisper and cooler, sweater-time, bundling up in front of a … [Read More...]

Finished Salmon Rice Bowl with Ginger-Lime Sauce with a side of roasted broccoli.

Salmon Rice Bowl with Ginger-Lime Sauce

October 17, 2020 By Mary 5 Comments

Finished Salmon Rice Bowl with Ginger-Lime Sauce and a side of roasted broccoli. I have been wanting to post this recipe for quite some time. Probably before I even had this blog - ha! Truly. I … [Read More...]

Grilled Flounder with Sweet Tomato and Chili Chutney, Rosemary and Sage hot off the grill on a green glass platter.

Grilled Flounder with Sweet Tomato and Chili Chutney, Rosemary and Sage

September 3, 2020 By Mary 8 Comments

Flounder hot off the grill! How many of you adore eating fish but are longing for ways that are quick and easy and would love to add a new zing to just a regular old piece of grilled fish with … [Read More...]

Sunny Gold Tomatoes And Bacon Pasta in a white bowl.

Sunny Golds with Bacon Pasta Sauce

August 14, 2020 By Mary 5 Comments

Finished Sunny Golds with Bacon Pasta Sauce on Spaghetti. It’s summertime and the living should be easy, right? Well in this Covid/ pandemic time, nothing seems easy. But I hope this super simple, … [Read More...]

Green sauce on grilled Grouper.

Green sauce

July 30, 2020 By Mary 1 Comment

So, I had read this article/rough recipe about green sauces in Food and Wine magazine just a few days ago and I thought I would try this myself! I have so many greens and herbs in my garden, and I had … [Read More...]

Feta radishes watercress and mint toasts platter.

What We Should Be Eating & Making Now

July 15, 2020 By Mary 4 Comments

So, I have been trying out new recipes for you BUT, I haven’t found any that are great enough to share with you. They just aren’t and I’m sorry I haven’t had the time to fuss with them to make them … [Read More...]

Garlic Scape Pesto Pasta in a white bowl, garnished by scapes.

Garlic Scape Pesto

July 2, 2020 By Mary 6 Comments

Summertime means pesto time, right? Usually it is basil for me but my friend Lainne at Ethel and Tom’s farm stand in Red Hook told me that Kim, from Second Chance Farm was buying bunches and bunches … [Read More...]

Dinner

Jean-Georges Herbed sea bass and potatoes in broth in a white bowl.

Herbed Sea Bass for a Birthday Dinner

December 5, 2015 By Mary 19 Comments

My real birthday was on Thanksgiving Day this year, so my sweet oldest son and his lovely girlfriend wanted to make me a birthday dinner on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Of course I was delighted!! … [Read More...]

Roasted Squash and Radicchio Salad With Buttermilk Dressing & sweet corn arepas.

Roasted Squash and Radicchio Salad With Buttermilk Dressing & Sweet Corn Arepas

January 17, 2016 By Mary 32 Comments

You know I love salads for dinner and since it is the season for squash, I wanted to share this recipe with you! It may sound a little bit time consuming, but it’s not. Perfect for a meatless … [Read More...]

More Posts from this Category

Appetizers

Mom's Popped Lotus Seeds garnishing a tangy sorrel & potato with bacon soup in a white flat soup bowl.

Tangy Sorrel & Potato Soup with Bacon, topped with MOM’s Popped Lotus Seeds

October 16, 2016 By Mary 16 Comments

When I first heard about MOM's Popped Lotus Seeds, somehow I didn't think they could possibly be popped seeds from the lotus flower, but that's exactly what they are! The seeds are underneath the … [Read More...]

POURfect measuring beaker with Roquefort cheese, a tomato and a glass of wine.

POURfect Measuring Beaker with Roquefort Dressing for Baked Crispy Wings

October 11, 2016 By Mary 7 Comments

POURfect products are simply perfect - in the words of my good friend, Margaret! She calls this a handy-dandy measuring cup, because it is easier to see the point on the cup where the surface of … [Read More...]

More Posts from this Category

Join 32k+ followers!


Never miss out on a recipe!

Subscribe to receive new posts via email:

Mary Frances

Mary Frances

Spread love through cooking.

Summer Favorites

Easy Cheesy Sautéed Squash The Best Potato Salad Super Quick Chicken and Summer Vegetables Stir-fry Chimichurri-ed Wilted Endives with Walnuts Chilled Curried Zucchini Soup with Apple Garnish Best Strawberry and Rhubarb Crisp to make now!

Categories

  • Appetizers
  • Breakfast
  • Brunch
  • Cocktails
  • Contest
  • Cookware and tools
  • Desserts
  • Dinner
  • Events
  • First Course
  • Fish
  • Food Responsibility
  • Guest Post
  • Lunch
  • Meat
  • Pasta
  • Poultry
  • Products for sale
  • Salads
  • Sauces
  • Sides
  • Soups
  • Tea time
  • Travel
  • Vegetables

Pages

Blog
About
Recipes
Tips and Tools
International Love
Love Notes
Shop
Mary's secret ingredients

Blogs We Love

  • 1840 Farm
  • A Pug in the Kitchen
  • Cottage Grove House
  • Food, Photography & France
  • Food52
  • From the Bartolini Kitchens
  • Go Bake Yourself
  • Hotly Spiced
  • Jovina Cooks Italian
  • Lavender and Lime
  • Orgasmic Chef
  • Smitten Kitchen
  • Sophie's Foodie Files
  • Steven’s Wine and Food Pairings
  • That Skinny Chick Can Bake
  • The Pioneer Woman
  • The Squishy Monster
  • Tips on Food and Drinks
  • Yummy Chunklet
  • LOVE - the secret ingredient


  • GET IN TOUCH
  • E mary@lovethesecretingredient.com

· All Rights Reserved ·© 2016 Love- the secret ingredient. All rights reserved. Disclaimer | Privacy Policy Disclosure Policy Terms & Conditions