Mango Salsa

430.  Cool, fresh, satisfying; these words describe fresh-made mango salsa.  When a break is needed from the standard tomato based salsa, fruited salsa is perfect.  Fruits that work well would include mango, peaches, plums, or pears.  When the fruit is softer or more ripe, the sugars develop in the fruit making the sweet/savory balance so much better.

"Salsa is something I never get tired of.  How could I, when there are so many different flavor combinations to try?"

~ Megan Myers

Baked Zucchini

 429.  Summer time always provides us with plenty of beautiful vegetables and zucchini is always at the top of my list.  They are lovely and so versatile to work with as well as the flavor that will compliment any  pairing whether sweet or savory.  This is a savory dish, although using some of the same methods as my classic recipe HERE, the recipe was adapted from Antoni Porowski's cookbook for "Baked Zucchini".  

His recipe is vegan but I use ground beef in my recipe.  I followed each step but made a meatball-like filling for the deep well you create by scraping out the seeds.  Often times I will chop up the seeds and flesh removed and mix it with the filling, if the seeds are young and tender.  A light marinara sauce was a perfect base for this recipe HERE.

The breadcrumb topping was a really nice addition, although, next time I would use a finely ground parmesan cheese.

Topped off with chopped basil leaves and a side salad, this was a beautiful summer meal.  Thank you zucchini...you've done it again.  Made it on my "Summer Favorites" list.

"When I pass a flowering zucchini plant in a garden, my heart skas a beat."

~ Gwyneth Paltrow