An Inspired Kitchen

Salad with Fresh Peaches, Mint, Almonds, Feta and a Mint Vinaigrette

This is one of my favorite summer salads when you can get fabulous fresh and sweet peaches and the mint is growing like weeds.  The salad dressing is made by simmering fresh mint and lemon juice and straining the mint and combining it with a little honey and drizzling with olive oil.  You toss the salad with some thinly sliced red onion, toasted almonds, slices of fresh peaches or nectarines, fresh mint, and a sprinkle of feta cheese.  All the tastes of summer in one bite!  Click here for the recipe….

Salmon with Spinach-Walnut Pesto with Purple Potato & Red Onion Hash

I never would have thought to mix Parmesan cheese, toasted walnuts, spinach, capers, shallot and vinegar together for a great pesto to put on top of salmon.  It is really good and makes this simple dish really shine.  It would also be good on chicken.   Sauté some red onion with the purple potatoes (you can use any potato you have on hand) and a little garlic and quickly pan fry or grill some salmon and place it on top of a bed of the potato mixture and top the salmon with the nummy pesto.  Click here for the recipe….

Peanut Butter Cookie Brownie

These brownies combine the best of both worlds if you like peanut butter.  You make a peanut butter cookie dough and drop it onto the brownie batter and when it bakes up you have a mixture of both.  It’s best to under bake these brownies so take them out of the oven when they have a crumb sticking to the toothpick just to ensure you don’t over bake them.  Click here for the recipe….

Cream Biscuits

This is my go to recipe for cream biscuits.  It is James Beard’s recipe and I figure if it was good enough for him – it works for me!  They are called cream biscuits because they use heavy cream instead of butter.  Trader Joe’s carries a tetra packaged heavy cream in the baking section.  It’s great to have in your pantry when you don’t have cream in the fridge and want to bake something or deglaze a skillet to make a cream sauce.  These biscuits are light and fluffy and best eaten right out of the oven and slathered with butter and jam.  Num!  Click here for the recipe….

Dukkah Spiced Cod with Warm Beet, Carrot, Almond and Arugula Salad

Dukkah is a Middle Eastern spice mix of toasted and finely chopped hazelnuts, sesame seeds, dried mint, coriander, cumin, fennel seeds, and black peppercorns.  I combine them all and keep them in a storage jar in the refrigerator to keep the hazelnuts fresh.  Dukkah is great sprinkled in olive oil and used as a dipping oil for bread, or sprinkled on roasted vegetables, chicken, pork or seafood.  This is a really nice light and healthy meal.  You can roast or boil the peeled beets and mix them with sauteed carrots.  To make this dish even quicker, you could use Trader Joe’s cooked beets in the refrigerator section.  I always have a box on hand to sprinkle in salads or use as a side dish.  You make a light vinaigrette with some finely chopped shallot and lemon juice and toss the beets with the carrots and arugula.  The cod is just lightly floured and sprinkled with some dukka before cooking and you could use any fish you like or even shrimp would be good.  Click here for  the recipe….

Hoisin and Shitake Burgers with Miso Mayonnaise and Roasted Sweet Potatoes

This burger only has the addition of Chinese hoisin sauce, green onion and dried shitake mushrooms that have been reconstituted and diced with the beef, but the flavors are wonderful.  The addition of the miso in the mayonnaise makes a great sauce for the potato bun and makes this a very special burger.  I have never had raw bok choy.  I usually sauté or steam it, but it was really good finely shredded with some olive oil, salt and pepper and was a different alternative than using regular lettuce. I am looking forward to grilling weather.  This burger would have been even better cooked outside!  For the two of us, I just cut a large sweet potato into 8 wedges and roasted it on a foil lined baking tray for easier clean up.  I wish I had some togarashi spice to sprinkle over the potatoes as they cooked.  That would have been good.  Have to add that to my shopping list.  Great 20 minute meal!  Click here for the recipe…

Sumac Spiced Salmon with Freekeh, Kale and Almond Pilaf 

Sumac is a very traditional spice used in Middle Eastern cooking and it is a red berry that is dried and ground and has a little lemon zing.  I made a spice blend of sumac and turmeric and sprinkled it on the salmon.  You could use any fish you like or shrimp, or even chicken would be good.  I loved the freekeh pilaf which was made with sauteed onions, garlic, kale, lemon, chopped dates, and almonds.  The dates give it a nice sweetness and go really well with the toasted almonds.  For a garnish you mix labneh which is a Middle Eastern type of yogurt (you could also use Greek yogurt or sour cream) with fresh mint for a delicious dipping sauce.  This dish is full of omega 3 fats and antioxidant rich nutrients for a really healthy meal you can feel good about!  Click here for the recipe….

Seared Chicken Thighs with Cabbage, Turnips and Figs

The cabbage and turnips in this dish are cooked with dried figs and grain Dijon mustard and is really wonderfully sweet with a little tang from the mustard and goes really well with the chicken thighs.  You could also use a chicken breast or even pork would be delicious with this side dish.  Turnips are a root vegetable and have a soft peppery taste and go really well with the cabbage and onion.  Fresh thyme and apple cider round out this dish for a real comfort food and satisfying dinner.  Click here for the recipe….

Trinidadian Chicken Curry with Coconut Polenta and Collard Greens

I don’t know why I never thought to use coconut milk instead of milk or water when I made polenta or grits in the past, but it is delicious.  While the polenta cooks, you make the chicken thighs by sprinkling a mixture of curry powder, nutmeg, smoked paprika, thyme, and cumin and sauteing them with onion and garlic. When the chicken is cooked, add some lime juice.  For the collard greens or kale, just quickly cook them with some garlic and a little bit of water until they are cooked through.  To finish the polenta, add some lime zest and a touch of butter to make it extra creamy.   Garnish the dish with some toasted coconut flakes and fresh cilantro.  It’s a wonderful combination and the Trinidadian spice blend is really good.  Click here for the recipe….