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
All tagged sides
Here’s a simple salad that you can throw together for a quick lunch or dinner, or bring as a side at a gathering with friends and family. It was so hot in London last week that I made this heirloom tomato salad practically every night for dinner, refusing to turn on the oven or stove without A/C in our apartment! If you do eat dairy, burrata or buffalo mozzarella are a welcome addition. The salad has minimal ingredients, so make sure to shop for top quality produce.
Charcuterie boards are perfect for a light meal when you’ve had a big lunch, or something to nosh on pre-dinner when entertaining. Traditional charcuterie boards are easy—you buy an array of meats and cheeses, some soft, some medium, some hard…throw in crackers, olives and perhaps seasonal fruit. Vegan charcuterie boards can be a little tricky—I tend to lean toward Mediterranean fare when preparing them.
These mediterranean stuffed sweet potatoes make the perfect healthy weeknight dinner. The sweet potatoes are cut in half and roasted face down, slightly caramelizing the flesh. The mediterranean salad is basically a lentil-based tabbouleh with refreshing mint and parsley, lemon, tomatoes, spring onions, dates and spices. All topped off with roasted walnuts, to add some crunch, and a drizzle of runny tahini.
This winter citrus salad is made up of vibrant grapefruit, tangerines, navel and blood oranges. A refreshing dish bursting with a medley of flavors—perfect to brighten up a gloomy day or embrace the approaching spring season. The avocado cuts the acidity from the citrus while the dates add a touch of sweetness; the walnuts give it a nice crunch. If you want to be decadent (and you should) I recommend topping it all off with a drizzle of good honey.
I’ve been making this avocado smash as an accoutrements to most meals I cook as of late. It’s tasty piled on top of toast or a plate of veggies, sandwiched between two pieces of [gluten-free] bread or scooped on top of a salad. It takes less than five minutes to whip up and keeps you satisfied.
This curried chickpea salad has been my go-to lunch as of late. I like to spoon it on top of an avocado half or eat it with sliced cherry tomatoes (they still have great tomatoes at the market here in London). It would also be delicious in a sandwich with some micro-greens, or stuffed inside pita bread (I just haven’t found any gluten-free versions yet). It takes no longer than five minutes to throw together and is a healthy alternative to the traditional mayo-laden comfort food. For at least 20 years I’ve abstained from any sort of creamy, chilled salad—I dislike mayonnaise with a passion. However, time and distance has allowed me to revisit the concept of a cold-salad sandwich, and create a modern take on it.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Summer is in full swing here and so is the heat! I've relegated all cooking to the grill as our little kitchen gets a lot of afternoon sun and tends to collect the warm air throughout the house. We've been making these grilled potatoes with a lemon and parsley vinaigrette, along with a giant salad every week since the heat rolled into town. The high heat of the grill gets the potatoes nice and crispy and the simple vinaigrette made with olive oil, lemon juice plus the zest, and some salt and pepper is like a bright burst of flavors in your mouth.
Saddled with this sluggish motivation this week and a persistent craving for something crisp, zesty, refreshing and vibrant, came this feel-good, healthy salad full of veggie-deliciousness. Our productivity has suffered some what since our unbelievably comfortable couch arrived this week, but it's suffered in comfort at least. I made this salad two times in the past week, and added in some grilled potatoes (more on that later). I tossed everything (potatoes included) with a lemon-parsley vinaigrette--it's like summer in your mouth! If potatoes aren't your thing (you cray-cray!) you could add a grilled protein of choice, or perhaps some pepita seeds to "beef" it up.
Bon appetit!
After a cold winter in New York and a month of traveling, it's been nice to settle back at home for the last part of spring in Los Angeles. Mostly I've just been enjoying reconnecting with all my kitchen tools (esp. my new Vitamix that I got for Christmas but haven't had a chance to christen!!!)...and family and friends, of course!
This dish is perfect to bring to an alfresco dinner party and can be made ahead of time and served at room temperature. The combination of texture from the raw asparagus, sweet and tart flavors from the grilled apricots and crunch of the roasted hazelnuts creates a perfectly balanced dish. Oh, and it looks pretty too!
Bon appetit
My very best friend, Heather, visited me here at our little casita in Santa Fe for a few days last week. Both of us love ethnic cuisine and splurged on Persian, local New Mexican and Indian food. Heather's family first introduced me to Indian cuisine at Anarbagh in Los Angeles when I was about 11 years old. On her last night in Santa Fe we went to Raaga, a modern Indian restaurant, located in the Railyard District. I always miss naan bread when dining out at Indian restaurants ever since I started eating gluten-free a few years ago. But, I was reminded of a great recipe that I had on hand to share with all you fellow naan lovers, both gluten-free and gluten-ful.
This is the third time I've made this cornbread this month and I've had multiple requests for the recipe, so here you go! I usually make it with dried herbs, but we are currently in Santa Fe, and I don't have my usual cooking inventory. However, I did have some fresh herbs on hand so I used those in lieu of dried--boy oh boy was that a happy accident!
Recently I've been getting into Ayurvedic cooking, à la my new favorite cookbook, What to Eat for How you Feel by Divya Alter. Her recipes have done wonders to calm my stomach and make me feel good in general. The philosophy of Ayurvedic cooking stresses the importance of seasonal ingredients and specific food pairings. Both of these affect your digestive system and as a result, your mood. Some ingredients used in traditional Ayurvedic cooking can be hard to find, but Divya gives resources on where to buy specific products online. However, in a pinch, I always use the absence of ingredients as an opportunity to improvise--hello spiced Japanese sweet potato fries!
All you cilantrophobes, kindly avert your eyes please! This chutney is solely for palates that welcome this pungent and robust herb. Now now, don't feel bad if you're among the cilantro (a.k.a coriander) haters; Julia Child also expressed extreme dislike for the herb. She once said of cilantro in her food, "I would pick it out if I saw it and throw it on the floor." But, for those of us whose olfactory nerves enjoy it (moi included), this chutney is bursting with a mélange of bright flavors. Use this recipe to accompany Indian foods, grains, roasted veggies, sweet potato fries or any vehicle that assists in getting this chutney into your mouth.
