Insalata Caprese (Tomatoes, Mozzarella and Basil Salad)

Basil green, mozzarella white and ripped tomato red remind me of the flag of Italy and hot summer days in the Mediterranean. Insalata caprese is the ultimate summer dish and my most favorite salad. It is very simple to make but amazingly delicious.

Usually I use *garlic-infused olive oil, which makes this dish lovelier. Do not forget to serve this with lots of slices of toasted Italian bread!

* Please note that garlic-infused olive oil may carry botulin toxin, which is very deadly. There is a lot of information available about the products and how to make garlic-infused olive oil. Make sure garlic-infused olive oil you use is safe!

Fried Cod Wrapped with Japanese Basil

I am crazy about perilla, a member of mint family, and sometimes called Japanese basil. If you have tried sushi or sashimi in Japanese restaurants, you might have tasted this extremely aromatic herb. Some people say it tastes like cilantro or basil. Other says it feel like cumin. I do not know how to describe this aroma to you but I can tell this plant has an irresistible flavor.

It is difficult to find perilla. Perhaps they are only available in Asian supermarkets in US. Even though you can find them, I am not sure if they are fresh or aromatic. The best way to obtain this herb is to plan in your garden or a big pot. I found the seeds on Amazon.com or other website.  It is very easy to grow and disease resistant.

Since I am able to harvest them in my yard, I enjoy them as much as possible. I mix them with fresh vegetables and make salad. Also I use them with cold noodles as a garnish.

Wrap perilla leaves around cod fillets and coat with corn starch/ potato starch. Then, fry them and pour my original sauce, which is soybeans sauce based. I have a good appetite. Especially with these delicious pieces with perilla taste, it cannot be better!

Ginger Tea

I had been sick for a few days a week ago. It started a sore throat. When I realized I got some flu bacteria, I immediately began taking ginger tea. I felt the tea was efficacious right away. Next day, the pain became worse. I continued taking ginger tea every couple hours. I also took lots of rest and ate nutritious food, which is easy to digest. A few days later I completely recovered from the summer flu.

Before I discovered the power of ginger tea, a sore throat was usually a sign of horrible distress. Typically it developed fever and runny nose and more than a week of suffering.

I was always depending on medicines when I had a sore throat. But when I stopped taking them, the flu symptoms always came bake and became worse. But one day, I decided not to take any medicine. Instead, I frequently took ginger tea and gargled with salt. Surprisingly, these ancient treatments really worked for me. Since then, when I have a just minor throat pain I try not to use medicine and support my own power to cure my sickness.

Ingredients:
1 cup of hot water
½ teaspoon of grind ginger
1 teaspoon of honey

Directions:
Mix all of the ingredients.

Oil Spill

Checking my vegetable garden in early morning is my usual task during the summer time. This morning I followed my routine. It was a less humid and cloudy day. The wind was gently blowing from the South. Then I noticed the subtle gasoline stink. Yes, the smell was the oil from the Gulf. We live in Baton Rouge, which is 80 miles away from the sea. It is unbelievable but sadly our life is affected by the oil spill.

The small particles of oil must be everywhere around the Gulf. We breathe the contaminated air and no one knows the long-term result of it. It is scaring.

Omelet with Zucchini Flowers, Dill and Feta Cheese

“Zucchini flowers are so flavorsome,” said my husband, who is native to Greece. Indeed, there are many dishes using zucchini flowers in Mediterranean counties. I have never tried zucchini flowers before and I was always fascinated about eating them.

So I planted six zucchini plants this spring and was looking forward to harvesting the flowers.

However, a few weeks ago, when they were ready to blossom, the plants suddenly started dying. After searching webs for the cause, I found out they were attacked by squash vine borers. In fact, I found the babies and eggs lying on the zucchini leaves. Yikes!!!

Fortunately, several flowers were surviving and I was able to eat them! Certainly they are very delicious. It is sweet and has a delicate flavor. The flowers could be better than zucchini fruits!

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 :)