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

An early summer delight!

June 29, 2012 by Mary Frances 1 Comment

It’s the season for soft shell crabs, a personal favorite of mine. After a true Seinfeld episode with Felix from the fish store calling numerous times and yelling at me, I finally got my order delivered. I have to say, it was worth the abuse.

What I did was so stupid simple and so very good, my husband is still talking about them today. That’s the sign of a really good meal – the memorable factor!

Here’s what I did.

SOFT SHELL CRABS
– serves 2

4 cleaned, washed and dried soft shell crabs
Organic buttermilk to cover the crabs
2 tbs. canola oil
1.5 tbs. unsalted butter
Flour to lightly dredge in on a flat plate
Fresh snipped chives to garnish
Lemon wedges

Have your fishmonger clean your crabs before you bring them home. (Put up with the abuse.) Place crabs in a narrow deep bowl to stack them and cover with buttermilk and let them sit for 15-25minutes, turning them once in the middle of the time. Heat the oil until very hot and add the butter. When the butter foam subsides, lift a crab out to drain the buttermilk and dredge lightly in the flour to cover and place in the hot pan. Once all the crabs are in, place a heavier, preferable cast iron skillet, on top of them to weight them down and cook for 3 minutes. Remove the top skillet and turn the crabs over and cook for another 3 minutes, no weight on top this time.

Lift them from the pan, sprinkle chopped chives on top and serve with fresh lemon wedges.

Delish!!! (Notice they didn’t even need any salt or pepper – I think the organic buttermilk was important and of course the quality of the crabs.)

A Tribute to Nora Ephron, 1941-2012

June 27, 2012 by Mary Frances 6 Comments

I am so sad. I didn’t even know she was sick. And she was so young, only 71.

Why do I feel so bad about the passing of someone who I never even met?

Because she had a way of making me feel like I knew her well. She shared so many intimacies and made fun of them – made the best out of them.

I first “met” Nora in Heartburn. I remembering reading the book in the 80s and thinking how clever that she intertwined recipes throughout – what a neat idea. I took note of that for the future. And here I am now, a visual artist, writing a blog and writing recipes! In the movie, when she has her second son and her husband gives her a beautiful sapphire ring after she just delivered the baby, (course he was guilty as hell, having an affair), I thought wow, as I was pregnant with our second child. I wonder if my husband will give me a fancy piece of jewelry. Ha! No jewelry and he thought I could get home from Lenox Hill by myself in a taxi with the baby and 20 flower arrangements. But my husband wasn’t having an affair. (At least I don’t think so.)

This is the thing, with Nora, you felt like you had so much in common. (I actually met Meryl Streep at our local organic farm store upstate last summer. Until we watched Heartburn that night, I had forgotten that Meryl was in the movie, playing the real life Nora!)

She was raised Jewish. I was raised Catholic. She wrote Love Loss and What I Wore. I would write Love, Loss and What I Ate!

When I moved back to NYC in 2007, I remember hearing about her book, I Feel Bad About my Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman. Since that came out, I have been religious about putting on neck cream every single day, and she’s right about having to shave your legs less as you get older. I think about that in the shower every morning. And she doesn’t even know how much she’s influenced me! How many others like me are out there?

Recently, I read an interview with Nora in the NY Times Magazine and she said that she was so glad that she no longer had to worry about financial things – that she was thankful that was out of the way. I hope to get to that place soon too.

Rest in peace Nora. We will all miss your wit and insights.

For Nora – our Rhodie bush in the country

Father’s Day!

June 19, 2012 by Mary Frances 4 Comments

Hope all you Dads out there had a great day!! Because our youngest left on Friday for a seven week vacation in Poland and Eastern Europe, our Father’s Day came early. They surprised my husband on Thursday evening, He came home from work to a beautifully set dining room table and both boys busy in the kitchen. I made cocktails for all and we had a grand time.

Here’s what they made. They started with a salad of arugula, topped with thinly sliced radishes and carrots, followed with avocado and a white wine and olive oil vinagrette. The meal was scaloppini of veal poached in a homemade vegetable broth with tarragon, dill and parsley, (a Mark Bittman recipe), served over parboiled broccoli rabe that was then flash broiled, and finished with a tossing of olive oil and chopped garlic, with mandoline sliced potatoes, coated in clarified butter and baked, (a French Laundry recipe). I am not making this up. They did it all and it was amazing and delicious!!!

Mark Bittman's recipe of veal poached in vegetable broth on red and white plates.

Father’s Day finished plates

Zach’s quinoa vegetable dish

June 16, 2012 by Mary Frances 2 Comments

This was the dish my youngest made for me as part of my Mother’s Day dinner. I figured I’d better get this to you before Father’s Day!

While I loved their meal, what I love most is watching the two boys cook. They discuss, they gossip, they argue, and then they break into a dance. They are so funny. They planned the meal together and then each was responsible for certain dishes, as opposed to one being the chef and the other being the sous chef. This dish Zach made up while the older one was a Mark Bittman devotee that night.

I hope you enjoy it!

ZACH’S QUINOA VEGETABLE DISH
5 cups of chicken stock (preferably homemade)
3 zucchinis
3 large carrots, peeled
1 onion
Olive oil
2 cups of quinoa
salt and pepper to taste

Prepare the zucchini and carrots, slicing them thinly, and set them aside. Chop the onion fine as well.

In a large pan, heat a tablespoon of olive oil, add the onions, and cover. Let them simmer, break down and become sweet. While those are cooking, put 4 cups of chicken broth in a saucepan, and bring to a boil. When that boils add the 2 cups of quinoa, turn down the heat, stir and cover; let simmer on low heat for about 12-14 minutes. But don’t forget to stir your onions and check on them!
When your onions look good, add the carrots and final cup of broth. Turn up the heat and let the carrots cook in the boiling broth uncovered. After much of the broth is gone, turn down the heat to a simmer, add the zucchini, and cover the pan. When the zucchini is cooked down, after about 5-7 minutes, add your cooked quinoa and stir. Salt and pepper to taste, but be careful, some store-bought chicken stocks can be salty!

Hudson Valley

June 11, 2012 by Mary Frances 2 Comments

My bike ride yesterday was so lovely. I keep saying that the Hudson Valley is just so, so pretty. The light here is so spectacular. No wonder all the artists and painters congregated here.

I have several routes that I go on for my rides. This particular one is about 8 miles and takes in numerous horse farms. Spectacular pieces of property and interestingly enough, the horses and cows all came to their fences to say hello to me as I was riding by yesterday!

Here are just a few shots for your pleasure.

Corn just starting to grow in cornfield.

The corn is just starting to grow!

Waiting for a bike ride

June 10, 2012 by Mary Frances Leave a Comment

While waiting for the rain to stop and the sun to come out in order to take a bike ride today, I went out and cut some arugula (It grows so fast) and whipped up this dressing for a little salad. It doesn’t get any better than this – so fresh, so clean, so delicious!

I love anchovies. They’re packed with flavor and I remember making a creamy salad dressing years ago for an arugula salad and for the life of me I cannot remember where I got that recipe or what, exactly, was in it. I searched everywhere I could think of, with no luck. So I made this one up and it’s terrific, although not yellow in color like the one I remember. This one looks like a pretty green goddess dressing because of the parsley.

Now if you don’t have a mini chopper and grinder from Cuisinart, go get one. Bed Bath and Beyond will special order it for you. They’re only about $20.00 and they are the best little tool. I use it to make this dressing or grind spices for a spice rub. It’s the best!

LEMON ANCHOVY DRESSING
2 tbs. fresh Italian parsley leaves
2 tbs. fresh lemon juice
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
3 anchovy fillets, patted dry of oil in a paper towel
3 tbs. olive oil

Combine everything except the olive oil in a mini processor or grinder and process until smooth. Add oil 1 tbs. at a time and process after each addition until thoroughly combined and smooth.

Enjoy!! I gotta get on my bike!

Graduation time!

June 9, 2012 by Mary Frances Leave a Comment

Dean of the Music department at The City College of New York.

Dean of the Music Department – he looks a little like Mel Brooks!

Our youngest son graduated from college last week and we’re so proud, with summa cum laude and numerous other awards, he’s heading off to Yale in August for a PhD in Eastern European History. At his graduation, of course the various Deans of the different Humanities got up to speak and the Dean of the Music Department was a real character. (check out his cap!) He’s been in that position for forty years! He stated that music was the universal language of love.

Well I say that food is the universal language of LOVE. What better way to let someone know that you love them and to show your love than through cooking, serving and sharing really delicious and healthy food?

So get on with it! Start cooking! Serve the food! Share the LOVE!

Vegetarian pasta with walnuts and spinach on a white plate.

Zach’s vegetarian dish

Bloomberg’s Sodas

June 1, 2012 by Mary Frances 1 Comment

So the news came out yesterday that our dear mayor wants to enact a far-reaching ban on the sale of large sized sodas and sugary drinks everywhere. I’m not a fan of the government making rules for your life but people are just getting too fat. The cheap junk and fast food is just awful. We’re way too fat here in NYC, too. Years ago, in the 70s, I used to go home to St. Louis and find all the people there fat, while we New Yorkers were normal or slim. Not any more. (Having just been in Nashville, I can tell you that people are not fat there.)

And how about portion sizes, which is what Bloomberg is talking about. The big American size is so endemic that it’s hard to find normal sized dinner plates. We have an old dishwasher at our country house and it was a struggle to find dinner plates that would fit in. What has happened to us? I’m tired of standing on the subway just because some one person is taking up not 2 but 3 seats!! Or how about the fact that we all pay for the medical problems of heart disease, diabetes and hypertension, just to mention a few.

How is this for an idea — I think our mayor should also consider giving each and every resident a full-length mirror. I’m convinced that people have no idea how they look. If they knew, they’d surely do something about it, don’t you think?

What I hope to accomplish with this blog is to teach people how to eat right, and to get in the habit of cooking to be able to prepare totally delicious, nutritious meals on any night of the week, even a weekday! Add a little LOVE while you’re cooking and you will please everyone, including yourself. And you’ll feel a whole lot better in every respect.

Take a look at this meal I prepared last night for four in an hour. It is a spoon cut sirloin beef roast, (38 minutes to cook at 350 degrees!), sautéed kale and beet greens with a little garlic and olive oil and yellow beans pan sautéed with just a touch of butter. Totally nutritious and delicious, and everyone loved it!

Sirloin roast beef with sauteed kale, beet greens, and yellow beans in white and green bowls.

Dinner in an hour!

The Best Potato Salad

May 27, 2012 by Mary Frances 8 Comments

Best potato salad with fennel, parmigiano cheese, cippolini onions and piccholine olives.

The Best Potato Salad with fennel, Parmesan cheese, cipollini onions and picholine olives.

The first time I made this was one year ago. Our oldest son was having a party at his apartment where they also have use of the roof. We were invited – unusual for parents! I brought a quadrupled recipe of this along with a rhubarb upside down cake. Both were huge hits!! This potato salad recipe is unusual, surprising and so very tasty. You will love it! This is an adapted version of a Martha Stewart recipe. (Robin – this is for you!)

THE BEST POTATO SALAD – serves 6

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 1/2 pounds baby Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed and halved
3/4 pound cipollini onions, peeled (drop in boiling water for 1-2 minutes to make this easier)
1/8 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
1 cup homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken stock
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon white-wine vinegar
1/2 cup picholine olives, pitted (2 1/2 ounces)
1 small fennel bulb, very thinly sliced (use a mandoline)
1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 ounce Parmesan cheese, shaved (1 cup)

Heat a medium skillet over medium-low heat with oil. Add garlic, and slowly saute for 8 – 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Turn heat to medium-high and add potatoes, onions, and red-pepper flakes. Cook until onions are golden, about 7 minutes.

Add stock, and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook until potatoes and onions are tender, about 10 minutes. Remove potatoes and onions with a slotted spoon. Reserve 1/2 cup cooking liquid.

Combine reserved liquid, vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Pour over warm potatoes and onions. You must do this while the potatoes are still warm to ensure maximum flavor. Stir in olives, and let cool completely.

Add fennel and parsley, and combine. Season with salt and pepper. Top with Parmesan.

Take a look at my garden after I took off the “winter blankets” yesterday. My mint, oregano, sage and chives went wild!

My herb garden – “winter blankets” removed!

Exciting news!

May 26, 2012 by Mary Frances 4 Comments

I am so happy (and proud!) to announce that this blog (https://lovethesecretingredient.net/) is a winner in the 2012 American Web Design Awards.

Of the nearly 1,000 entries, only 140 design firms or organizations were winners.

The competition is presented each year by Graphic Design USA and sponsored by The Creative Group.

You can see all the winning entries here:
http://www.gdusa.com/contests/awda12/types/se.php?x=106