Mango Salsa

I first ate mango in a sailboat in the Caribbean, so the juicy reward of chopping it off its strange-shaped core always feels like summer. This four-ingredient salsa is filled with the sweet fruit and just enough red onion and cilantro to add a Southwestern flair, albeit not a spicy one.

The peach salsa atop fish on Cooking Light's cover a few months ago inspired me to try a mango variety on my favorite fish, salmon. It adds a refreshing, flavorful spin to moist, flavorful grilled salmon, which I seasoned with lemon pepper. Both times I've served it on fish there haven't been leftovers, but a friend more than pleased her soon-to-be inlaws by serving it with tortilla chips.

Recipe: Shrimp and Grits

Shrimp and Grits is my all-time favorite Southern dish. Maybe it's because most others are fried or clobbered in mayonnaise, and this is a fresh sauté of veggies atop a cheesy, creamy grits. The dish combines wonderful summery foods: fresh shrimp, mushrooms, green peppers, garlic, and green onions, along with a bit of bacon for signature Southern flavor. Remembering the taste of the dish makes me day dream of eating it in sunshine while sipping a mimosa with good company.

I've had quite a few restaurant versions, but this homemade one wins for taste, hands-down. The recipe came from a Chapel Hill, NC, establishment via the kitchens of Southern Living.

Shrimp and Grits

Recipe: Baked Shrimp with Feta

For my Saturday night cooking adventure I bought me a large bag of frozen peeled shrimp and tweaked a recipe from the April Cooking Light for a something light, summery and healthy. I added more of my farmer's market tomatoes and onion as well as cheese because feta is just that good. The orzo with herbs the magazine recommended probably would have been tasty, but I  opted to eat it with the lazier, higher fiber brown rice.

Baked Shrimp with Feta 

1 lb. large shrimp, peeled and devined

1 tsp. olive oil

1/2 large onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

3 tablespoons white wine

1 teaspoon oregano

2 large tomatoes, chopped

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Add oil to large skillet warmed to medium-high heat. Saute onion for one minute. Add garlic and saute one minute. Add wine, oregano and tomatoes; bring to boil (mine didn't have that much liquid, so it didn't really boil.) Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in shrimp. Place in 8x8 baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle cheese evenly over mixture. Bake at 450 degrees for 12 minutes or until cheese melts.