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I loved eating and making these burgers. Summer is almost done and I feel like grilling and eating all sorts of fresh produce. I had been busy all day Friday and we didn’t have any plans for dinner. We got home around five and I decided to grill burgers, roast some potato wedges and make a salad- simple summertime meal.

I still had to go and buy some ground beef. Usually I prefer turkey meat due to health reason but I decided to go look for grass fed ground beef. Before going shopping, I peeled and cooked the potatoes. I chopped basil, thyme and rosemary for the burgers. I minced garlic and grated a shallot. Once I got the meat and rolls, I simply added the chopped ingredients and that was it- I was done. My husband had asked me to purchase the ready to grill patties but I can’t get myself to do that. I have no idea what is in there.. especially the meat quality. I prefer to make my own- especially since it doesn’t take very long at all.

We grilled the burgers and ate a delicious, simple summer meal… I can’t believe it is almost done. Make this recipe this weekend…
Click here for the recipe… »

I was in the kitchen listening to the radio the other day- which, by the way is my favorite thing to do- when I heard someone talk about summer tomatoes. They were saying how good the crop is this year because of the hot hot weather. I realized it to be true as I thought about the bumper tomato crop I have been harvesting from my backyard. The tomatoes have been unbelievable. I mostly grown cherry tomatoes- I love them. They are super versatile and delicious.

Anyway, the radio person suggested a peach and tomato salad- and that is where I got my inspiration.  It is so simple that I am almost embarrassed to post it as a recipe.

The key ingredient is balsamic glaze. You can buy it at a specialty store- I bought my from Italy but you can make your own as well. It is as simple as cooking regular balsamic vinegar down on a medium heat until it cooks down to a syrupy consistency. That is all this salad has- salt, really good olive oil and thyme.

It is very delicious- the combination of tomatoes and nectarines is unbelievable. Before summer is over- try this super simple salad…

• 2 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• 1 to 2 nectarines cut into ½ inch pieces
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons balsamic glaze
• 2 teaspoon fresh thyme

Add the cherry tomatoes and nectarines into a medium bowl. Add the salt and olive oil. Let them sit for at least an hour. Add the fresh thyme and balsamic glaze and serve.

I love this recipe I came up with a few weeks ago. I was hosting our book club meeting and I was trying to come up with a menu. I wanted to make few summer dishes and bruschetta came to mind. When we were in Spello, Italy last year, we had a lot of different kinds of bruschetta- not the usual tomato one. I love the original but it is great to come up with something different.

I decided to use nectarines instead of tomatoes. I cut them up, added garlic, basil, salt and extra virgin olive oil. That is all- I mixed everything together and let it sit for a while. The nectarine pieces became a bit soft and married with the rest of the flavors.

I bought olive bread as well as raisin walnut bread. I thought both would go really well with the marinated nectarines. I sliced and toasted the bread.

I placed the nectarine mixture in a bowl. I then placed the sliced bread, a bowl of olives and sliced feta cheese. Everyone assembled their own bruschetta. It was all delicious.

This is a perfect appetizer to serve at a party or for a simple supper…
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This is a different kind of dish I tried the other day. I don’t end up making pasta as often in the summer months. Most meals are grilled and quick to make. As I have mentioned many times before, my husband loves cauliflower in any form and cuisine. I usually end up making it with Indian flavors- but for this meal I decided to pair it with pasta and sausage. I read a recipe in a magazine where the cauliflower was served in an anchovy sauce- I love anchovies and use them anywhere I can.

So, for this dish, I cooked the sausages with the anchovies, garlic and thyme. Somehow I always think of thyme when I cook with cauliflower- the two work really well together. I roasted the cauliflower in the oven and added the florets to the sausage mixture once they were golden brown. I paired it all with some orcchiette pasta (they look like tiny little ears). I love buying different shaped pasta- it makes for an interesting meal.

To add great texture to the dish, I roasted some leftover bread cut into small pieces with a drizzle of olive oil. Once the croutons were golden brown and crispy, I added them on top.

The pasta was delicious- essentially a one pot meal since it had everything in there.

• 1 head cauliflower, cut into small florets
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• Salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Place the florets on to a lined cookie sheet and drizzle the olive oil and sprinkle the salt. Mix well and bake for 45 minutes or till the florets are golden brown and soft. Keep aside.

• 3 to 4 slices of sour dough bread cut into ¼ inch pieces
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Place the bread pieces on a small lined cookie sheet and drizzle the olive oil. Bake in the same oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or till the bread pieces are golden brown and crunchy. Keep aside.

• 1 four pack chicken sausage, taken out of the casings and crumbled
• 3 to 4 anchovy fillets
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme
• ½ pound orcchiette pasta, cooked al dente
• ½ cup spare pasta water
• ½ cup fresh ricotta cheese
• Salt

In a large frying pan, add the olive oil and anchovy fillets. Cook on medium heat for a minute or two. Add the crumbled sausage and cook on high heat for 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic cloves and fresh thyme. Saute for a minute and add the cooked pasta and pasta water. Add the cauliflower and mix well. Next, add the ricotta cheese and mix well. Cook for another minute or two till the cheese is heated through. Add the salt and taste for seasonings. Serve each plate with a sprinkle of crispy croutons on top.

These are a one of a kind of tikkas I came up with the other day. I asked my husband what he wanted to eat for dinner. He thought about it and suggested I make something with south Indian flavors. I knew I wanted grill some chicken- so I decided to come up with a recipe for chicken tikkas but not with the usual suspects. I added some south Indian flavors to it.  Instead of the lemon juice, I used tamarind. It provides the same tanginess but also adds an earthy flavor lemons don’t have.

For the spices, I used a combination of cumin seeds, mustard seeds, cardamom, cinnamon and nutmeg. I roasted them with curry leaves and ground everything up. Everything was mixed with the greek yogurt and marinated for several hours. It resulted in a super flavorful chicken. Everyone loved it, especially my husband.

I think this chicken will be part of the summer meals repertoire- it is perfect to serve with grilled corn and other vegetables. Try it- you will love it.
Click here for the recipe… »