As we delve further into June, our family has been waiting for summer weather to arrive. Instead it’s been day after day of rain, and so this week we decided to bring summer to our kitchen with some delicious chicken for the grill, a great salad with juicy prawns and home made croutons, and a salmon tikka that had me almost licking my plate.
| MONDAY |
Crunchy and delicious, this salad is a light, fast meal. Make your own croutons by frying up some stale focaccia in a bit of butter over low heat, and skip the packaged kind! My family loved this salad’s citrusy flavor with the prawns.
Citrus Shrimp Arugula Salad
| TUESDAY |
I would say that these are probably the best meatballs I’ve ever tasted. The only change I made was to use real Parmesan cheese, because it’s all I ever buy. Served with a bright green salad, they make a nice light lunch or dinner. Your die hard beef lovers will be amazed at the flavor that shines through with these little morsels of goodness.
Chicken Meatballs with Tomato Balsamic Glaze
Tossed Salad
Garlic Bread
| WEDNESDAY |
Is it really June? Here it feels like February, and a cheesy baked pasta dish seemed appropriate. With some leftover meatballs hanging out in the freezer, this was an easy dinner to put together. Simmer up a quick tomato sauce, boil some fresh spinach cheese ravioli, then put it all together and bake for a meal with lots of lasagna flavor. The leftovers the next day were the envy of my staff lunch room!
Veggies and dip
| THURSDAY |
With summer suspiciously missing (where is our nice summer weather?) we thought we’d bring summer to our kitchen. Marinate some chicken in orange juice, jalapeno and tequila, then put it on the grill where it bakes up juicy and delicious. There you go-summer on your plate!
Lemon Chive Potatoes
Roasted Asparagus
| FRIDAY |
Today I came home late and tired, and really not in the mood for cooking. This recipe cooked up so fast, and was SO delicious that it has won the award for our very favorite Jamie Oliver recipe EVER. Juicy pieces of salmon topped with a yogurt and cucumber sauce, all on fresh naan bread was so delectable that we sat there, groaning in pleasure over such an amazing meal. If you haven’t tried a Jamie Oliver recipe yet, I highly recommend you try this one.
Jamie Oliver’s Salmon Tikka with Cucumber Yogurt
Adapted From Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution
2 naan breads or flatbreads
1 fresh red chili
1/2 a cucumber
1 lemon
1/4 cup thick plain yogurt
sea salt/ground pepper
fresh cilantro
two 7 oz salmon fillets-skinned, scaled, bones removed, cut into 1/2 inch wide slices
1 heaped tbsp Patak’s mild tandoori paste
Pre-heat your oven to 225 F. Wrap the naan breads in foil and place them in the oven to warm up.
Meanwhile measure out the yogurt, cucumber, and 1/2 of the fresh chili into a bowl. Stir. Sprinkle in some salt and pepper to taste. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze in the juice, stirring. Set aside.
Heat some olive oil in a frypan. While it’s getting hot, smear the tandoori paste over your fish. Place the pieces of fish into the hot pan and cook about 1 1/2 minutes per side until cooked through.
To serve: Place a warm naan bread on a plate, and top with the pieces of salmon, a scoop of the cucumber yogurt, and a sprinkle of fresh cilantro.
Serves 2 generously