Although I may not find time too often to dive into a great book, I find it very calming and ​enjoyable to wander through bookstores. I like to support the local ones whenever possible, and love to browse their cookbook sections, magazine areas, and usually the top-selling fiction, especially as the summer begins. It's just about beach season!

Recently, my husband and I wandered into our neighborhood favorite to get out of the extreme heat and ended up leaving with a terrific plan for dinner. I was browsing the cookbooks, just for fun, even though that night's dinner plan had already been somewhat-established earlier in the day. I stumbled upon the beautiful books by Yotam Ottolenghi and was enjoying the wonderful photos when I came across a recipe that actually included the majority of items we had bought a few hours prior when grocery shopping.

We would only need a few extra ingredients and voilà! A totally new dinner would be possible for an otherwise regular (and super hot) Sunday night. We decided to scrap the original in favor of this new dish that seemed pretty simple to prepare and full of flavors we rarely have at home. Sounded promising to me!

The recipe we used, Turkey and Zucchini Burgers with Green Onion and Cumin, is from the cookbook Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi and I've already ordered my copy for home because this meal was incredible. In fact, I'm planning to purchase a few of his books because the featured ingredients and recipes all seem like wonderful ways to use veggies and other foods we buy often, but definitely need to refresh in terms of our go-to weeknight meals. And I'd say that a vast number of the recipes are already naturally gluten free! My favorite. Or, well, my requirement, but you get the idea.

We bought all of the extra necessary ingredients for the burger recipe and decided since it was so, so hot, a salad would be the best dish to pair with our plan. Alas, a Greek salad came to mind as we had recently been to an incredible Greek restaurant in the South End (blog post is up on Kava Neo-Tavera) and I couldn't get those flavors out of my mind. Also, because feta is a wonderful cheese and who can resist cheese? :)

Ultimately, what had originally been a somewhat simple dinner idea (we had been planning to make turkey meat sauce), became a beautiful and mouth-wateringly delicious dinner that I cannot wait to make again. I think this one would be a real crowd pleaser, and would be a great dish as an appetizer or dinner since the burgers can be made as large or small as your prefer. Sliders, anyone? Let's eat! ​

Dinner notes: we followed the directions for the turkey and zucchini burgers exactly, and also made the amazing yogurt sauce that goes on top. However, we sadly had to leave out the Sumac as we couldn't find it at either of our local grocers. Next time, we are adding the Sumac. To make up for that, I added a little extra lemon juice, sea salt, and fresh ground pepper. It was scrumptious and easily could be used as a dip for crudités or as a topping on other grilled meals. The recipe said that we'd make about 18 burgers, and we ended up with 10, choosing to make them a bit larger, which was perfect for us. Ending up with leftovers is my husband's favorite since he then gets to have a great lunch at work the next day.