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

Super Quick Broccoli Rabe and Pasta Recipe

July 10, 2016 by Mary 7 Comments

We all have our little tricks in the kitchen, right? And many of us have our secret ingredients we always turn to.

Mine, of course, is LOVE. Cooking with the intention of LOVE – loving the dish you’re making or knowing that when you serve the food, your family and friends will LOVE it and you will make them happy, that’s what turns me on. And that’s why I always cook with LOVE. I just want to make people happy. Nothing makes me happier than to hear little murmurs of delight from folks while eating my food.

Our youngest son, Zachary, whose birthday is today, said he knew my food always tasted so good because of the LOVE I put into it while cooking. One sister-in-law of mine told me years ago that I was good at picking recipes. But then she asked, why did my food always taste so good. She had made some of the same recipes. I guess Zachary had the answer.

So I was talking to a new colleague about our MARY’s secret ingredients culinary subscription box and he told me his “secret ingredient” was capers.

I also love capers and caperberries even more! Roasted, they become that crunchy burst of saltiness that I just love. Anchovies are another – throw them into a dish and they melt and add that wonderful umami flavor. Pancetta is also another good one.

Back to the box, our summer box is hitting mailboxes right now and as usual, it has a great curated collection of new products, some are ready to eat and with all of them, I’ve created a delicious recipe to make meals special for you and your family. There are still a few summer boxes left and you can pick one up here. If you use the code SAVE20 you can save 20% on a full year subscription – that’s 4 seasonal boxes for about $87.00! And remember, we are a proud supporter of the worldwide organization combatting hunger, Feed The Children, so a portion of your box purchase goes to support them.

Back to this Super Quick Broccoli Rabe and Pasta Recipe, this is a great dish for a meatless night. Meatless Monday is tomorrow! My proportion of broccoli rabe to the pasta is great – a lot more broccoli rabe and depending on how big your eaters are, this can serve 2 or 3 with just 8 oz. of pasta. This comes together so quickly, using the already near boiling water from the broccoli rabe to cook the pasta in. Bringing the broccoli rabe to almost boiling removes the bitterness and starts to work on tenderizing those stems.

Super Quick Broccoli Rabe and Pasta Recipe in 2 bowls.

I was debating if it needed cheese and it didn’t!

Make this tomorrow night to start your week quick. Make it with LOVE and enjoy!!

SUPER QUICK BROCCOLI RABE AND PASTA RECIPE – serves 2 – 3

I bunch of broccoli rabe, ends trimmed, cut into 2” pieces, and washed in a bath of water to remove all grit. Never
buy broccoli rabe that has blooming yellow flowers – that’s a message that it will be very bitter
1/2 lb. spaghetti or other dry pasta
3 Tbs. olive oil
7 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
5 anchovies, blotted dry of oil
Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
Coarse sea salt – for cooking pasta and broccoli rabe
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

In a large pasta pot, place the washed broccoli rabe. Fill the pot with water to be at least 2 inches above the broccoli rabe. Add in the salt and stir to combine. Place the pot on high heat.

Meanwhile, warm the 3 Tbs. olive oil in a large skillet on low heat, (large enough to hold the broccoli rabe and pasta too), add the garlic and stir. Do not let it brown.

When small bubbles appear around the edges of the pot with the broccoli rabe, remove the rabe with a slotted spoon into a colander over a bowl and let drain. Let the water in the pot come back to a full boil. When that happens, add the pasta and cook for 2 minutes less than the lower number on the package directions.

While the pasta is cooking, (be sure to stir every once in a while), put the broccoli rabe in the skillet with the garlic and raise heat to medium – medium-high. Cook a bit more, and toss. Add in the anchovies and keep tossing and cooking.

When the pasta is near the end of cooking, take a large coffee mug and scoop out some pasta water. Drain the pasta and add it to the skillet with the broccoli rabe, stirring with tongs to combine. Add about ¼ cup of pasta water, the crushed red pepper flakes and toss to finish cooking the pasta just to al dente and be sure the broccoli rabe stems are crisp tender. Taste to your liking with more salt and some fresh ground black pepper.

Serve in warm bowls with LOVE!

EXCITING TRAVEL NEWS!

I want to tell you, I’m so excited, we’re heading to Poland and Italy in 11/2 weeks!!! We will celebrate Zach’s birthday in Warsaw with his fiancée, Agata. They have big plans to take us all over including visiting local farmer’s markets and a day trip to Krakow. Then we will fly to Milano, 2 days there, then train to Arezzo in Tuscany for Bianca’s wedding. Bianca is sort of my surrogate daughter. She is the daughter of the family our oldest son lived with for his semester abroad during his university years. She and her fiancé have visited us in NYC often. But, it has been 10 years since both families have been together and Tiziana, the mother, has asked me to help her cook the Friday night family dinner before the wedding on Saturday! I am SO excited and honored!!! We have been emailing. I will shop with her in the morning for her cheeses and she has asked me to come up with ideas for dessert. I’m thinking of big pans of rhubarb and strawberry crisps. What do you think?

So get ready for some great fun stories and photography from Poland and Italy!!! Is there anything specific you’d like to see? Let me know…

Garlicky Lamb Stuffed Eggplant using the Joseph Joseph Garlic Rocker

April 28, 2016 by Mary 8 Comments

There are garlic presses… and then there’s this garlic rocker!! Quicker, easier, kinder to your hand as there is no squeezing motion, just press down and rock! Yes!!! I minced 8 cloves of garlic in 47 seconds! How about that?!?

And, it’s gorgeous to look at. Being a designer, this is super important. Form follows function here. This one-piece brushed stainless steel tool is truly a thing of beauty. I think I might just leave it out on the counter at all times, just to admire! This amazing kitchen tool was in our spring MARY’s secret ingredients box. You can get your very own rocker and still order a box here.

Joseph Joseph is this incredible company based in the UK. It is owned by two twin brothers, hence the name, Joseph Joseph. All of their items are cleverly and beautifully designed and I was not familiar with them until recently. You should check out their site as I’m sure you’ll want more of their handsomeness and usefulness in your kitchen.

So I made up this lamb and eggplant dish with plenty of garlic to put the rocker to the test. Make this with LOVE and get 2 different meals out of it – the first night stuffed in the eggplant shells and the second night as a sauce over pasta. Works for me for busy weeknights!

While the first night does take a bit more time – about 45 minutes – the second night is just the time it takes to cook some pasta. All easy. All good.

GARLICKY LAMB STUFFED EGGPLANT – serves 2 with leftovers for 3 more meals with pasta

1 small eggplant
2 Tbs. olive oil
Salt
Pepper – fresh ground
1 tsp. dried Greek oregano
1 lb. ground lamb
8 cloves of garlic
1 yellow pepper, ½ chopped into 1/3” squares and the rest in strips for garnish
1 28 oz. can of San Marzano whole peeled tomatoes
2 pinches of red chili flakes
1 Tbs. ground cumin
2.5 oz. baby spinach leaves

Preheat over to 425 degrees.

Wash, dry and trim your eggplant. Cut in half lengthwise and score in diamond shapes as shown in the photo. Cut deep but do not cut through the skin. Drizzle 1 Tbs. of olive oil over each half, spreading open the cuts as you do. Season with salt, fresh ground pepper and the dried oregano. Roast in the oven for 35 – 40 minutes until tender.

Meanwhile, brown the ground lamb, breaking it up into small chunks, in a non-stick skillet. Mince the peeled garlic with the garlic rocker. There! That only took about 40 seconds, yay!!!

When lamb has browned, drain the juices and fat, leaving about 1 Tbs. in the skillet.

Add the garlic, the tomatoes, crushing with your hands as you add, and the chopped yellow pepper. Salt and pepper to taste and add the chili flakes. Bring to a rolling boil, stirring every once in a while. Your sauce should thicken nicely while the eggplant continues to roast.

When the eggplant is done, scoop out the chunks and add to the sauce along with the cumin and reduce to a simmer for about 10 minutes.

Add in the washed baby spinach and stir to barely wilt it. Taste to see if any additional salt and pepper are needed.

Serve in the eggplant skin shells and garnish with the yellow pepper strips. Delish!!

And then on the next night, you can whip this up in a jiffy with the leftover Garlicky Lamb Eggplant Mixture!

GARLICKY LAMB EGGPLANT SAUCE OVER PASTA – serves 3

Leftover lamb and eggplant mixture from the above recipe
½ lb. pasta – I used spaghetti
Maldon salt
Grated Pecorino Romano cheese

Warm the leftover lamb and eggplant mixture in the microwave for 30 seconds – 1 minute to take the chill off.

Bring a large pot of water to boil, salt it with coarse sea salt and add ½ lb. of pasta. Test at two minutes less than the package directions. When done to al dente, remove a cup full of pasta water and then drain the pasta.

Toss the pasta with the lamb and eggplant mixture, adding a few tablespoons of pasta water.

Did you know that adding pasta water makes your sauce adhere better to the pasta? Yes it’s true! Add enough water to make that work and loosen the sauce.

Serve in shallow bowls, season with crushed Maldon salt and grated Pecorino Romano cheese if you like. Enjoy!!

Savory Choice Vegetable Pho Spring Soup

April 20, 2016 by Mary 11 Comments

I love this concentrated Pho. This is a reprise item in our spring box just because 1.) I love it so much and 2.) it is a staple in my pantry and should be in yours too.

The other day I made this super fresh spring soup for a dinner party to absolutely rave reviews – and it’s so easy, it’s ridiculous!!

So when my husband asked me to make it again, I could say, “Sure!!” Cuz it’s easy peasy and takes no time! It’s a wonderful light first course to start a springtime meal.

This delicious broth with comforting soft rice, crisp asparagus and lovely green peas combined with the fresh dill – well it’s so fresh, pretty and tasty, how could you not LOVE it?

And since this is a reprise product, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention my two other delicious recipes using this concentrated Pho.

But you can use this Pho for anything. When I was feeling very sick with the flu a while back, Steve made me a delicious quick chicken soup with this broth, some shredded leftover roasted chicken and a little bit of this and that in vegetables from the fridge. Perfect and just what the doctor ordered.

Keep some always on your shelf! Cook like a pro as many top chefs use these Savory Choice products in their famous restaurants. Enjoy!!

SAVORY CHOICE VEGETABLE PHO SPRING SOUP – serves 4

3 packs of Savory Choice Vegetable Pho
6 cups of water
1/2 cup long grain white rice, rinsed very well and drained
8 spears of asparagus, tough ends broken off, cut on an angle into 1″ pieces
1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas
Fine sea salt
Fresh ground black pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped dill

Dissolve Pho stock concentrate in 6 cups of hot tap water. Whisk together in a medium pot to combine and bring stock to a boil. Add well rinsed rice and simmer for 2 minutes less than the package instructs.

Add asparagus and peas and simmer 2 minutes. Test to make sure the rice is tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste and stir in dill.

Ladle soup into bowls and serve with LOVE!

Sir Kensington’s Dijonnaise Crusted Catfish & on Veggies

April 17, 2016 by Mary 3 Comments

Sir Kensington’s Dijonnaise is a wonderful new product from the people who brought us the great ketchup. They are changing the condiment space with all natural, non-GMO products made with real ingredients, like egg yolks in this one, just like you would use to make homemade mayonnaise. Definitely refrigerate this after opening, although it’s so good with so many uses, it won’t last long.

This combination of mayo and Dijon mustard with some mustard seeds thrown in is super delicious!! The consistency is not goopy but rather thick and sauce-like which means you don’t put too much of it on your sandwich and you really can use it as a yummy, luscious sauce.

It is terrific on any steamed vegetable. I’ve used it on steamed Brussels sprouts, sugar snap peas and green beans. And then there’s this roasted catfish recipe that is just divine. I’m sure you’ll find a myriad of uses for this stuff – it’s that good!!

While this was in our spring MARY’s secret ingredients spring box and there are a few left so you can still purchase one, you may be able to find this product in some stores but it is not yet up on their site shop.

SIR KENSINGTON’S DIJONNAISE CRUSTED CATFISH – serves 3

1½ lbs. catfish fillets
½ tsp. coconut oil
French Grey salt, finely ground, or sea salt
Fresh ground pepper
6 tsp. Sir Kensington’s Dijonnaise
2/3 cup panko
1 Tbs. unsalted melted butter

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Slick the coconut oil on a rimmed baking sheet.

Wash and dry the fish with paper toweling. On bottom side of fillet, salt and pepper to taste. Spread 1 tsp. of Sir Kensington’s Dijonnaise on top of each fillet with a knife. Sprinkle some panko all over the top to cover.

Turn the fish over and do the same thing on the other side. Drizzle the melted butter over the top of all 3 fillets.

Roast in the oven on the top shelf for about 12 minutes, until fish is completely white and flakes but is still very moist.

Serve with LOVE and enjoy!!

SIR KENSINGTON’S DIJONNAISE ON VEGGIES – serves 3

½ lb. sugar snap peas or Brussels sprouts
2 Tbs. Sir Kensington’s Dijonnaise

Wash and clean your vegetables. Cut the Brussels sprouts in half. Steam until crisp tender and bright green. For the sugar snap peas, steam about 2 minutes and longer for the Brussels sprouts – 5 -10 minutes, depending on their size.

Remove steamer from the pan for a minute or two to let the vegetables air dry. and toss with Sir Kensington’s Dijonnaise. Total yum!!

For the sugar snap peas, it’s best to lay them out on a linen towel, cover and dry, before tossing with Sir Kensington’s Dijonnaise.

All easy peasy and SO good – and good for you!

Kale & Farro Salad with Spicy Butternut Squash, Broccoli, Radishes & Cashews

April 10, 2016 by Mary 10 Comments

There are so many snack boxes out there — Graze, Love With Food, Snack Nation and Nature Box to name a few. I went to a food conference last Saturday called Founder Made, where numerous new food product founders participated. A lot of discussion was had about how millennials eat, much of it revolving around snacking. And Graze was there touting their “healthy” snacks.

Well I’m here to tell you that while their snacks may not be fried potato chips – they are “healthier” than that – but they are high in calories and sugar just the same. And if you eat three well-balanced meals, you should have no need to snack at all. Come on – one of their snacks was pecan pie pecans – that’s full of sugar and super fattening! That is not a healthy snack.

So the millennials will be overweight and even more detrimental, not understand the value of eating right, balanced meals in the first place. This is like the “low fat” craze of the 80’s – total hogwash!

So what we aim to do with MARY’s secret ingredients is to introduce you to new healthy products that will easily turn a ho-hum ordinary meal into a special gourmet “company” meal. We want to show you how to create fantastic dishes, super easily, with the new healthy products we have curated for you. It might be a new flavored natural jam or a condiment that can be used on steamed vegetables to create a sauce that gives it a wow factor, or creating a unique marinade with tea or how to make a spectacular sauce for grilled fish. Suddenly, “ordinary” moves to “extraordinary” with a few simple moves utilizing our new natural products. And you will know EXACTLY that what you’re putting into your body is good for you, wholesome and will make you feel terrific!!! And we want to eradicate hunger with our partnership with Feed The Children.

All good things!

The spring box shipped last week and I’m excited to share with you the recipes for those new products starting later this week.

I found this today on The Blue Mountain Center of Meditation site – one of my faves:

The first wealth is health. – RALPH WALDO EMERSON

When you regard your life as a trust, you realize that the first resource you have to take care of is your own body. This can be startling. Even your body is not really your own. It belongs to life, and it is your responsibility to take care of it. You cannot afford to do anything that injures your body, because the body is the instrument you need for selfless action. That is the fine print of the trust agreement: when we smoke, when we overeat, when we don’t get enough exercise, we are violating the terms of the trust.

If you want to live life at its fullest, you will want to do everything possible to keep your body in vibrant health in order to give back to life a little of what it has given you.

So on to my recipe of this Kale & Farro Salad with Spicy Butternut Squash, Broccoli, Radishes & Cashews, which was super delicious!

I always think of butternut squash as a winter vegetable so I want to tell you about this dish I made up the other night before spring really gets here, even though it should be here already. All of us on the East coast are still wearing scarves and winter coats. It’s crazy!

This was totally yummy with a lot of ying and yang – cool and hot, spicy and not, crispy and soft textures – a beautiful symphony of flavors and a very satisfying vegetarian dish. Make it tonight – with LOVE – and all will be right in the world.

Promise.

KALE & FARRO SALAD WITH SPICY BUTTERNUT SQUASH, BROCCOLI, RADISHES & CASHEWS – serves 4

4 oz. chopped kale leaves
1 cup farro, cooked
1 small butternut squash, cut in generous ½” squares
1 large onion, cut in ½” squares
2 Tbs. coconut oil
3 Tbs. spice rub* (recipe below – also great for pulled pork)
1 bunch of organic broccoli
1/3 cup chopped roasted, salted cashews
4 thinly sliced radishes
Olive oil for drizzling
2 wedges of lemon

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

*SPICE RUB RECIPE:

1½ Tbs. sweet paprika
½ Tbs. garlic powder
½ Tbs. brown sugar
½ Tbs. dry mustard (Coleman’s)
1½ Tbs. coarse sea salt

Mix the paprika, garlic power, brown sugar, dry mustard, and salt together in a small bowl.

This makes more than you need and is also great to rub on a pork butt to make pulled pork. Double it if you’d like to have some extra on hand. Keep in a tightly closed container

Combine the squash and onions with the coconut oil and spice mix on a rimmed baking sheet. Toss all to combine and roast in the oven for 35 – 40 minutes until tender. Toss at the halfway point, at about the 20 minute mark.

Meanwhile, cover the farro with about 3 inches of cold water. Salt with a little coarse sea salt and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for about 30 – 40 minutes. Taste test with a fork for tenderness. It should be a bit chewy. Strain in a fine mesh colander when done.

Wash all the kale in a lettuce spinner, removing any large stems. Spread on a clean counter to air dry, then chill in a paper towel lined plastic bag in the refrigerator.

Wash and peel stems of the broccoli. Cut each stem into 4 or 5 smaller stems and steam for about 10 minutes, until bright green and crisp tender. When done, remove the steamer of broccoli from the pot so it can air dry a bit.

Wash and trim the radishes. Using a hand mandolin, slice into very thin slices.

Coarsely chop the cashews.

Everything should be done all around the same time, so now you’re ready to assemble!

Line low flat bowls with the kale leaves. Place ¼ of the cooked farro in the middle, with the kale forming a ridge around the edge. Place a scoop of the butternut squash on top of the farro.

Chop the steamed broccoli into 2” lengths, leaving the flowerets intact and place them around the edge of the farro. Tuck in sliced radishes in four places around the bowl as shown.

Place chopped cashews on top of the squash. Drizzle some olive oil on the kale edge of the bowl, and follow that with a squeeze of lemon juice around that same kale edge.

Serve with LOVE, a Vouvray and enjoy!!!

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.