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

Veggie Pho – Gluten-Free!

May 16, 2015 by Mary 13 Comments

Savory Creations International, located in Northern California, is the company that makes this outstanding Veggie Pho. They make other pho’s too – chicken and beef – but I chose the vegetable one to include in our spring box because I thought it was so flavorful and I love the hint of cloves. This company supplies broths and demi glace for top chefs at very fine restaurants so they really know what they are doing, as all of their products are super delicious and just as good as homemade. Of course all of them are all natural, no MSG, naturally gluten-free with zero trans fats and come concentrated in these handy little packets where you dissolve each packet in 2 cups of hot water.

I made this Veggie Pho Gluten-Free and paired it with a grilled Provolone and tomato sandwich on whole grain bread (I know – I added glutens with the bread, but we are not sensitive to glutens!) for one of our weekly meatless meals and my husband asked me to make this dinner again. You know he usually complains about the one meatless meal per week but this one was a winner!

Pho is the Vietnamese national dish, typically consisting of rice noodles, onions, herbs, seasonings and thinly sliced beef or chicken in a clear broth.

I chose to keep this pho vegetarian as well as gluten-free, using white rice noodles and a variety of vegetables. Of course you can use any combination of vegetables or add a protein such as shrimp, chicken or pork. Anything works in this broth. It’s super easy and quick to have a satisfying meal to put on the table in a jiffy. And remember to make it with LOVE – for best results! 🙂

Here’s what I did:

VEGGIE PHO – GLUTEN-FREE – serves 3

3 packs of Savory Choice Veggie Pho
6 cups of hot water
5 oz. gluten-free white rice spaghetti
2 radishes, thinly sliced
2/3 of a head of Romaine lettuce heart, cut in 1/4” slices
1/4 of a head of radicchio, cut in 1/4” slices
One handful of sugar snap peas, strings removed
1/4 cup oil cured, pitted black olives
2 scallions, white and light green parts, cut in 1/4” slices
Dash of Sriracha sauce to taste

Set a medium sized pot of cold water on to boil. When it comes to a boil, season with coarse sea salt and cook the white rice spaghetti al dente. Drain and reserve.

Prepare all the vegetables. Dissolve the Veggie Pho in the 6 cups of hot water in a medium sized pot. Bring it to a simmer and add the sugar snap peas. Simmer for 2 -3 minutes, until crisp tender. Add the noodles, the rest of the vegetables and the olives. Remove from heat immediately as you want to keep the rest of the vegetables crisp and tasty – do not cook them. Ladle pho into serving bowls. Garnish with scallions and serve. Use the sauce as you please for an added kick!

PROVOLONE AND TOMATO GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICHES – serves 2

4 slices of whole grain bread
Unsalted butter
6 – 8 slices of Provolone cheese
1 tomato, cut in 6 slices
fresh ground pepper

Assemble sandwiches as shown, cheese topped with the tomato slices. Grind pepper over the tomatoes. Close the sandwiches and butter one side of the bread.

Melt some butter in a non-stick skillet on medium heat. Swirl the butter around to coat the bottom of the pan. Put the unbuttered side of the sandwich down and cook for about 5 minutes until bread is nicely browned. Flip sandwich over and toast the other side for 4 – 5 minutes.

Remove to a plate and cut in half diagonally to serve with the Veggie Pho. Enjoy!!

The Savory Choice Veggie Pho was in our MARY’s secret ingredients spring box. The summer box will mail on June 25th.

Mother’s Day at Woman’s Day

May 8, 2015 by Mary 12 Comments

The week before last I received an invitation to a Mother’s Day brunch at Woman’s Day magazine corporate headquarters. I said “Yes!” Not really knowing what to expect, it was a delightful few hours this past Tuesday morning. They had invited about a dozen bloggers and we got to “play”.

Take a look at the cupcake I decorated to, ahem, “match” their cover cupcake. My bee looks a little distressed or crabby, don’t you think? I didn’t mean to make it look like that but the woman next to me accidentally hit my elbow while I was drawing on the face. Oh well! What was really fun was being able to meet some other bloggers in person. Previously we had only known each other through commenting.

The team at Woman’s Day is so impressive. These editors are top notch – all young, beautiful, super organized and as the Editor in Chief, Susan Spencer said, “they get it done!” The magazine is so deep with ideas on food, fashion, crafts and projects, books to read, you name it!

Do It Yourself (DIY) projects are very big with their readers, so another thing we learned is how to make your own salt or brown sugar body scrub. I’m a salt person myself so I made a lemongrass salt version. It’s so simple, it’s stupid and to think I spent all this money on scrubs from Bliss in the past and I could have made this in my kitchen? Who knew? Estee Lauder started in her kitchen and look where that got her!

So let me share this recipe with you. Make this and use it, as it won’t last too long. They say it will keep for about a month in a closed jar in a cool dark place. So all you moms out there should make this for yourselves and give yourself a spa day Mother’s Day!

Homemade Body Scrub – from Woman’s Day magazine

3 rounded Tbs. Kosher salt
2 Tbs. olive oil
5 – 6 drops of any essential oil – lemongrass, lavender, peppermint, you decide!

Place salt in a small clean glass jar. Drizzle in olive oil and stir with a wooden stick or chopstick. Add in the oil and stir again.

Store in a cool dark place and use within a month.

My boy are coming over to cook me a surprise dinner for Mother’s Day. (It’s my favorite holiday!) I can’t wait!!

Hope you all have an awesome day on Sunday!

Eggplant, Mozzarella and Oil-cured Black Olive Spaghetti

May 3, 2015 by Mary 25 Comments

I have been wanting to tell you about this dish for some time now and I thought I’d better get it to you before we get deep into grilling season. You know my husband is not fond of my one meatless meal per week, (although last week I snuck in two and he didn’t notice!) One night I threw together this dish and it was so satisfying, rich, delicious and different too! With the oil cured black olives and fresh fennel, each adding their own distinctive flavor, the sweet fresh tomatoes added at the end, along with the creaminess of the mozzarella, this is a recipe you will want to repeat. Give this eggplant, mozzarella and oil-cured black olive spaghetti dish a try and your meat lover will not complain. Mine asked me to make it again!

With this recipe, I also discovered some new things. I don’t know about you, but every time I cook eggplant, I feel like I run the risk of using way too much olive oil as the eggplant will absorb and absorb forever, if you know what I mean. So here, I used a reasonable amount for a whole pasta dish, 1/3 cup, but sautéed it on low heat covered, with the fennel, which also gave off some moisture. This made everything juicy and tender, needing no additional oil. I added the tomatoes at the very end, not to cook them into a sauce but to have them add their fresh burst of color and flavor. The 1/2 cup of pasta water is essential to make the sauce adhere to the noodle better. Did you know that that is true for all pastas?

The three small zebra striped eggplants seem sweeter to me. If you can’t find the zebra striped, use the small Italian solid purple eggplants. And do be sure to buy the best, fresh salted mozzarella you can find. Happy healthy eating!!

EGGPLANT, MOZZARELLA AND OIL-CURED BLACK OLIVE SPAGHETTI – serves 4 as a main course

3 small zebra striped eggplants, washed, trimmed and sliced lengthwise in half and then in 1/2 slices
1/2 of a large fennel bulb, cut into 1/4” thick slices, then in 1/2” pieces
1/3 cup olive oil
5 large cloves of garlic, minced
2 plum tomatoes, cored and chopped
Heaping 1/2 cup of oil cured, pitted, black olives (the wrinkled ones)
7 oz. mozzarella cheese, cut in 1/4” slices, then 1/4” strips, then cut each strip in half again
Course sea salt for pasta water
1/2 lb. spaghetti
1/2 cup pasta water

Fill a large pot with cold water and bring to a boil. Salt with the coarse sea salt and add the pasta. Cook till al dente. Remove and reserve at least 1/2 cup of pasta water.

Meanwhile, warm the olive oil in a large skillet, add the eggplant and fennel and cook on low heat, covered while stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. Add the minced garlic, cover and cook another 15 minutes.

Add the chopped tomatoes and olives. Stir and cook for 5 minutes, uncovered.

Stir in your cooked pasta, pasta water and the cheese to combine and toss thoroughly to finish cooking your pasta.

Check seasonings – it may need some pepper but not much else. At least I didn’t need anything else, except to serve with LOVE!

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!!

MSI Shares the Love – Giveaway and Fantastic Crispy Potatoes!!

April 21, 2015 by Mary 14 Comments

A handful of our wonderful investors in MARY’s secret ingredients crowdfunding campaign were also avid subscribers so they said they didn’t need their boxes (duplicates) from the campaign. So we would like to share the LOVE and give away their 5 spring boxes!! All you have to do for this giveaway is tweet the name of your favorite potato recipe, that you like to share with your family and friends, with the hashtag #MSIsharesTheLove. For those of you who don’t normally tweet, here’s your chance to learn how! Please make sure you use the hashtag handle (#MSIsharesTheLove) so we can group you all together. Tweet between now and April 25th (this Saturday) and then we will randomly pick the 5 winners to receive a FREE spring subscription box*! So tweet away and good luck to win!!

My husband LOVES crispy potatoes and is always asking for them. I have one surefire recipe but it uses tons of butter and olive oil to get them that way, which is just way too fattening.

So this past Sunday, for my son’s birthday dinner party, I made these.

My naysayers said these potatoes would dry out, not be good, most likely be dehydrated. How can they possibly be baked that long?

Ha!!

CRISPY BAKED YUKON GOLD POTATOES – serves 4 – 5

2 lbs. Yukon Gold potatoes, 2” in diameter, scrubbed
Olive oil
Maldon Sea Salt

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Wash and scrub potatoes, dry and prick all over with a fork.

Place potatoes on the oven rack and bake for 1.75 hours, until skins are hard and crispy.

Remove from oven and using a serrated knife, cut in half, but not all the way through. Drizzle with your best olive oil and sprinkle on the Maldon Salt. Enjoy!!

So now don’t forget to tweet us your favorite potato recipe. Is it crispy or soft?

Please remember to use the hashtag handle #MSIsharesTheLove to win your free box. Buy an extra one as a gift – Mother’s Day is coming! As Joan, one of our subscribers recently said, “Love these boxes. Have found new things I wouldn’t have tried by seeing them on a shelf in the store.”

This is our reason for being! – to inspire your cooking with new flavors, cuisines, ideas. To put excitement back into YOUR kitchen!

Thank you Joan for being a subscriber!! We LOVE hearing this feedback!

* Free box includes shipping in the Continental USA only.

Easter 2015, New Beginnings and Bacon Wrapped Walnut Dates

April 16, 2015 by Mary 9 Comments

Isn’t this what Easter is all about – new beginnings?

So I‘ve been slightly slammed lately, trying to get MSI off the ground, keeping PM+CO going, (cause that’s where we make money to pay the mortgage, rent and salaries) and just trying to balance it all to be able to sleep at night – which hasn’t been easy. So this past weekend, we got to go up to the country for the first time in four weeks! I cannot tell you how blessed we are to have this very simple place that is so very different from the city. I have my little painting studio there and I was working on a very abstracted landscape and got to go back to its simplicity and wow – that felt SO good! Even when we could drive up there, I had been away from the studio for so long because the snow was so deep, I wouldn’t have been able to open the doors. So I walked in last Saturday and really had to take a step back to try to remember what it was I was trying to achieve in my work.

I put it together and happily continued on for hours – and it felt SO good!! New beginnings – springtime – eh?!

Here is a snippet of our Peaster celebration! (Passover and Easter). We started with my husband’s delicious matzo bowl soup with one son’s homemade sourdough bread, followed by Barbecued Fresh Ham with an Ancho Fig Compote – both recipes from an April, 2001 issue of Food and Wine magazine – served with Parsley Buttered Egg Noodles, and Sesame Soy Sauteed Asparagus. Dessert was two gorgeous pies with whipped cream and of course, some chocolate eggs and jelly beans too!

We were privileged to have one girlfriend with her Mom and stepdad, one nephew, and one close friend of one son with his mom visiting from Turkey and the four of us. We made ten in total. It was wonderful and really, my boys take over. One makes drinks and one dotes on me to not get too stressed. They both help serve (because they just think I’m not capable?) One made the fantastic loaf of sourdough bread that we served with the matzo ball soup and the other acted as my sous chef earlier in the day. Honestly, I AM amazed. They know so much. I only wish my own mother was still alive to see this. My mother loved to bake breads. She unfortunately rarely had enough time when we were all home (6 kids) and then when she did have time, no one was home to eat it all! And here I have a son who has a sourdough starter (my Mom’s dream) and makes bread all the time!! He was making another loaf just yesterday morning. And this is a time consuming thing, particularly if you don’t have a big six hour dedicated time block. But he makes it work with his schedule. He’s figured out how to do it in stages, interrupted by all of his activities and it works!

Here is the sourdough with an amazing crust!!

To you younger moms out there, this is proof that it really does pay off to cook and serve healthy meals at home. The one girlfriend said at Easter, “Oh well god forbid, if I even TRY to throw out the chicken bones, I get yelled at – gotta make broth!”

And I’m sitting there thinking, I don’t make broth with every chicken….

I hope you all had a great holiday celebration – whatever you celebrate – it’s just important you get together and CELEBRATE!! EVERYTHING!!

Take a look at this fantastic, simple appetizer that everyone loved. I’m sorry that this photograph is not great but here I am holding a plate of these Bacon Wrapped Walnut Stuffed Dates, and talking to one of our guests, while licking my fingers!j

My big beautiful barbecued fresh ham!

Big bowl of parsley buttered egg noodles.

A big bowl of comforting, parsley buttered egg noodles. Who doesn’t love that?

Beautiful pecan and blueberry pies for Easter dessert.

Kate’s beautiful pecan and blueberry pies.

These are amazing – make them and you’ll see!

BACON WRAPPED WALNUT DATES – serves 10

20 large Medjool dates, slit the long way but not cut all the way through, and pitted
20 walnut halves
10 slices of thin sliced bacon, cut in half

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Stuff a walnut in the middle of each date, close and wrap with 1/2 of a slice of bacon, having the ends meet underneath the date. Arrange on a small broiler pan with a rack so grease can drip down.

Roast for 12 – 17 minutes, until the bacon is done. Let cool 5 – 10 minutes as they are much too hot straight out of the oven. Serve with LOVE and a toothpick inserted in each one, plus plenty of napkins. Delish!!