My name is Mary. I love cooking healthy food for family & friends, making specialty coffee, wine tasting, finding great beauty products, traveling, and organizing everything. I document it all here! xo
This cozy, vibrant dish is easy to put together and packed with layers of flavor from the rich tomato sauce to the zesty parsley oil. I stumbled across this recipe for Greek baked beans in tomato sauce a couple months ago from one of my favorite food blogs, Bojon Gourmet. Since then, I’ve been making them every week. This dish is perfect for a dinner party as you can prepare everything ahead of time. Serve the Greek baked beans alongside a light salad and crusty sourdough.
I’ve been making a variation of this recipe, from one of my favorite food blogs, Feasting at Home, for a couple years now as a meat-free alternative for Thanksgiving. I finally got around to writing the down recipe as a few people have asked me for it. This time, I made a gluten-free and vegan skillet cornbread rather than a store-bought GF baguette and it was sooo delicious! It does add an extra step to this recipe, but I enjoy spending time in the kitchen with family and friends especially on a day practically devoted to cooking and feasting.
This cornbread is fluffy and moist, with crispy edges and a warm and savory taste. It takes about five minutes to prepare and the rest of the magic happens in the oven. I made it for a vegetarian stuffing and figured I just had to share the recipe. It’s the perfect gluten-free and vegan accompaniment to a holiday feast, warm soup, a hearty salad, chili—or a flavorful alternative to bread for your holiday stuffing.
I’m not a big meal planner per se—I like going to the farmer’s market with an open-mind, talking to the vendors about what’s good and finding new or different ingredients to cook with. Some of my best dishes were created without any recipes, just intuitive cooking. Friends and family ask what I cook during the week or when I’m not documenting my recipes, so I thought I’d share! Here’s what I bought at the market this week and how I plan to use the ingredients.
Delicately sweet, warm cinnamon and apples wrapped up in a savory crust with flakes of sea salt. Sometimes you just need a little something to warm the heart. This 10-ingredient vegan and gluten-free apple galette is easy to prepare and will permeate your house with the scent of fall.
Prague is a picturesque city centered on either side of the Vltava River. Its charming cobblestone streets and cozy vibe make it the perfect place to explore by foot. Ideally you will have more than two days in this romantic city, but any time spent here will leave you wishing you had more.
This butternut squash mac and cheese recipe is cozy, comforting, rich, “cheesy” and healthy-ish?? Well, it is filled with tons of disguised veggies blended together into deliciousness. The breaded top adds a nice crunchy texture that is oh-so-yummy when combined with the creaminess of the mac n' cheese. I have been waiting for fall just so I could share this recipe with you, and am so excited for you to try it!
This simple creamy-miso lentil pasta is one of my go-to weeknight recipes that comes together with items you probably already have in your pantry, save maybe the miso…but don’t leave it out, it’s the star ingredient here, and gives the dish that nice umami flavor. The pasta is relatively bright for the fall, brought on by the citrus notes from the lemon and peppery arugula, not to mention packed with protein and healthy fats from the lentil pasta, olives and cashews. Californians will definitely want to add an avocado to the dish (I do, and you should!), but it’s not necessary.
Fall’s here and just like that, berries and peaches are gone from the markets and pomegranates, apples and grapes are a plenty. Although I’ll miss the vibrant summer produce, here’s a little piece of heaven that comes together with five ingredients—two pieces of toasted bread, a slab of nut butter, a sprinkling of pistachios and pomegranate seeds, and a drizzle of honey or maple syrup. Badda-bing, badda-boom.
Spoon it. Spread it. Dip it.
There are many ways to consume almond butter and I participate in ALL OF THEM. It’s no longer recreational; I’m addicted. And, like many things, once you go homemade you’ll never go back. Almond butter is the perfect addition to overnight oats, this nut & seed bread or perhaps a rice cake with sea salt flakes…you can eat a spoonful as a snack or spread some on an apple or celery stick—the possibilities are limitless! Add in any additional ingredients you fancy—sea salt, maple syrup, honey or cinnamon. But it’s nice to keep it simple, and add the other stuff later depending on what you feel like. Do you want something savory or sweet? That may change from day to day so it’s nice to keep your options open.
You know when you want to impress others by baking something yummy but just don’t feel like putting forth too much effort? Or you want something warm and cozy for breakfast but also healthy-ish? Or if you’re like me and stocked up on the last peaches of the season and are wondering how to implement them into yet another recipe—this one’s for you kid! These peach and almond breakfast muffins are easy to make, subtlety sweet, nutty and downright delightful. Eat them straight out of the oven or with a little “butter” or butter. Perhaps drizzle some honey or maple syrup over the top for some added sweetness?!
This hummus is creamy, smooth and delicious. Plus, it takes less than five minutes to prepare without the additives found in store-bought hummus. Just toss all the ingredients into a food processor or blender, pulse on high-speed and voila—you’ve got yourself some homemade hummus. So easy, yet others will be impressed.
Soft, slightly sweet crumble bars with golden, lightly crisped edges (for those who like the corner pieces!). Kind of like cookies, but with more depth and less guilt. Eat these bars for breakfast, an afternoon delight or post-dinner treat a la mode. Sub any ripened fruit you like!
There are two sides of Tokyo: the bright lights of Shinjuki and Shibuya, and the cozy side, nestled in back allies and hidden nooks throughout the city. People here tend to find a craft and master it to perfection. Whether it be making coffee, sushi or glass blowing--everything is done with precision and care. You could spend years in Tokyo and hardly scratch the surface. Here are some tips as well as my favorites places, but by no means even close to a comprehensive guide, merely things I skimmed off the top.
What do you make when you want to eat veggies but don't realllllyyy want to eat veggies? When it's hot and you need something refreshing but also filling? When you feel like you should make something healthy, but just can't put forth the effort to chop and prep or clean up after yourself? Smoothies! Smoothies are my friend and they can be yours too. Don't think too much, just toss it all in the blender and and drink up.
It's strange to think of non-tuna tuna, but OMG let go of your doubts and fears. When I first made this recipe, Joshua and I kept looking at each other with each bite, shaking our heads in both disbelief and delight. The chickpea tuna has a bit of crunch from the sunflower seeds, and the capers add a tuna-esque flavor without the fishiness. Sometimes plant-based meals can leave you feeling like you didn't get enough of something...but this salad is completely satisfying. There are plenty of fats from the olives and olive oil, and lots of protein from the sunflower seeds and chickpeas. And, the crispy potatoes fulfill your carb craving Everything, minus the lettuce, does well served as leftovers. You could also use the leftovers to make “tuna” salad sandwiches with smashed avocado, cuz why not???
Nut & seed loaf—Bread? Check. Low-carb? Check. Vegan and gluten-free? Check, check! Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner. All day. Every day. Slab a heap of nut butter on top, followed by fresh berries and a drizzle of maple syrup in the morn’. Smash an avocado on there, finished with sea salt and fresh ground pepper in the afternoon. Use it to scoop up a big bite of saucy-deliciousness in the evening. This is your vehicle and the world is your oyster.
Cherries are everywhere now and they'll just as quickly disappear when their short season ends. I bought so many at the market I've been stewing them down into sauces, blending them into smoothies and tossing them into this kale salad.
It's such a simple recipe and one that will do just fine served as leftovers. The ripe cherries burst in your mouth and the walnuts provide a nice crunch. Shaved grana parma will make the salad elegant for a dinner party but if you want to keep it dairy-free it’s great without it. Make sure to give your kale a good massage with the vinaigrette, this breaks it down and yields a tender texture. If your cherry season has already ended, swap the cherries for fresh peaches.
'Tis the season for barbecues, pot lucks and social gatherings. I'm always racking my brain for dishes that can be made ahead of time and don't necessarily need to be heated or chilled upon serving. And on such occasions, particularity when it's hot, it's best to make a dish that's simple and requires no baking. This elbow pasta fits the bill and is oh so delicious with sweet summer tomatoes and a vibrant pesto sauce. If you find some amazing tomatoes at the market that you can't fathom cooking, just forgo that part of the recipe and slice them up, mix them with some good olive oil, salt, pepper and crushed garlic and add them to the pasta that way.
Bon appetit!
While I embrace freckles and sun-kissed skin in the summer months, I am not a fan of the blotchy pigmentation that comes along with it. A mix of hormones and sun damage over the years has caused hyper-pigmentation on my skin that I've worked really hard to remedy. While it’d difficult to completely get rid of all discoloration, especially during the summer months, it has abated dramatically. Depending on where you live, you may be experiencing a humid or dry summer--or if you're in Los Angeles, a bit of both! Either way, I find that I have to tweak my skin care routine to adjust to the changing seasons.
There are a lot of options out there for clean beauty products that will likely achieve the same results, but here are some that work for my skin, along with my summer routine.
