Summer usually leads to eating a lot of salad. But on really hot days, a nice cold salad hits the spot!

This recipe is great if you are entertaining and want to prep something beforehand, as this recipe needs to meld the flavors overnight.

It uses fresh herbs, which I really like since I have a windowsill full of herbs calling for my attention. And it's so pretty!

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overnight zucchini salad with crumbled feta
serves 6

3 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp grated lemon zest
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup olive oil
2 menium zucchini, peeled into thin strips
1 onion, sliced thin
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
2 green onions, chopped
1 tbsp chopped fresh mint
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsely

Whisk lemon juice, zest and garlic in large bowl. Whisk in oil. Season with salt and pepper. Add zucchini and onion and toss to coat. Cover and marinate overnight or up to 2 days.

Sprinkle with feta, green onions, mint and parsely. Serve.

Recipe from: Greek Zucchini salad with Crumbled Feta. Vegetarian Times Magazine, May/June 2007 issue.

We don't eat a lot of pasta around here but how can you not eat want to slurp this up?

Spaghetti, cheese, bacon, eggs... mmmmmmm.... I can feel the notch on my belt needing expanding.

Does it count as healthy if it's whole wheat spaghetti?

Yeah... I didn't think so :)

I took a poll a while back and though I didn't have a large sample size, I came to conclude this...

Most people only really love sushi for the wasabi/soy sauce rush.

I come to think that people love sushi not so much for the actual sushi, since it's sorta bland, but more for it's gateway of the addictive wasabi/soy sauce combo.

Yes, of course, there is the whole experience of eating it that makes it super fun: the chopsticks, the stuffing of whole rolls into your mouth and the dares of who will eat the more adventureous rolls. But, the thing is, everyone that I polled that said that they loved sushi always ate it with wasabi/soy sauce. I didn't find one person who just ate the sushi because they like the taste or texture of the rolls. Everyone-of-them dipped with wasabi and soy sauce.

So, really, the title of this post should be "Wasabi and Soy Sauce, with a side of sushi".

But, like I said, I took a small sample size. I'm sure there are some of you that would prove me wrong. And I'm sure if I went to Japan, they would look at me like I'm crazy, For everytime I scream, eyes- crossed and with fire-breathing gasps, "more, MORE", I'm greedily adding another huge dollop of wasabi to my soy sauce and using the sushi to merely sponge up the next dose of andrenaline rush into my mouth.

Nothing wrong with some addictions.

Happy dipping :)

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sushi

List of ingredients:

smoked salmon
crab meat
tempura shrimp

mango
avocado
fried egg
cucumber

rice
nori wrappers
sesame seeds
wasabi
soy sauce

Roll up in any combination you like.

On occasion we go out and enjoy some doughnuts at our local Tim Horton's with our kids. We don't do this often because I prefer my mid section not to look like a doughnut but who can resist them really?

I thought I'd try my hand at making doughnuts and when I saw this Apple Fritter recipe, it seemed like a good choice, especially since my hubby's favorite doughnut is the apple fritter at Timmies. Almost feels healthy and nutritious with an apple ring in the middle, no?

I remember that this recipe was pretty time consuming. Lots of waiting around and I'm not fond of sitting over a big ole pan of hot oil. My glasses were slick after this, that's for sure.

They were nice, served warm but the next day, I really didn't like them. They were greasy-like. I was a bit dissapointed. I'd recommend that you make a half batch and eat them all at one sitting or do as I will do next time....

Leave the doughnut making to Tim Horton's :)

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apple fritters
makes about 32 fritters

1-1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup cold beer
2 tbsp butter, melted
2 eggs, separated
4 apples (~1 kg)
deep frying oil of your choice
2 tbsp icing sugar

Whisk 1-1/4 of the flour, sugar and salt. Whisk in beer. Whisk the butter with egg yolks and stir into the batter. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or up to 12 hours).

Beat egg whites in separate bowl until stiff. Fold into batter. Place bowl over larce bowl of ice water for 15 minutes.

Peel and core apples. Slice into 1/4 inch thick rings. Pat dry. Sprinkle with remaining flour.

Heat oil until about 350F in wok, deep fryer or saucepan with about 2 inces of oil. Dip apples slices into batter and deep fry until golden brown, about 3-4 mintues. Transfer onto paper towels.

Sprinkle with icing sugar and serve warm.

Recipe from: Apple Fritters, Canadian Living Magazine, December 2007 issue.

It's lunch time and the kids are hungry and they're begging for pizza and you're looking at them like "where do you think I'm gonna get pizza within the next 10 minutes?"

Well, here you go. A variation of my pita pizzas.

Quick thinking... us mommies sure come up with great ideas :)

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ham and pineapple pizza toastsmakes 2 pizzas

2 slices of bread, toasted
2-4 Tbsp tomato or pizza sauce of your choice
2 slices of deli ham, chopped up
1/2 can pineapple tidbits
sprinkling of grated cheese, your choice, I used cheddar

Toast the slices of bread. Spread sauce on top. Layer with ham, pineapple and sprinkle with cheese.

Either toast in toaster oven/oven or put in microwave until cheese starts to melt.