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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!

Ultragrain All Purpose Flour in Biscuits & Chocolate Cake

October 20, 2015 by Mary 27 Comments

The flour in our fall MARY’s secret ingredients box seemed to be a surprise for some. But then again, this isn’t just any flour. It is Ultragrain All Purpose flour from Ardent Mills that replaces white flour, cup for cup. In the past, I’ve baked with straight whole wheat flour and some other partial combinations. Sadly, all did not have a good success rate. Not so with this flour!! I put it to the test on biscuits and cake and this Ultragrain multigrain flour performed in a terrific way!!

It is unique in that it’s whole wheat flour that offers whole grain nutrition but with the taste, texture and appearance of white flour. It’s made with specially selected white wheat that’s grown on family farms in Colorado and surrounding states. Naturally milder, sweeter and lighter in color than red wheat, it’s milled using a unique method that retains all of the whole grain nutrition while achieving the consistency of white flour.

Ultragrain All Purpose Flour contains 9 grams of whole grain per serving and twice the fiber of other all-purpose flours.

But this is what most interests me, this flour is unenriched, unbleached, has no bromate, and the wheat is a non-GMO grain. This is a BIG thing! Who needs all that added crap or bleach!

I would even go so far as to say that I would bet that if you have a gluten sensitivity, (not intolerance or celiac) you may find this flour to be ok. Wouldn’t that be awesome?

Check out these biscuit and cake recipes. Notice the lovely texture of both in the photos. The taste and light texture are wonderful, yet this is so much better for you all around without the additives, bleach, or genetically modified base, plus you get the added fiber with 30% of the flour being whole grain. You can have your cake and eat it too!!

SKILLET BUTTERMILK BISCUITS – adapted from Food & Wine Magazine – contributed by Coleen Cruze Bhatti

1 stick cold unsalted butter, cubed, plus more for greasing
2 cups Ultragrain multigrain all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 1/4 cups cold buttermilk (I used Kate’s Buttermilk – the real thing)

Preheat the oven to 450° and butter a 12-inch cast-iron skillet. In a large bowl, whisk the 2 cups of flour with the baking powder, salt and baking soda. Add the cubed butter and using a pastry cutter or your fingers, pinch the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles very coarse crumbs, with some of the butter the size of small peas. Gently stir in the buttermilk, just until a soft dough forms.

Scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and pat it into a 3/4-inch-thick round. Using a 2-inch round biscuit cutter, stamp out biscuits as close together as possible. Gently press the scraps together and stamp out more biscuits. Arrange the  biscuits in the prepared skillet and bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until golden brown. Serve warm.

So good, you don’t even need butter!

CHOCOLATE CAKE!

This made in the pan chocolate cake is super easy and quick to make. The recipe is from Mollie Katzan. I add a little more cocoa for a super chocolaty taste. Just be sure you’ve thoroughly mixed your dry ingredients and then the wet as well, lifting up the pan periodically so you can check.

You can literally make this in 15 – 20 to mix and then 30+ minutes to bake. Now there’s no excuse not to make a dessert, and it’s even vegan!!

MADE-IN-THE-PAN CHOCOLATE CAKE – serves 9 – adapted from Mollie Katzan

1 1/4 cups Ultragrain multigrain all purpose flour
1/3 heaping cup unsweetened cocoa
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1 cup water
1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. cider vinegar or white vinegar

Preheat oven to 325°F. Have ready an 8-inch-square glass baking pan. Put flour, cocoa, sugar, salt and baking soda into the pan. Mix it together thoroughly with a whisk and spatula making sure all is blended together and no white flour clumps are visible. Lift up the pan and check to make sure all is blended on the bottom and especially in the corners.

Add water, oil, vanilla extract and vinegar. Stir slowly with a whisk in small circles to blend. As it becomes a batter, mash, scrape, and stir with whisk and spatula until smooth, particularly scraping and blending from the corners of the pan.

Scrape the sides with a rubber spatula and spread it evenly. Clean the edges, then bake for 30 minutes until top bounces back on your finger impression and a toothpick come out clean.

Cool completely in the pan, on a rack. Dust with some powdered sugar (there is no need for frosting) and cut into squares.

I served it with LOVE, a dollop of ice cream and some strawberries for a really pretty and super easy dessert.

Ardent Mills Ultragrain All Purpose flour was one of the products in our MARY’s secret ingredients fall box. You can get your SURPRISE winter box here! Make a great gift and helps us in our support of Feed The Children.

POURfect Measuring Spoons & Curry Pho with Veal & Veggies

October 16, 2015 by Mary 7 Comments

My mother used to say, “You must have the right tool to do the best job.” How true that is – for anything! Well for cooking, there are measuring spoons and then there are these POURfect measuring spoons. Completely accurate – perfect for bakers where that accuracy really matters – a dream to use in that each spoon easily snaps on and off of the holding ring so you don’t have all of these dangling spoons all around while you’re trying to measure something, and all the sizes!!

First, there’s the 2 tablespoon size! Simple, but genius, because how often do you use 2 tablespoons? All the time!! Then, there’s the 11/2 teaspoon size and ¾ teaspoon – again genius. And I haven’t even gotten to the dash, pinch, smidgen, or drop measurements. Who knew there were real standard measurements for these? All these years, I just guessed!

And then there’s the leveling tool and the shiny surface area of the interior bowl of the spoon so ingredients slip out easily yet the rest of the spoon is matte so you have a better grip on it. The depression in the middle of the spoon is also so clever – a pourfect thumb grip! (couldn’t resist.)

Do I like these spoons?

You bet!

These spoons were designed when owner, Randy Kaas,unfortunately lost his sight in 2001. He had been in the kitchen utensil business since 1978 and was inspired by the TV show, The French Chef starring Julia Child. The need for a mixing bowl that wouldn’t spill when you couldn’t see what you were doing was recognized. POURfect Products solve common cooking problems making your life easier, less messy and more enjoyable.

POURfect measuring spoons are the only, Made in USA, 100% accurate spoons that snap off one at a time, have markings in English, Metric and Braille and are comfortable to hold. There isn’t another set of 12 measuring spoons that include all of these hard to find sizes.

Take a look at this luscious recipe I made recently featuring these spoons upfront as this has a lot of different ingredients, yet this soup comes together very quickly. I made this on a weeknight and it was perfect!

CURRY PHO WITH VEAL AND VEGGIES – serves 5 – 6

1 Tbs. olive oil
1 medium onion, cut into quarters and then 1/4” slices
1 lb. ground veal
2 Tbs. curry powder
Salt to taste
10 cups vegetable broth or vegetable pho
5.5 oz. brown rice udon noodles
4 kale stalks – main artery removed, rolled and cut in a chiffonade
1/3 of a bunch of beet greens, stalks separated from greens, greens sliced thin
¾ of an orange pepper, cut in 1/3” squares
¼ cup chopped oil-cured black olives
1 tomatilla chopped
Handful of sorrel leaves, leaves sliced, stems chopped for garnish, or use sliced scallions

Warm the olive oil with the onions in a large skillet. Cover and sweat the onions for 5 minutes on low heat. Add the ground veal and brown partially, until just pink and broken up into small chunks. Add the curry powder and salt to taste. Stir well to combine.

Meanwhile pour the broth into a large soup pot and bring to a boil. Add the udon and cook 2 minutes less than the package directions.

Turn heat to low and add the meat and all the rest of the vegetables, except for the sorrel stems. Stir for a minute or two. Add the chopped olives and the very end.

Serve immediately in bowls with chopsticks and LOVE. Garnish with the chopped sorrel stems, or you could use thinly sliced scallions. Enjoy!!

POURfect 13-piece measuring spoon set was one of the products in our MARY’s secret ingredients fall box. You can get your winter box here! Make a great gift and helps us in our support of Feed The Children.

Jenkins Jellies Guava Brava & Hell Fire Jellies

October 13, 2015 by Mary Frances 14 Comments

When actress Hillary Danner had an overabundance of peppers in her organic garden in LA, what did she do? Make jellies silly!! Made in small batches, with no preservatives, artificial flavorings or colorings, these Jenkins Jellies Guava Brava and Hell Fires Jellies are sweet, hot and delicious!! Hillary teamed with longtime friend Maria Newman and concocted these spicy gems.

Loved by many famous chefs, Mario Batali described it perfectly when he said, “… it dances right on the edge of spicy and sweet in a delicious tango of provocation and pleasure.”

He likes them with cheeses and warm bread. I used both of them as a glaze on roasted fish to make a super special, easy and quick weeknight dinner. This will taste more time consuming than it is as both jellies add a ton of flavor in a jiffy!!

As I write this post, I am flying home on a plane from Florida and this quote from Mario made me laugh! “One warning…. it is highly addictive and I would like to suggest 3 ounce packages so that we may improve the airline meals we suffer as we flit about “

Take a look at this video of me turning this gorgeous piece of salmon into pure deliciousness with the Guava Brava.

JENKINS JELLIES GAUVA BRAVA ROASTED SALMON – serves 3 – 4

1 Tbs. grapeseed oil
1.5 lbs center cut salmon fillet
French Grey or Kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper
1 Tbs. Dijon mustard
1.5 Tbs. Jenkins Jellies Guava Brava

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Wash and dry the salmon and season with salt and pepper. Spread the mustard on top. Spread the Guava Brava on top of the mustard.

Heat oil in skillet until nearly smoking. Sear salmon in skillet skin side down for 3 minutes.

Place skillet in oven for fish to roast for 8 -10 minutes.

Carefully remove fish from the skillet – use a hot pad on the handle – (too many times I have grabbed that) – and remove the fish, cut into serving pieces, serve with LOVE and enjoy!!

I served this with some blanched sugar snap peas tossed with some toasted pecans, orange pepper, one chopped tomatillo and a champagne vinaigrette.

This next recipe used the Hell Fire jelly. Again, this was easy peasy and so totally delicious. I made this with Basa and Tilapia, and really, I imagine any fish will work, so you get to choose.

Combining the jelly with butter was a splendid way to make a glaze which then got me thinking that this glaze would also work on butternut or acorn squash for a kick!

And then with the holidays coming, I see cheddar cheese coins with a dab of either jelly in my future. It would be amazing!

Experiment, have fun and have a party – invite your friends over and share the goodness!!

JENKINS JELLIES HOT BASA – NOVA! – serves 3

3 fillets of Basa
2 Tbs. unsalted butter
1.5 Tbs. Jenkins Jellies Hell Fire jelly
French Grey or Kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper
Olive oil to slick the pan
Fresh lemon wedges

Heat oven to 425 degrees.

Wash and dry your fish fillets.

Oil slick a small rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle the baking sheet with some salt and pepper. This will season the underside of the fish – clever eh? Place the fish on the pan.

Melt the butter in a butter-warming saucepan. Add the jelly and use a small whisk to combine.

Brush this glaze on the fish fillets being sure to spread out the wonderful bits of pepper.

Sprinkle the top of the fish with a little crushed French Grey salt.

Roast for approximately 12 minutes until done.

Serve with a squeeze of fresh lemon. You will LOVE this!!

MARY’s secret ingredients 2015 fall box

October 9, 2015 by Mary 4 Comments

I love to reveal the contents of our boxes and this one is super special. The MARY’s secret ingredients 2015 fall box is filled with true ingredients and targeted more for the home chef, just like my friend Margaret, who thought it was the BEST BOX EVER!

To present it on video, my good friend Alison Korman, stopped by to help me introduce all of the products. Alison’s an actress and a sweetie and was in town from LA. Check out the video here:

To all of our box buyers, I know these products will spice up and make your cooking healthier, tastier and just more fun! And each box purchase helps us with our partnership with Feed The Children. No one should go hungry.

Read about all of the great products here:

Coastal Goods

Coastal Goods is a small, family-run company dedicated to bringing many of the world’s finest flavors into your kitchen through their carefully curated and crafted seasoning blends. Nigel Dyche and Sarah Chase are the husband-wife team, founders, and creative impetus behind Coastal Goods. The couple travel to ports hither and yonder with both a keen appetite and culinary eye in a quest to turn gastronomic idiosyncrasies that define their destinations into an exclusive and accessible array of seasonings.

Sarah’s Sea Salt – Tuscan Salt: Tuscan salt is a medium grain Mediterranean Sea Salt blended with a classic mix of dried Italian herbs, tomato flecks, lemon peel, and rosemary oil. Stir before using and sprinkle on pizza, pasta or grilled vegetables to amplify the flavors of the dish.

Jenkins Jellies

Jenkins Jellies produces an exquisite line of pepper jellies with a REAL KICK! Actress Hillary Danner started making jellies with the overflow of fruits and vegetables from her bountiful organic garden in the middle of Los Angeles. Encouraged by friends and family, Danner teamed up with longtime friend Maria Newman to launch their artisanal line of gourmet goodies. Their original and bestselling HELL FIRE PEPPER JELLY is a delectable concoction made from an intricate blend of seven fresh hot and sweet peppers. As the company continues to grow, Jenkins Jellies remains committed to producing their products in small batches, with the freshest available ingredients, preservative-free and no artificial ingredients. This two jar set comes with a sweet tasting spoon so you can stir before using.

Hell Fire Pepper Jelly: Their Hell Fire Pepper Jelly delivers a real kick! Its delectable balance provides a splendid sweet-n-savory condiment. Currently used in home kitchens, market delis and restaurants across the country, it livens up everything from cocktails, to charcuterie to entrees.

Guava Brava Pepper Jelly: Guava Brava Pepper Jelly continues to explore the versatility of pepper jelly with the taste of the tropics. They blended the smooth, sweet flavor of guava with their beautifully balanced Hell Fire base. The result is a party for your taste buds! Pairs great with a variety of cheeses, smother atop pancakes or jazz up your salad dressing.

POURfect

POURfect products were invented and designed when owner Randy Kaas lost his sight in 2001. He has been in the kitchen utensil business since 1978, and was inspired by the TV show, The French Chef starring Julia Child. The need for a mixing bowl that wouldn’t spill when you couldn’t see what you were doing was recognized. POURfect Products solve common cooking problems making your life easier, less messy and more enjoyable.

Ultimate Measuring Spoons with Leveler Tool: Having grown tired of inaccurate measuring spoons that were hard to use and impossible to take off or reattach to their ring, Randy decided to design the ULTIMATE set of measuring spoons. Accuracy was the primary goal, not having to solve a math problem to half or double a measurement, and easy to use, one at a time encompassed all of the goals. POURfect measuring spoons are the only, Made in USA, 100% accurate spoons that snap off one at a time, have markings in English, Metric and Braille and are comfortable to hold. There isn’t another set of 12 measuring spoons that include hard to find sizes plus these: a drop, smidgen, pinch and dash.

Ultragrain

Ultragrain is the unique whole wheat flour that offers whole grain nutrition with the taste, texture and appearance of white flour. It’s made with specially selected white wheat that’s grown on family farms in Colorado and surrounding states. Naturally milder, sweeter and lighter in color than red wheat, it’s milled using a unique method that retains all of the whole grain nutrition while achieving the consistency of white flour.

Ultragrain All-Purpose Flour: Ultragrain All Purpose Flour blend is 30% Ultragrain whole wheat flour and 70% traditional white flour – the cup-for-cup replacement for all-purpose white flour that delivers whole grain nutrition without having to adjust your recipes or sacrifice taste. Ultragrain All Purpose Flour contains 9 grams of whole grain per serving and twice the fiber of other all-purpose flours. **Ultragrain All Purpose Flour is unenriched, unbleached and has no bromate. Wheat is non-GMO grain.

Mary’s Pastel: Mary created this original pastel drawing in her upstate art studio in Ancram, NY. There she also has a little garden of tomatoes, peppers and herbs and this is her summer bounty. Spread the word about MARY’s secret ingredients and use as a postcard or frame it for your kitchen! Two of her paintings are in a show in Hudson, NY this week!

Happy cooking and eating!! And remember to always add LOVE to your cooking!

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