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

RawSpiceBar Winter Herbs on a Beef Rump Roast with Potatoes & Parsnips

January 3, 2016 by Mary 17 Comments

Growing up in the Midwest, and from a large family with lots of boys (five brothers) Sunday dinner was often a big beef roast with mashed potatoes, green beans and some sort of homemade fruit pie. That roast and the pie said “Sunday” to me and my mom did a great job of making sure the beef was cooked to a beautiful medium-rare. Desserts in the Midwest were pretty mandatory and her pies were spectacular. My father always loved her flakey crusts.

This little packet from RawSpiceBar doesn’t look like much. However, cut it open and the fragrance released is like nothing I’ve ever experienced from a mixture of dried herbs. They say that they’re special and you know what, they are! Also, you don’t think there’s much in the packet but there’s more than you think! My rump roast was pretty sizable, 2.7+ lbs. and I applied the spice mixture liberally and still have a third of my spices left!

So use these now to take advantage of their freshness and don’t be stingy. They are a little rustic with some stems in the mixture, but that all adds to the aroma!

Sprinkle Kosher salt all over your roast, then sprinkle on the herb mixture and press in. For the rounded sides of the roast, sprinkle the herb mixture and salt on a flat surface spread out about the same area you need to cover, and then roll your roast in it to cover completely. Neat trick, eh?!!

Do this as early in the morning as you can on the day you want to serve this. Do it the day before for even better results. Salting any meat ahead of time helps to tenderize it. While a rump roast is flavorful, it needs some help on the tender part.

RawSpiceBar WINTER HERBS ON A BEEF RUMP ROAST WITH POTATOES & PARSNIPS – serves 6

1 Tbs. Kosher salt
1.5 – 2 Tbs. RawSpiceBar Winter Herbs spice mix
2.7 lbs. beef rump roast, tied at 2-inch intervals
½ bunch marjoram
1.5 lbs. medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled
1.5 lbs. medium parsnips, peeled, cut in 3-inch lengths
4 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted
1 large bunch watercress

FOR THE HORSERADISH SAUCE:
½ cup crème fraîche
2- 3 Tbs. horseradish, drained
Small pinch cayenne
Salt and pepper

The day before or in the morning, evenly cover the roast with the Kosher salt and the RawSpiceBar Winter Mix herb mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. (If you don’t have time for this, even 2 hours at room temperature before you put it in the oven will do.)

Remove the seasoned roast from the refrigerator at least an hour before you plan on putting it in the oven.
Line a roasting pan with marjoram branches and set roast on top. Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Roast the beef, uncovered, for about 1 hour. Check with an instant-read thermometer after 45 minutes. For medium-rare, take the roast out of the oven when thermometer registers 120 degrees (residual heat will cause roast to continue cooking as it rests). Remove the roast, let it rest for 20 minutes; the temperature should rise to 125 degrees.

Meanwhile, while the roast is cooking, in a large pot of well-salted boiling water, cook potatoes until just done, about 15 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and place in a baking dish. In the same water, simmer parsnips until just done, about 8 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and add them to the potatoes in the baking dish. Pour melted butter over the potatoes and parsnips and use a brush to make sure they are all well coated.

Make the horseradish sauce: Whisk together crème fraîche, horseradish and cayenne in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper and refrigerate.

After about 45 minutes after the roast goes into the oven, put in the baking dish of potatoes and parsnips, uncovered, and roast until beautifully golden brown, about 25 – 30 minutes.

Slice the beef into thin slices and arrange on a warmed platter, garnished with a big bunch of watercress and the roasted vegetables. Pass the horseradish sauce separately.

Serve with LOVE and enjoy!!

DATE BARS! – updating a tradition

December 30, 2015 by Mary 24 Comments

This year, I only baked four types of cookies instead of my usual five. Maybe there’s something wrong with me but I’m starting to not make any recipe the exact same way twice. Do you do that? I keep on wanting to improve on them, tinkering, tinkering. So this year, my date bars were due for that tune up.

I have a funny story to tell you about my date bar post from a couple of years ago, when I first started this blog and posted the recipe. It was also about this time, right before New Year’s Eve. That one post got a ginormous amount of hits. Hint: DATE BARS – right before New Year’s Eve… very funny.

So here’s the change I made, which is small, but made an enormous difference. Everyone said, “Best I’d ever made!!”

I took a lesson learned from making homemade cornbread, in that you should let the batter rest for 5 minutes, in your baking pan right before you put it in the oven to bake, in order to let the baking powder do its thing and rise.

Because these date bars have only a quarter cup of flour in them and 2 eggs, there really isn’t much batter to speak of, yet you want a little cake around them to make it be like a bar cookie and not just totally dates. So I let this resting time happen and yes!! They did rise more and this bar cookie was much better!

So here is the revised recipe for my date bars. This recipe is originally from my mom and has been in the family for more than 70 years! I bet it’s been made every year by someone in our tribe for at least that length of time. (yikes – I’m just realizing this now!)

I hope these date bars will become a tradition in your home. They’re easy to make, use the in-season super fresh dates that are out now and are super delicious.

Serve with LOVE and a hot cup of coffee or a luscious glass of dessert wine. Enjoy!!

DATE BARS – makes 24 bars

2 large eggs
1 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbs. melted unsalted butter
1/4 cup cake flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup chopped dates
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 tsp. vanilla
More sifted powdered sugar to roll the bars in

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease an 8” or 9” square pan. I use a 9” glass Pyrex pan.

Beat 2 eggs a long time until very light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and melted butter.

Sift together the cake flour, salt and baking powder and add gradually to egg mixture on a low speed. Then add the vanilla, dates and nuts. Stir well. Pour evenly into your prepared pan and let sit on the counter for 5 minutes before putting in the oven. This allows for the baking powder to do its work.

Bake for approximately 25 minutes, until nicely browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool completely. Cut into 24 bars and roll each one in powdered sugar. Store in a wax paper lined tin. Make sure the tin closes tight to insure freshness!

Happy New Year to you all!! Wishing you LOVE, peace, joy and prosperity for 2016!

Yogurt Marinated Chicken with Nutraw Pistachio Crust

December 29, 2015 by Mary 6 Comments

This Nutraw Pistachio Bar is made with only 5 ingredients!! It’s got dates, pistachios, almonds, coconut oil and green cardamom, all organic. That’s it! This is a way healthy energy bar that’s gluten-free, wheat-free, soy-free and dairy-free. What more (or less) could you ask for?

It’s, of course, delicious to eat all by itself, so what was I going to do with it in a recipe?

My mind kept on going back to crunchy crusts on things and how much I love them and how frustrating it must be for gluten-sensitive or gluten-intolerant people because crunchy crusts are hard to come by for them.

So I made up this recipe with chicken thighs that is just delicious! It’s a yogurt-based marinade with garam masala, star anise, garlic and honey. So I guess it’s a bit Middle Eastern?

I love garam masala because it’s a ready-made, terrific spice mix.

I used chicken thighs because they are my favorite and very forgiving in cooking, unlike white meat. I bought thighs with the skin and bones, and I just removed all the skin. I couldn’t find thighs with the bone and no skin, can you? Apparently, they don’t make that combination in the stores that I shop at. It’s either bones and skin or no bones and no skin. Anyway, I felt that skinless thighs would absorb more of the luscious flavor from the marinade.

As the Nutraw Pistachio Bars are thick, yet soft, I rolled them out with a rolling pin in thin sheets, cut them into rectangles and placed them on the skinless thighs to make a super healthy crust.

This was DELICIOUS and definitely a recipe I will repeat. The pistachio bar coating got crispy and browned nicely, just as I had imagined. The chicken was super juicy, tender and flavorful, a tiny bit sweet, but not too much. Super yummy.

I love marinades because you do all the work beforehand. Make this with LOVE on a Sunday, marinate overnight and then your dinner on the workday Monday will be a breeze.

Happy cooking!!

YOGURT MARINATED CHICKEN WITH NUTRAW PISTACHIO CRUST – serves 5 – 6

8 skinless, bone-in chicken thighs, washed and paper towel dried
¾ cup plain, whole milk, Greek yogurt (unflavored)
2 Tbs. olive oil plus more for slicking the roasting pan
Juice of one lemon
2 tsp. coarse sea salt
20 grinds of black pepper
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 Tbs. garam masala
2 star anise
1 Tbs. honey
2 ½ Nutraw Pistachio Bars

MAKE THE MARINADE the day before you want to serve this dish. Whisk together the yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, coarse sea salt, black pepper, minced garlic, garam masala, star anise and honey.

Trim the fat from the chicken as you remove the skin. Wash and pat dry with paper toweling. Place the thighs in a Ziploc bag. Pour the marinade in the bag. Get as much air out of the bag as you can, and zip it closed. Massage the marinade around all the thighs. (sounds sexy, no?)

Place in the refrigerator and marinate overnight. Every time you open the fridge, flip the bag over and massage again so all those wonderful flavors can get everywhere.

WHEN YOU’RE READY TO COOK, take the chicken out at least 30 minutes before you plan on putting it in the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

While the chicken is shaking off its chill, place the Nutraw Pistachio Bars on a wooden cutting board and roll them into thin sheets with a rolling pin. Cut into 8 rectangles.

Slick a rimmed baking sheet with a little olive oil. Remove the thighs from the bag and place them on the pan with what was the skin side, up. Cover each thigh with a rectangle of the pistachio bar.

Roast for 30 – 35 minutes until chicken is tender and done.

Place the chicken on a platter and let rest for 5 minutes and while it’s resting, scrape and pour all the lovely juices and drippings from the roasting pan into a small saucepan, whisk together and boil for 2 – 3 minutes to make a light sauce.

To plate, put a tablespoon or two of the warmed sauce on a plate and place the chicken thigh on top, so your pistachio topping stays crispy. Serve with LOVE!! Enjoy!

Discover more exciting products to inspire your cooking in our next MARY’s secret ingredients box! The spring box mails on March 25^th and they are selling fast. There’s only a limited number of them, so order now and be the cook everyone LOVES!!

As my good friend, Marie said, “Good cooks never lack friends!!”

Country Style Pork Spare Ribs with Just Cook Herbed Coffee Rub

December 27, 2015 by Mary 4 Comments

I want to tell you about this Just Cook Herbed Coffee Rub. I love rubs and this one is so unique and delicious with coffee in it!

This works on beef, lamb and pork. For the very best results, I found that lightly oiling your meat with canola oil, then massaging in the rub and letting it marinate for 1 – 2 days lets your meat really absorb the exotic combination of flavors of this wonderful west coast blend. The company is based out of San Francisco and headed by a husband and wife team.

I used the rub on these boneless country pork spare ribs and it was outstanding!! You can have fun and experiment with lots of different cuts of meat but don’t skip the marinating overnight, and 2 days is even better.

I love rubs because they are a quick and easy way to make a protein special. Here, Just Cook Foods has done all the hard work concocting their blend to make you look like a superstar chef. I love the heady coffee smell in this one – really gets me going! And, it’s combined with oregano, cumin and chipotle to really whet your taste buds.

Many rubs go too heavy on the salt. This one does not. In fact, I found it a bit light on salt which is why I added a sprinkling of crushed Maldon salt to finish. You taste and decide, of course.

Now on to the recipe. While this cut of meat is called “ribs”, it’s a misnomer as it’s really part of a traditional pork chop so it does not need to be cooked long, which makes this recipe perfect for a weeknight dinner and fancy enough for a dinner party. Apples and cranberries go so well with pork and look festive for the season. Just Cook with LOVE and their rub and have a happy Sunday while you get ready for New Year’s!

COUNTRY STYLE PORK SPARE RIBS WITH JUST COOK HERBED COFFEE RUB – serves 3 – 4 – needs 2 days of marinating for best results

1.5 lbs. boneless country style Pork Spare Ribs
2 tsp. canola oil
2 Tbs. Just Cook Herbed Coffee Rub
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 Tbs. unsalted butter
1 Braeburn or Fuji apple, washed, cored and sliced into 16 slices
¼ cup dried cranberries
¼ cup dry white wine or dry vermouth
Maldon salt, crushed

Wash and pat dry your meat with paper toweling. Rub in the canola oil, 1 tsp. for each side of the meat. Then rub in the Herbed Coffee Rub, approximately 1 Tbs. for each side of the meat. Place in a glass pan, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 days.

On the day you’re cooking, ideally, allow the meat to be at room temperature for 1 hour.

In a large skillet, warm the olive oil. Raise heat to medium-high and add the butter. When the bubbling butter subsides, add the meat and cook for 5 minutes, lowering heat slightly. Flip the meat over, add the apples and cranberries and cook for 4 more minutes. Then add the white wine and cook for 2 more minutes or until an instant read thermometer registers 135 – 140 degrees.

Remove the meat to a warmed platter and let rest for 5 minutes. Leave the apples and cranberries in the skillet while the meat is resting. They may need a little more cooking so do that carefully as you don’t want your apples to be too mushy, just tender and golden brown.

Pour apples, cranberries and sauce on top of the meat. Sprinkle crushed Maldon salt over all.

Cut into serving pieces and serve with LOVE.

Discover more exciting products like this rub to inspire your cooking in our next MARY’s secret ingredients box! The spring box mails on March 25^th and they are selling fast. There’s only a limited number of them, so order now and be the cook everyone LOVES!!

Delectable Chocolate Cake with Loacker Rose of the Dolomites

December 23, 2015 by Mary 10 Comments

A Rose is a rose is a rose? Not so with these decadent chocolates from Italy. The Loacker family makes these beautiful chocolates to mimic the rose of the Dolomites – which grows wild right by their factory at the foot of the Alps. Oh my, they are totally yummy in dark chocolate and winter white.

And these are not just chocolate. In staying true to their wafer roots, (they make the number one wafer cookie in the world) there is a small wafer and a hazelnut cream center in every pretty rose. I think that’s so clever and also great for reinforcing their brand.

So how can I possibly improve on them with some sort of recipe?

Let them melt on cake!!

Here’s the thing. When you make a cake, to me, it’s always a big deal because not only do you have to make and then bake the cake, but then you have to make a frosting and ice the darn thing. My suggestion here is to use the Rose of the Dolomites as a decoration and the frosting!

Brilliant, right?

You need to put these babies on gently, as soon as your cake comes out of the oven so they melt a little and adhere. Position evenly and nicely and voila! You’re done!!

Here is the most delicious, decadent chocolate cake recipe. Sour cream makes it moist and the fresh brewed coffee adds depth to the chocolate. This is not too time consuming and well worth the effort.

I think you will enjoy adding this to your repertoire of holiday treats as this one’s easy peasy.

DELECTABLE CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH LOACKER ROSE OF THE DOLOMITES – serves 16

Unsalted butter, for greasing
Flour for dusting cake pan
1.5 cups of cake flour
4.5 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup hot brewed coffee
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs at room temperature
½ cup canola oil
½ cup sour cream at room temperature
1 ¼ cups of sugar
¾ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. fine sea salt
8 Loacker White Chocolate Rose of the Dolomites
8 Loacker Dark Chocolate Rose of the Dolomites

Preheat the oven to 350° and position the rack in the center. Butter a 9”-by- 9” square cake pan and dust the pan with flour, tapping out the excess.

In a medium bowl, combine the finely chopped chocolate with the hot coffee and vanilla and let stand for 2 minutes, then stir until the chocolate is melted. In another medium bowl, whisk the eggs with the oil until pale yellow, then whisk in the sour cream. Gradually whisk in the melted chocolate mixture until smooth.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, combine the 1.5 cups of flour with the sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt and mix well. At medium speed, beat in the wet ingredients in 3 batches until just incorporated. Scrape down the bowl and beat until the batter is smooth.

Pour the batter evenly into the prepared cake pan. Gently tap the pans on the counter to release any air bubbles. Bake for about 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

When cake is out of the oven, wait 1 minute, then gently place the Loacker Rose of the Dolemites evenly on the top of the cake as shown in the photo.

Let cake cool completely. The bottom of the chocolates should melt a little and adhere to the cake. Cut into 16 pieces and serve with LOVE.

Discover other unique, gourmet products in our upcoming spring box – mails March 25th! Our box subscriptions make a great last minute holiday gift. You can download a gift card at check-out to put under the tree.

Decadent Oatmeal with Michel et Augustin Cookie Squares

December 22, 2015 by Mary 6 Comments

So here’s my rationale for this one. The French and the Italians always eat something very sweet for breakfast. It’s the holidays so we can be a little decadent. And, the oatmeal part is good for you!

These cookies from Michel et Augustin in the MARY’s secret ingredients winter box are so darn delicious, they really don’t need any help with a recipe. They’re made with only simple and real ingredients, as if you would make them in your own home. And the chocolate in each of them is super special! However, we always promise our product partners that we will create a new and exciting recipe or serving suggestion.

So for a super powerful breakfast, make yourself some steel cut Irish oatmeal. Then take two of these shortbread cookie squares, either flavor, cut them into chunks and place on top of the oatmeal. Wait a bit and watch the chocolate in the cookies begin to soften and melt into pure luxurious decadence!

OMG, so the shortbread gives a buttery crunch and the chocolate with the sea salt is just divine.

Oatmeal like this every morning?

Yes please!

If you have young ones, this is a terrific way to get them to eat their oatmeal. Promise.

Then for a further treat upon treat, fire up some marshmallows over your gas burner, take two cookies and have them face each chocolate side to each other and place that melty marshmallow in between and you have just made yourself THE most amazing s’more and you can tell the Girl Scouts to take a hike with their graham crackers and Hershey’s crappy chocolate variety.

Total yum.

Total heaven.

DECADENT OATMEAL WITH MICHEL ET AUGUSTIN COOKIE SQUARES – serves 4

4 cups of water
Tiny pinch of salt
1 cup steel cut Irish oatmeal
8 Michel et Augustin cookie squares, either flavor

Bring the water to a boil. Add salt and gradually add the oats, stirring as you add them. Lower heat to medium and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

When done, portion out into 4 bowls. Roughly chop up two cookies for each bowl and place in the center of the oatmeal.

Serve with LOVE and watch everyone swoon!!

Laiki Rice Crackers Crusted Flounder

December 19, 2015 by Mary 14 Comments

These Laiki Rice Crackers taste like they should be bad for you, they’re that good. They’ve got a great crunch, flavor and just the right amount of salt I crave. And they’re made with just 3 ingredients, rice (red or black), oil and salt. They’re whole grain and baked so they really are good for you!!

Obviously these crackers are just great on their own. Or pair with any dip, hummus or salsa. But crush them and use them to coat fish, chicken or even vegetables and you’ve now gone to a whole new level. Because they’re made with rice, they’re completely gluten-free and gluten-free people often have difficulty with crispy coated proteins because flour and panko are not gluten-free.

So here, I crushed each .74 oz. bag to coat a fillet of flounder. I painted the fillets first with a hot Korean sauce I made, which added some nice flavor and heat. And then the crushed crackers added just the right amount of crunch. You could also use a Dijon mustard or even just olive oil and then pat on the crushed crackers.

You can see with my photos that I used crushed red and black rice crackers to test it out and both flavors were delicious and equally as good, so it’s really your choice.

Have fun with this cracker this holiday season. So many ways to use as an appetizer dipper and then crush them to replace any sort of panko or flour you might use as a coating.

Experiment and have fun!!

Laiki coated fish on a plate with roasted potatoes and broccoli.

Laiki rice crackers crusted fillet of flounder with roasted potatoes and broccoli. Total yum!!

LAIKI RICE CRACKERS CRUSTED FLOUNDER – serves 3

1 Tbs. of Gochujang Hot Pepper Paste (Korean)
1 Tbs. all natural ketchup
1.5 lbs. fillet of flounder
Olive oil
.74 oz. bag of Laiki black rice crackers, crushed
.74 oz. bag of Laiki red rice crackers, crushed

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash and pat dry your fish.

Whisk together the hot pepper paste and the ketchup, or use 2 Tbs. Dijon mustard. Slick a rimmed baking sheet with oil.

Combine the crackers or keep separate, your choice. I coated ½ of the fish with each flavor.

Brush the ½ of the ketchup/hot pepper paste (or Dijon mustard) over one side of the fish. Coat with the cracker crumbs. Place fish, coated side down on the oiled baking sheet. Complete the top side with the ketchup paste and crumbs.

Bake in the oven for 15 – 20 minutes, until fish is white and cooked through.

Serve with LOVE and enjoy!!

Discover other unique, good-for-you products in our upcoming spring box – mails March 25th! You can download a gift card at check-out to put under the tree.

MARY’s secret ingredients Food Subscription Box Revealed – Winter 2015

December 17, 2015 by Mary 6 Comments

Our sell-out, MARY’s secret ingredients food subscription box for winter, 2015 was a real treat. Filled with all things sweet and spicy, it’s sure to add to your holiday festivities.

All of these products are unusual, wholesome and do not contain any processed ingredients. Nothing is unpronounceable. Some products have only 3 or 5 ingredients! With these items you can snack or give yourself a little treat while knowing that everything is still good for you and your body.

If you missed out on this box, take a look at this video and all the descriptions below. As we gain momentum and our MSI community continues to grow, our boxes are selling more quickly and we only have a limited supply each season. So get your order in now and help us in our fight against worldwide hunger with our partnership with Feed The Children.

Did you know that nearly 15 million children in the US alone go to bed hungry at night or experience food scarcity every day? This is a crime. We aim to help eliminate this while we show you how you can eat well with products that are non-processed and good for you. All recipes using each of these products will be coming up in the next two weeks.

HERBED COFFEE RUB from JUST COOK FOODS

Their products are all natural, locally created in San Francisco, and deliver unique flavors to the home chef. Their packaging is sophisticated, sleek and looks like no other product line.

This herb rub has the richness of coffee along with oregano, cumin and chipotle to add a new dimension to the flavors of pork, beef and lamb.

LAIKI RED RICE & BLACK RICE CRACKERS

Laiki believes food should be simple and nutritious. It should satisfy from the time you read the label to the last crunch. They created Laiki Crackers because they wanted to offer the world the option to not have to read a label or feel guilty about treating yourself.

Laiki is a unique rice cracker with a satisfying crunch and only three ingredients: rice, oil, salt. Nothing else! No labels to read, no ingredients to worry about, 100% wholegrain, vegan, gluten-free, and non-GMO. The 100 calorie snack packs have about 16 satisfying crackers, packed with flavor and nutrients from red or black rice. Perfect for an afternoon snack, a school lunch, or a refuel after the gym.

LOACKER ROSE of the DOLOMITES in white and dark chocolate

There’s a place in the heart of the Alps, where the air and water are fresh and pure. At an altitude of 3,000 feet, surrounded by the Dolomite Mountains, the Loacker family selects only the best and finest ingredients from around the world: the best Italian hazelnuts, Bourbon vanilla pods, pure chocolate, the highest quality milk and fresh mountain water. This pure goodness goes into creating all of their delicious flavored-wafer and chocolate specialties, as it has since 1925. No matter which you choose from their family of snacks, you have the quality made famous by the Loacker family in every bite.

A rose by any other name would not taste as sweet. The shape of their premium praline is inspired by the beautiful Alpine Rose of the Dolomites, but the taste of this exquisite chocolate with the cream center is why you’ll pick it. They offer the perfect arrangement: genuine high-quality ingredients and a sublime blend of exquisite cream, crunchy hazelnut pieces, and smooth petals made out of dark or white chocolate. A rose is a rose is a rose. Until you’ve tasted one of theirs.

MICHEL et AUGUSTIN COOKIE SQUARES in MILK CHOCOLATE, CARAMEL & DARK CHOCOLATE with a pinch of sea salt

Their dream at the Banana Farm is to make the world smile, by whipping up delicious yet healthy products made from simple, quality ingredients found in your very own kitchen…and by sharing their true-to-the-last-drop adventure with you. In the very VERY beginning – before becoming butter-cookie big shots – they started out testing (and tasting) more than 400 recipes in Augustin’s little kitchen and Michel’s mother’s slightly larger kitchen. They did everything themselves, from choosing and buying the ingredients, to creating the recipes, to baking and delivering the cookies.

Half a chocolate bar. Half a delicious shortbread. Made with fresh butter, a pinch of sea salt, and an intense chocolate.

NUTRAW SNACKS PISTACHIO RAWBAR

They set out to create naturally healthy snacks without compromising taste, nutrition and quality. Their products are the representation of this purpose to create real foods, from real ingredients, for real people. They do this by harnessing the natural antioxidants, phytonutrients, protein, and omega-3’s that are found abundantly in raw fruits, nuts and seeds. Nutraw® Snacks are ALWAYS made with 5 or less organic ingredients without any artificial additives or preservatives.

They’re able to maintain their commitment by establishing and maintaining strategic partnerships with USDA Certified Organic California farmers who practice innovative farming methods. In addition to being held to higher farming standards, this also ensures that the produce grown on these farms has not been treated with persistent pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, which are harmful for us and our environment.

They are the purveyors of specialty pistachio and nut products and have created the first and only 100% raw pistachio bar. Their delicious pistachio bar is made with just 5 organic raw ingredients. Pistachios, dates, almonds, coconut oil and cardamom. That’s it!

RawSpiceBar WINTER HERB BLEND

RawSpiceBar creates freshly ground, global spice blends each month for creating dishes from around the world. Direct to your door for $6 a month.

RawSpiceBar’s Winter Herb Blend is a delicious mix of white peppercorns, thyme, oregano, savory, tarragon, sage and a few other spices. Use on chicken as well as on veggies.

It is the season to splurge a bit so we have some decadence with chocolate in the form of candies and cookies that I know you’ll adore. Winter white and dark chocolate Rose of the Dolemites that are to die for from Loacker, the Italian cookie and chocolate giant that only makes things from wholesome ingredients. Then, heralding from France, we have the most amazing shortbread cookies that each have a little pool of either dark chocolate or milk chocolate with caramel, both kissed with a little sea salt. The raw nut pistachio bar is good-for-you protein disguised as a wholesome snack that I have put to other uses in my upcoming recipes. Snack away on the three ingredients rice crackers packed with crunch and just the right amount of salt and rub to your hearts content with the herbed coffee rub and winter herb blend.

Have fun!!

And if you missed this box, you can order a subscription for next year and place a beautiful gift certificate under the tree, that you can download at checkout. Next box mails on March 25th!

And remember, always cook with LOVE and your food will taste scrumptious!

Arugula, Fennel and Persimmons Salad

December 10, 2015 by Mary 18 Comments

Is it just me?

Why does it seem like Christmas is so soon right after Thanksgiving?

I know it’s the same date every year but time sure seems to fly these days.

So with all the holiday rich foods and drinks happening now, I thought you might like a lovely little clean salad that I made up the other night – actually the night before Thanksgiving is when I first served this – the night before another eat-a-thon!

It is the season for persimmons! I LOVE them and I have been using them everywhere! From pasta dishes to roasted fish to meats to salads, you name it!

I love the color (orange is my fave), and they’re surprising, sweet, refreshing and oh so lovely.

So this salad of baby arugula, shaved fresh fennel, and chopped persimmons with a champagne vinaigrette is super simple and the taste is light, crisp, fresh and sweet with a little heat from the greens – just delish! The perfect starter to clean your palate!

May you enjoy this in the coming weeks to add a little health to your merriment!

ARUGULA, FENNEL AND PERSIMMONS SALAD – serves 4 – 5

5 oz. baby arugula, washed, dried and chilled
½ of a large fennel bulb, shaved on a mandoline
2 persimmons – flat bottomed, cored and cut into chunks

Champagne Vinaigrette:

1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
2 Tbs. Champagne vinegar
scant 1/2 cup of olive oil
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a jar. Cover tightly and shake. Taste and adjust salt and pepper.

Divide the arugula among the four or five salad plates. Top each with the shaved fennel slices, then top with the persimmon chunks. Drizzle with the champagne vinaigrette and serve immediately.

Watch people’s expressions when they think they might be eating a tomato and it turns out to be a sweet persimmon. Surprise!!

With salads, I find the simpler the better. Really, the ones with the least ingredients are the best. I always remember those restaurants that try too hard – their salads give them away – with waaay too many things in them.

KISS (you know, Keep It Simple Stupid) works with salads too!

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!! It is particularly kind of them since they have been so very busy working alongside their contractors, renovating a townhouse they bought in Brooklyn. Very exciting! But a lot of work!

Beautiful colorful bouquet of fresh flowers.

Flowers from Zach who’s in Europe right now.

Our other son and his fiancée are in Europe doing research for their dissertations. One of the gifts from both boys was the new Jean-Georges Vongerichten home cooking cookbook, signed by Jean-Georges, no less! My job was to choose the recipes for my dinner. What fun!!
This book is terrific! The recipes are really doable for the home chef, with just a few unusual ingredients that you may have to search for. So here I was, marking off way too many recipes, having trouble deciding.

We started with Crudites with Anchovy Dip. OMG – so UMAMI!!! Amazing!!

We ate the WHOLE thing – supposed to service for 8 – 12 but we all couldn’t stop eating it! It was very light and none of us had had lunch. The dip comes out thin, so we all loved it with endive spears, so you could scoop up a lot of its deliciousness!

Sorry, we were all so busy eating that none of us took a picture! But here is a photo of the recipe.
For the entrée, we decided on this fantastic Sea Bass dish that tasted like it was made in some fine restaurant.

Really!

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

Isn’t this beautiful?!

It was so delicious – so flavorful with all the fresh herbs and the broth literally tasted buttery with not a spec of butter. The fish was cooked perfectly. It was so totally delicious and beautiful as well.

And the dessert that his girlfriend made – well – we all had two pieces!! Crazy good. Super yummy.

I am so very, very proud of the cooking and baking skills of both of my boys and both of their girlfriends. They are not afraid to tackle ANYTHING!! Their confidence and skill level are unmatched, along with the LOVE they impart while making a meal.

That’s just one of the reasons everything tastes so darn good.

Yep! This is my family.

I am so very lucky.

And I’m so very lucky to have you to share it with. May you all have very happy birthdays whenever they are.