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

Blueberry Buckle

September 7, 2015 by Mary 20 Comments

Happy Labor Day! Time to buckle down now and get back to school and serious business tomorrow, right? Somehow I think we all revert back to our younger selves, our school day calendar, and I find it’s rare that any serious business gets done in the summer, you agree? So yesterday, I made this Blueberry Buckle in honor of “buckling down.” (I couldn’t resist!)

So what exactly is a buckle, I asked and looked it up. From whatscookingamerica.net on the history of these things, they say, A buckle is a type of cake made in a single layer with berries added to the batter. It is usually made with blueberries. The topping is similar to a streusel, which gives it a buckled or crumpled appearance.

I adapted the recipe by Melissa Clark in a recent New York Times and while this is a terrific, light fruit dessert, not too sweet, just the way I like it, it did not have a streusel top. The top cracked as you can see, but no streusel crumbs. Maybe I should work on that for next time…

No matter, this is not time consuming to make, although I think mine turned out so light precisely because I did take the time to thoroughly cream the butter and sugar, while I grated the lemon zest and prepared the dry ingredients. Incidentally, one tablespoon of lemon zest is not too much – I might even add more lemon the next time as it diffuses once it bakes – you’ll use about 11/2 large lemons. And I continued to thoroughly beat the batter after adding each one of the three eggs, using speed two on my KitchenAid. When you add the dry mixture, use speed one, mixing just until no flour is visible. Fold your blueberries in by hand and you’ll be all set.

As I said, I adapted Melissa’s recipe, so there are changes. She calls for 41/2 cups of blueberries while just barely 4 cups is more than plenty in my book. I also buttered the pan and dusted it with flour to prepare it for baking. I don’t trust just using butter and there’s nothing more disappointing than to go through all this work and then have to struggle to get the beautiful dessert out of the pan, in order to make a neat presentation.

Also, I followed her instructions to serve with ice cream, but I think I would prefer creme fraiche the next time.

Hope you get a chance to make this, with LOVE, while fresh blueberries are still abundant! Enjoy!!

BLUEBERRY BUCKLE – serves 8 – adapted from Melissa Clark

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing pan
½ cup granulated sugar, more for sprinkling
¼ cup light brown sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 Tbs. finely grated lemon zest
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1¼ cups all-purpose flour plus some extra for dusting the pan
½ tsp. fine sea salt
3/4 tsp. fresh grated nutmeg – use ½ tsp. if already grated out of the jar
¼ tsp. baking powder
4 cups blueberries or a mixture of summer berries (a mix of blueberries, raspberries, blackberries or use any one kind)
Cinnamon, for dusting
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan. Dust with flour on all surfaces.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar and beat together until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then add lemon zest and vanilla and mix until combined.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, nutmeg and baking powder, and whisk to combine. Gradually add dry ingredients to egg mixture and mix until just combined.

Gently fold blueberries into the batter by hand, then spread batter in the prepared pan and sprinkle lightly with more granulated sugar on top. Bake 40 to 50 minutes, or until top is golden and cake is cooked through. (Mine took 50 minutes.)

Allow cake to cool, then sprinkle with cinnamon and confectioners’ sugar.

Serve with vanilla ice cream or crème fraiche. LOVE!!

Melissa states that this is best eaten the same day but I had a bite this morning with my coffee after breakfast, and it was just fine!!

Easy Ice Cream Pie with Power O’s Crust

July 21, 2015 by Mary 18 Comments

A pie crust that is actually good for you?

Impossible?!

Well, no.

Not if it’s made with Power O’s this super unusual, delicious cereal that’s made with beans!

This is the fifth item in our MARY’s secret ingredients summer box and really so unique, so smart and so delicious! I was told by a doctor years ago that the first thing I should put into my body in the morning was protein. So I usually eat meat but cereal is really a more normal breakfast food. So here, with Power O’s you can have both!

Beans are comparable to meat when it comes to calories, says Dawn Jackson Blatner, RD, a registered dietitian at Northwestern Memorial Hospital’s Wellness Institute in Chicago and a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association. But they really shine in terms of fiber and water content, two ingredients that make you feel fuller, faster. Adding beans to your diet helps cut calories without feeling deprived.

Our diets tend to be seriously skimpy when it comes to fiber (the average American consumes just 15 grams daily), to the detriment of both our hearts and our waistlines. The recommended amount for a daily dose of fiber is 21 to 25 grams per day for adult women (30 to 38 grams for adult men). Meat, on the other hand, contains no fiber at all.

This difference in fiber content means that meat is digested fairly quickly, whereas beans are digested slowly, keeping you satisfied longer. Plus, beans are low in sugar, which prevents insulin in the bloodstream from spiking and causing hunger. When you substitute beans for meat in your diet, you get the added bonus of a decrease in saturated fat, says Blatner.

So maybe with this recipe I negated part of the goodness by adding ice cream, OR you could say that this is my attempt to make an ice cream dessert healthy!

This company, Love Grown Foods, was started by a husband and wife team, Alex and Maddy. I met them last year at the Fancy Foods Show and their philosophy completely matches mine. They said, “We started Love Grown Foods to put healthier foods on the shelves, because we are passionate about making delicious and nutritious foods available to everyone. We are also committed to educating kids, parents, and teachers about the importance of eating healthy. We are here to change the way people think about food, eat food, and ultimately buy food. Join us on our journey as we SPREAD the LOVE!”

This is exactly what I’m hoping to do with this blog and with MARY’s secret ingredients.

“Nuff said.” Eat your beans this way!

EASY ICE CREAM PIE WITH POWER O’s CRUST – serves 8

4.4 oz. Power O’s, honey or chocolate, crushed
Pinch of French Grey or Kosher salt
7 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted
2 Tbs. all natural chocolate sauce
2 pints of all natural vanilla ice cream
Strawberries
Blueberries
Aged pomegranate balsamic vinegar, (optional), for drizzling

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Crush the cereal into fine crumbs with a rolling pin. Place in a bowl. Melt the butter and pour over the crushed Power O’s. When the warm butter hit the chocolate Power O’s, the chocolate smell was intoxicating – proof that they’re using real, high quality ingredients – as opposed to making this crust with processed food graham crackers – YUK!

Mix the cereal crumbs and butter well. Pour into a 9″ pie plate and distribute and press in evenly all around forming the crust, being careful not to make any area too thick, particularly where the sides meet the bottom of the pan.

Bake the crust on the middle rack in the oven for about 8 minutes. Let cool completely before filling.

Drizzle the chocolate sauce on the bottom of the crust.

Spoon the 2 pints of ice cream evenly all around in the crust. Do this quickly so you don’t have melting along the sides. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze until ready to serve.

Just before serving decorate the top with blueberries and strawberries as shown. I did this for July 4^th – very patriotic!

Cut with a knife dipped in hot tap water, drizzle each piece with aged pomegranate balsamic vinegar (optional) and serve. This vinegar was a very nice, surprising touch!

And as a little reminder, our fall box ships on September 25th and it’s going to be also full of great unusual products! The supply is limited so best to order now before we run out.

Chipz Happen Cinnful Sweet Heat Ice Cream Sandwiches

July 13, 2015 by Mary 17 Comments

Spicy, sweet, crispy and cinnamony, Chipz Happen Cinnful Sweet Heat Ice Cream Sandwiches have it all going, using these spicy cinnamon flavored corn chips!! This is the first product I want to talk about from the MARY’s secret ingredients summer box and it’s neatest company with the most interesting background story. This is the story of a mom who made homemade chips for her kids and extended family as just a part of their life. Then at the age of 73, with the urging of her children, together they set out and decided to spread the great taste of their mother’s creation to the rest of the world and formed this company, Chipz Happen! All flavors of Chipz Happen have no artificial ingredients, no trans fats, are made with all non-GMO ingredients, gluten-free, vegan and use only antioxidant rich rice bran oil. Whoa – that’s a whole good mouthful!!

Of course you can eat these chips right out of the bag – and with summertime grilling, they’ll go great with anything! But I created this super easy delicious dessert with them to beat the summertime heat.

Crush your chips, follow instructions, add some LOVE, and you’re all set!! (and enjoy the compliments!)

CHIPZ HAPPEN CINNFUL SWEET HEAT ICE CREAM SANDWICHES – serves 6

12 chocolate wafer cookies or any other thin, sturdy cookies you like
1 pint vanilla ice cream
1.5 oz. bag of Chipz Happen Cinnful Sweet Heat Tortilla Chips
Strawberries for garnish

Remove tortilla chips from the bag and crush.

Scoop out a good spoonful or 1/6 of the ice cream on a chocolate wafer, top with the other wafer, press down gently so you don’t break the cookies and then roll the ice cream sides in the crushed chips to coat. Place in a covered plastic container and freeze until ready to serve.

Serve with LOVE, on a plate, garnished with 2 strawberries.

Enjoy!!

I also used these chips, crushed, to garnish my Smoked Tomato Soup that I served at room temperature. The cinnamon flavor with the smoky soup was truly wonderful – and so different. The crunch of the chips added a great extra texture.

Experiment and have fun!! No matter, these chips are great!

Chelsea Market Baskets Oatie Bites Fruit Crisp

May 27, 2015 by Mary 15 Comments

These little cookies from Chelsea Market Baskets are buttery, crisp, full of oats and totally delicious! This is the sixth item from our MARY’s secret ingredients spring box and I’d say they’re addictive. So, my thought with this recipe was to combine them with healthy fruit to be able to justify eating more of them! In your box, you either got a Banoffee flavor, which Is a traditional Scottish combo of banana and vanilla or Maple Pecan. Either flavor works in this Chelsea Market Baskets Oatie Bites Fruit Crisp recipe.

First, a little background on the heritage of these cookies. Donald Reid started this family-run bakery located in Thurso, Scotland in 1966 using his grandmother’s over 100 year-old recipes. He uses the exact same locally grown oats from the exact same mills that his grandmother used to bake her amazing biscuits and cakes. The recipes are unchanged, and we’re so glad about that!

We get savor these cookies via Chelsea Market Baskets, NYC’s premier specialty food and gift basket store. Owner, David Porat searches the world for distinctly high quality, unique, innovative products with a certain indescribable charm, and we can see why these Oatie Bites fit right in his specifications. Chelsea Market Baskets aims to delight customers through their retail shop in NYC, mail order gift business and wholesale imports. And that they do!

Here’s the recipe:

CHELSEA MARKET BASKETS OATIE BITES FRUIT CRISP – serves 6 – 8

10 large strawberries, washed, cored and each sliced into 3 or 4 thick slices
1 pint blueberries, washed
3 Tbs. sugar
1 Tbs. cornstarch
1 tsp. lemon juice

TOPPING;
12 Oatie Bites cookies, Banoffee or Maple Pecan flavored
3 Tbs. unsalted cold butter, plus more for buttering pan
1 Tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg, preferably fresh grated

Preheat over to 375 degrees.

Butter an 8” x 8” glass baking dish.

Make sure the fruit is air dried before proceeding. Combine the fruit in the buttered dish. Sprinkle the sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice on top and toss all gently to combine with a rubber spatula.

Prepare the topping: Break the cookies into small pieces in a bowl. Sprinkle on cinnamon and nutmeg. Cut the cold butter into small pieces and place in the bowl. Combine all with a pastry cutter to make the streusel topping.

Distribute the topping evenly over the fruit.

Bake in the preheated oven for 25 – 30 minutes, until the fruit is bubbly on the edges.

Serve warm, with LOVE. If you want to be really decadent, you could add a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream, but it is not necessary.

This was so good, I’m making it again tomorrow night for a little weeknight dinner party!

The Chelsea Market Baskets Oatie Bites were in our MARY’s secret ingredients spring box. The summer box will mail on June 25th. You won’t want to miss it!

Cit-Trease Peeler

May 25, 2015 by Mary 10 Comments

The pith of any citrus fruit is the most bitter part. You don’t want any piece of it and with this Cit-Trease peeler, you can kiss all those pithy parts away!!

Chef’s Planet, goal in life as a company, is to make your life in the kitchen easy and fun!! They are constantly thinking of new ways to make cooking simpler and more enjoyable!

This clever tool makes it easy to remove citrus from the peel so you can enjoy fresh fruit cut up in a bowl or throw the whole peeled half in a juicer for your smoothie. Simply cut your citrus fruit in half and score the citrus in a complete rotation by placing the blade teeth at the edge of the peel. Continue rotating the citrus and move the Cit-Trease handle in a perpendicular position to the face of the fruit until it pulls away from the peel. Voilá!
You then have a half of an orange that is pure fruit, with no pith at all!

You can use this handy tool on grapefruits, avocados and even squash. Cit-Trease away and have fun!! Kiss all nasty skins and pithy parts goodbye!

Chef’s Planet makes life in the kitchen easier by offering unique, cleverly designed gadgets to fit your active life-style. They are constantly thinking of new ways to make cooking simpler and more enjoyable!

The Cit-Trease tool has a stainless steel blade that will not rust or tarnish, is dishwasher safe on the top shelf and even has a patent pending!

Chef’s Planet Cit-Trease tool was in our MARY’s secret ingredients Spring box. Don’t miss out! Our June box is selling like hotcakes – ships June 25th! Order by June 24th.

Angel Food Cake with Strawberries and Whipped Cream and Our MSI Spring Box Winners!

April 28, 2015 by Mary 16 Comments

My mother used to make this cake often for birthdays or for our Sunday dessert. It was my brother Greg’s, always requested birthday cake for his July 30th birthday. It never misses an ooooh or ahhhh when brought to the table. The towering presentation, light and refreshing coolness, was always a hit, particularly in late July in steamy St. Louis.

My mother would use Dream Whip in those days, (remember that dry packaged stuff you added milk and vanilla to?) along with Duncan Hines Angel food cake mix. Ah the ‘60’s – the introduction of time saving mixes entered our lives, the beginning of processed food creeping into every aspect of our eating. Although my mother often talked about making the cake from scratch, the thought of a dozen egg whites was daunting. And then what do you do with all those yolks? (I am asking the same question now.)

When our boys were little, I continued the tradition of making this cake on Sundays with (yes, don’t judge) a boxed cake mix, but real whipped cream. Then my oldest asked for this for his recent big birthday. Only this time, I made the cake from scratch. There is a difference. Light, fabulously fluffy, not too much almond, this is sweet in so many ways. It is worth the effort. Be sure there is no butter, grease or olive oil even nearby and have your egg whites truly at room temperature – no kidding. Separate your eggs first and put your yolks back in the fridge right away, but leave those whites out. I probably let mine sit out for over 2 hours before attacking them to whip.

Be sure to use fresh cake flour too and don’t forget to cut through the batter with a knife to remove the air holes before baking and have a good liquor bottle around to turn that cake upside down on to cool, as soon as it comes out of the oven, otherwise you will watch it sink back into the pan. Find the right sized bottle first, before you even start making the cake.

Huge piece of angel food cake with whipped cream and strawberries.

The birthday boy’s first piece!

This really isn’t hard and it is so pretty, so light and so delicious!! The birthday boy had one piece the size of three plus then another regular sized piece.

Yes, he was pretty happy.

ANGEL FOOD CAKE – serves 12
1 cup cake flour
3⁄4 cup sugar
2 Tbs. sugar
12 large egg whites, MUST be at room temperature
1 1⁄2 tsp. cream of tartar
1⁄4 tsp. salt
3⁄4 cup sugar
1 1⁄2 tsp. vanilla
1⁄2 tsp. almond extract

For the filling:
2+ cups heavy cream
1 rounded Tbs. powdered or confectioner’s sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
12 -16 oz. fresh strawberries, washed and dried. Save 5 – 6 perfect berries for the top decoration, hull and slice the others.

Note: For those not used to making angel food cakes, do not get any yoke in the whites. If you do, throw it out and start over. A good thing to do is to separate the egg in a glass first. Then if no yoke, pour into your clean, totally grease-free bowl to whip.

DO NOT GREASE PAN. Use a two-piece angel food cake pan.

Pre-heat oven to 375°.

Sift the cake flour and 3/4 cup + 2 Tbs. sugar; set aside.

Combine the extracts in a small bowl; set aside.

Beat egg whites, cream of tartar and salt until peaks form.

Add the other 3/4 cup of sugar slowly, then beat on high until stiff peaks form. Remove bowl from mixer and fold in flour mixture and extracts slowly. You will add the flour in 5 or 6 additions, folding after each one. Make sure you fold in the sides and bottom of your mixing bowl.

Spoon batter into an angel food cake pan. Move a knife through batter to remove air pockets.

Bake 30-35 minutes or until top springs back when touched lightly with finger.

Remove from oven and invert pan onto a liquor bottle to cool completely.

To remove the cake from your pan take a flat metal cake spatula and insert it perpendicular in up an down motions around the rim of the cake pan just to get the ‘crust’ away from the pan.Then firmly spank the sides of your pan. Invert onto your serving plate then take the knife to the now top which was the bottom of your pan and gently cut cake away from the pan insert, using the same back and forth motion with the flat metal spatula. No need to cut around the center tube as you can just give the cake a gentle but firm tap or downward shake on to the plate. Or you can pick up plate while holding onto the pan insert with your thumbs and firmly strike the bottom of the plate onto a folded towel. (Just give it a slam down on the towel/table).

Cut the cake into 3 layers.

Whip 2+ cups of heavy cream – lightly sweeten with a Tbs. of powdered sugar and a little vanilla. Ice each layer with the cream and cover with sliced fresh strawberries. Top with whole strawberries and serve right away, with LOVE!

And now our MSI winners of our spring box giveaway are:

Carol Ezovski
Chelsea W
Stephanie Gee
Dominick Costa
Christina Bauer

Congratulations to all of you and I know you’ll love your spring box, which due to some growing pains over here, is mailing out this Friday, May 1st. Enjoy!!