Good morning!  I have a tendency to use the ingredients on hand and come up with some odd pairings, unique combination or just all out crazy dishes.  For this dish, I combined the fresh taste of mint and crunchy royal gala apples, green peas and some jasmine rice.  Interesting combination?  Tasty?  I would say yes to all of the above.

This would be a great side dish with roasted pork or even a blackened roasted chicken.  You could also serve this cold as a salad but I chose to eat it hot.

Ingredients

• 2 Cups Jasmine Rice
• 1 Cups frozen Peas
• 2 Apples,  cubed
• 2 Sprigs of fresh mint
• 1 Tbsp. Apple cider vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. Olive oil
• 1 Garlic clove, minced
• 1 Tsp. fresh ginger, minced
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Cook the rice according directions an set aside.
2. In a large preheated skillet add the olive oil, garlic and ginger and begin to cook.  Toss in the apples, vinegar, and cook for a couple of minutes.  Toss in the peas and let cook through.
3. Season with salt and pepper
4. Add the mint at the last minute, stir in the rice and mix together.
5. Garnish with a touch more mint.
6. Enjoy!

Zesty Tip: You want the apples to still have a crunch so I started off with a hard apple versus a soft apple like MacIntosh.  I find the galas can hold up tot he heat and not break down.

I hope you have a great Monday.  The rain here is “raining on my parade” to say the least.  We have a lot of work to be done outside and nothing has started as of yet due to the weather.  I am trying to stay optimistic but if this continues I am sure to be cranky?

Do you find weather effects your mood? Let me know because I never used to think it had an impact on me but now I am second guessing.. ha!  I will talk to you on Wednesday.

Take care

zesty

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OK, before I begin let me apologize and explain for my whereabouts last Friday and my lack of post. Let’s just say that last week was a long week with a lot of traveling and a few wrinkles a long the way. On Thursday afternoon I left West Virginia and had a pit stop in Chicago before boarding to Toronto and doing an overnight before flying home on Friday morning.

The first flight from West Virginia started off about an hour late which started to have me worry a little bit because my time in O’Hare was tightening up and I am not familiar with that airport. After studying the map of the airport I knew my time was going to be tight. I started on foot and pretty much ran for the gate through the maze of people and boarded the plane as pretty much the last person but with time to spare. I am sweating by this time, so I get settled into my seat and crank on the cool air. Little did I know that I would be sitting in this seat on the runway for about 2 hrs and 15 minutes waiting to take off.  Grrrr but you know I have so much patience I just let it roll off my back and think positive.

All of a sudden, the captain comes over the air “Flight attendants, prepare for take off”. We are ready to go! A few minutes elapse, and we are not moving and all of a sudden I feel the plane doing a u turn and leaving the runway. I am slightly perplexed but assume everyone has everything under control. A minute later the captain comes over the air “Ladies and gentleman, at United air we are committed to offering superior service and safety to all our flights and at this point I cannot continue flying this plane. I just found out my Dad has passed away and I cannot fly. I will take you back to the gate and we will look at getting another captain”.  I say to myself… Holy shit – I cannot be mad – this is awful.  Meanwhile we are waiting for another captain but are soon to find out the flight is canceled. At this point there are about 300 people looking for a new flight and a hotel as there are no more flights to Toronto this late in the day.

Now the fun begins…. I am starving and cannot wait in the line, it is damn well huge. I wander around and get a snack and come back- all the while I call my travel agent and she works her magic as always (Thanks Christine) and I am booked on a flight in the am. But now I need a hotel. I am hot, sweaty, hungry and soon to be cranky but not there yet. Finally I get a hotel and take the shuttle back to the room and order a pizza. All is well but I am pretty tired at this time – since it is midnight and the flight was supposed to depart at 6:31pm.  Oh dear.

Zesty Meets Elvis

Well not literally, but I was in Tupelo, MS last week and was within 3 miles of Elvis’ birthplace so I thought I would take a visit before driving to Alabama.  There was a park, museum, his old homestead and a souvenir shop.  I snapped a few pictures on my smart phone ( apologize for the quality ) and picked up a couple of gifts for the family.

I am not a huge Elvis fan but being so close  – I just had to pop in for a visit.

Teriyaki Salmon

Saturday night, I was shopping at the grocery store and I was super hungry….. bad idea I know but look at what I found.  At the sushi section, I was poking my nose around when this little gourmet bowl looked up at me.

Teritaki salmon with a top some julienne carrots and sticky rice.  The salmon had a lite coating of teriyaki flavor as well as a variety of toasted sesame seeds and a sporadic green onion.  I was all over this in a heartbeat.  At $6.00 for a ready made meal, it was fair for sure considering all of the other fast food I could have picked.  As soon I got home, I ripped off the lid and popped this in the microwave for 2 minutes and I was a happy boy.

The salmon was flavorful, juicy and the carrots were crunchy.  The sticky rice was just that.  I loved it.  It was such a hit that I went back to pick up a couple more.  One for Mrs. zesty and one for today’s lunch.

Well that was a long winded post but I felt I had to enlighten you with my “luck” while traveling and I just had to share both Elvis and the salmon.  Have a super Monday and I will share some more words with you on hump day.

Take care

zesty

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Ummmm Hi… I can’t really stay and chat for very long.  Ever feel like all you do is rush around to meet time lines and appointments?  Not only do the days fill up but now we are into the evenings, especially with summer finally here.  Soccer nights mean for a rushed dinner but you still have to eat!

Last night I went with a super easy menu that takes minutes to prepare.  The whole dish takes about 15 minutes to prepare and about 7 minutes to eat.  A simple turkey burger from frozen, grilled corn and some basmati rice ( cause I was craving it ).

Ingredients

• Basmati rice
• Fresh Corn
• Turkey Burgers
• BBQ Sauce
• Tzatkiki sauce
• English muffins

Method

1. Simple foods made easy.  Start your rice first as it will take the longest and then chuck the corn in the grill.  For the corn I rub some olive oil and salt and pepper all over then place it on the top rack of the grill.
2. I leave the corn on the top rack for about 10 minutes on medium-high heat rotating every few minutes
3. Add the turkey burger on the grill and let cook 7 minutes each side.  Adding your favorite bbq sauce after each side is cooked to prevent it from burning.  Make sure not to try and move the turkey burger too early as you will find it will stick to the grill and you will lose the crust.
4. Toast off your english muffins and then spoon on some tzatkiki sauce and call it a sandwich.
5. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: Move the corn down directly on the grill for the last 3-4 minutes.  This will get the nice golden brown color that everyone loves.

Alright, that is all I got today!  I have to get ready for work and I will see you all on Friday.  Special post coming up on Friday based on a special sample delivery I received.  I am pretty excited.  Oh and one more thing…. work is having a potluck on Friday – any ideas on what I should bring.  I have been hearing rumblings of the chocolate cream cheese cupcakes but I was also leaning towards the baked pasta casserole with bacon.  Let me know what you think.  I may make something totally different as well so spit out the ideas.

Take care

zesty

Download my Free Recipe Book: Simply Zesty