Recipe (No. 1)

It's really easy to get caught up in a mundane routine of food. You find something you like, you become good at preparing it, and before you know it you've been eating chicken cutlets every day for the past year.

While there is nothing wrong with having a signature meal - it is equally important to explore and discover the delicious combinations of flavors that our world beholds. Today I'll share two recent dishes & give a little insight on how they're prepared.

Salmon & Cucumber Salad

This is an original recipe inspired solely by cravings. One Sunday night I had a big appetite, but knew that I didn't want to end my meal feeling absolutely stuffed. The first food that came to mind was cucumber. This vegetable is the epitome of fresh, crunchy, and cool. Keep in mind I said I was hungry so a cucumber alone wouldn't do the trick. My boyfriend had some salmon in the freezer and so the rest of the meal unraveled. 

Here's what you'll need for one serving:

Filet of Salmon

Grape Tomatoes

Mini Cucumbers

Red Peppers

Sliced Almonds

Mandarin Orange Ginger Dressing 

(could be found at your local Shop Rite in the dressing aisle)

1. First thing's first - defrost your salmon.
2. Slice your mini cucumbers, grape tomatoes, and red peppers. Throw them onto a plate and mix around.
3. Heat up the frying pan and cover the bottom with some olive oil for the salmon. Sauté the salmon until it's cooked just the way you like!
4. Once the salmon has cooled down for a little bit, cut it up into the size you like and put it on top of your fresh veggie medley.
5. At this point you can sprinkle your salad with almonds. This is a nice alternative to croutons because it's so much lighter, but still adds to the variety of the salad since there aren't too many ingredients to begin with.  
6. Finally you can douse the salad with the mandarin orange ginger dressing. Add as little or as much as you would like. I found that the more the better. The dressing in itself is very thin. Even if you pour too much it will only drown to the bottom because the ingredients of this salad won't necessarily soak it up (as croutons would, for example).
7. Mix it up and enjoy!

In the future when making this salad I would consider using orange or yellow peppers - simply for the aesthetic appeal of the end result. This salad is already so rich in color, but the red peppers blend in with the tomatoes making it harder to tell what's on the plate. One of my favorite parts of this creation is that every bite is really full of flavor. By the end of this meal you will not be left hungry.

Strawberry Sesame Salad

This is always the first salad to go at my family parties. Definitely a summer combo. The secret in this salad is the home made dressing. The salad itself consists of fresh strawberries, spinach (or mixed greens), & almonds. 

Here's the secret in the dressing:

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup white champagne vinegar with pomegranate 

(could be found at your local Shop Rite in the dressing aisle)

1/2 cup white sugar

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

1 tablespoon poppy seeds

1/4 teaspoon paprika

I can sit here and give you tedious instructions about which to put in first and at what speed you should stir with which utensil, but I'm not going to do that. Go ahead and make sure that you have all of that in one bowl and mix. Pour generously over the strawberries and mixed greens sprinkled with almonds. You'll be pleasantly surprised at what a difference the pomegranate infused white vinegar makes. 

Enjoy!