Plum and Blueberry Clafoutis

Our plum tree produced a lot of fruits this year. My husband enjoyed eating them. But they were too sour for me. In front of tons of plums, I thought about many possibilities to cook and eat them. Then, making clafoutis suddenly flashed into my mind. It was already ten o’clock at night. But I decided to just do it!

The dessert was done before the midnight. My husband and I ate all before the next day of afternoon!

Clafoutis is a French baked dessert. It is very easy to make. Mix with eggs, milk, heavy cream, sugar, and flour. Pour into the tart pan. Add fruits such as cherries, berries, apricots and plum. Then put it into the preheated oven. 30 to 40 minutes later you are eating this delicious dessert.

Do not remove pits of fruits. They give a special flavor to this simple sweet!

Chicken Tikka Masala with Chickpeas

When the weather gets hot, I long for curry. Since my neighbor gave me a lot of fresh jalapeño peppers, I decided to make tikka masala.

Usually I roast chicken, which is marinated with yogurt, ginger, garlic and species over night, and add it in tikka masala. This time I boiled marinated chicken wings along with my homemade tikka masala paste, vegetables and chickpeas. Of course, I used a lot of jalapeño peppers, which make this dish extremely hot and flavorsome :)

Pita Sandwich with Hummus Dressing

It has been very hot with no rain in Louisiana. I am very afraid that this heat will produce multiple huge hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico. Indeed, the weather forecast warns that we will have a several major hurricanes this summer. When I think of this, I feel a chill go down my spine.

The summer heat reduces my appetite. But I have to eat in order to get going. So I made this simple pita sandwich with delicious hummus dressing. Use various kinds of summer vegetables. It is very refreshing and recovers my good appetite!

Shrimp with Orzo in Tomato Sauce

If the current oil spill continues more than 50 days, it would be the worst oil spill in the U.S history. This was the article I heard a month ago. Today is the 51st day after the oil spill started. It is already the worst oil spill in the U.S. history. Yet, no one knows when the spill stops. Depressing.

The shrimp dish I made before the oil spill was Shrimp with Orzo in Tomato Sauce. It was so delicious because of the tasty and big shrimps from the Gulf. But now it makes me very sad since many of the shrimp beds in the Gulf are destroyed…

Shrimps from the Gulf of Mexico

I am very upset about the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. It has been leaking for several days and it is already the 2nd worst oil spill in the history. If this situation continues more than 50 days, it will be the worst oil spill. So far no one can predict when this ends. I feel extremely sad and afraid of environmental and economic damages from this horrible disaster.

As I always mention on this blog, I admire delicious shrimps, crabs and oysters from the Gulf. Some expert says once oil pollutes the sea, it will take 20 years or more to clean up. I feel desperate that I may not be able to enjoy shrimps, crabs and oysters from the Gulf in 20 years or more!

Yesterday I went to buy a few pounds of the Gulf shrimps. I grilled, boiled, and baked them. They were so big and delicious. While I became satisfied, my anger against this devastation escalated. I do hope we will continue to enjoy beautiful shrimps and oysters from the Gulf of Mexico…

Beet salad

My friend, Maria, was the first person to introduce the flavor of beets. She was originally from Spain and loves cooking. She used to boil beet roots, slice and simply season them with lemon juice and olive oil. I was fascinated its rich taste as well as the beautiful vivid color.
Since then, I am a big fun of beet salad. Today I prepared this beet salad using a Turkish recipe. Grind garlic and chop dills. Mix them with smashed beets and olive oil. Then, add a tablespoon of yogurt. No salt or pepper necessary. It is very refreshing and delicious.

Spaghetti in Meat Sauce

My husband, Greek native, taught this meat sauce recipe. He put a touch of cinnamon to give a subtle sweet flavor. Sweet meat sauce is a Greek standard. Some people put sugar. Others add cinnamon. I had never thought of using cinnamon in any meat dishes. But after I tried this, I loved the idea and delicate taste.
Cinnamon is one of the popular seasonings in Mediterranean cuisine. Add a pinch of cinnamon in meat sauce. It will give you a distinctive and delicious essence!