February 14, 2014

I Heart Salad

February 14, 2014/ Mary McDonald

I know Valentine’s Day can be full of cliches, red, chocolate, all things heart-shaped, but I couldn’t resist making this salad. This year we’re going to have dinner at home, with this salad, and some homemade strawberry chocolate chunk ice cream, champagne and…

February 10, 2014

Stuffed Mushrooms

February 10, 2014/ Mary McDonald

Every once in a while I get a mushroom craving, and this is one of those times. I haven’t really posted anything mushroom specific since my very first blog post about a year ago, a Mushroom Soup.

February 05, 2014

A Simple Chocolate Cake

February 05, 2014/ Mary McDonald

Considering how much I love chocolate cakes it’s surprising that I don’t make them more often. I came across this recipe on La Tartine Gourmande, Bea actually had another recipe quite similar to this but I chose this one for its simplicity.

January 29, 2014

Soba Noodles with Eggplant + Mango

January 29, 2014/ Mary McDonald

This is the type of recipe you know you will like just by reading the ingredients. Mango. Eggplant. Hot pepper. Cilantro. Thai basil. I’m sold, and still working my way through Ottolenghi’s Plenty cookbook,

January 23, 2014

Sweet Potato Wedges with Lemongrass Dip

January 23, 2014/ Mary McDonald

Sweet potatoes are one of my favorite vegetables. They’re so versatile and tasty, it’s nearly impossible to mess them up. And they’re full of nutrition as well. What’s not to love here?

January 17, 2014

Pear Fennel Salad with Colatura + Pine Nuts

January 17, 2014/ Mary McDonald

Colatura? Maybe you’re familiar with this but I had never heard of it until a recent dinner at Ava Gene’s here in Portland. It was in a salad named “Pear. Fennel. Pine Nuts. Colatura. Scallions”, the salad was delicious with surprises of fresh mint and hot pepper.

January 12, 2014

Coconut Mango Muffins

January 12, 2014/ Mary McDonald

As you probably know from my other recipes I really love fresh fruit in loaf breads and cakes. So when I spotted these mangos the other day I really wanted to add them to some muffins.

December 31, 2013

Black Quinoa + Roasted Vegetable Bowl

December 31, 2013/ Mary McDonald

This is the holiday balance for me. Between pies and cookies and candies, I start to crave vegetables before going into full sugar overload. I came across a recipe recently, well not so much a recipe but a deconstruction of Harlow’s Betty Bowl.

December 13, 2013

White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies with Cherries + Pistachio

December 13, 2013/ Mary McDonald

Warm cookies in the oven on yet another cold day. The whole baking stuff in cold weather scenario really works as I’ve mentioned in my previous posts, and yes it’s been freezing cold for this long.

December 05, 2013

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon + Pomegranate

December 05, 2013/ Mary McDonald

It’s quite cold here in Portland, a serious deep freeze fell upon the city and I’m in baking mode, keeping the oven going really warms up the place. But I can’t keep baking pies, well maybe I could, but I had a hankering for something a bit healthier, like roasted vegetables.