WARM HALLOUMI SALAD WITH CHICKPEAS & LIME

Is it still February? Just? Phew! Then here is my second salad of the year, just in time. This is a lovely warm and comforting salad with just enough zing to keep it fresh tasting. Halloumi is one of my most favourite cheeses, and it's the one way that I can guarantee I'll get a salad down my kids necks ;)

So, c'mon #getyoursaladon

KALE & QUINOA SALAD WITH POMEGRANATE, APPLE & FETA

I had a plan for this year - I was going to make and blog about a new salad every week. Partly because I think salads get a bad press, especially in the stodgy wintertime, and partly because salads are one of my favourite types of food. But, as with all plans I seem to make regarding this blog, it hasn't quite worked out that way, and here we are in week 3 of January and I've only got one salad under my belt. Oh well, let it be 'a salad a month' instead, or 'a salad when I get around to it'.

We are really onto a winner here, with our debut salad of 2014. It's got kale, it's got quinoa and it's got pomegranate - all great for you and perfect for this time of year. The added apple gives it an extra sweet kick & the walnuts provide a really nice texture. 

This salad really is quick, easy and tastes absolutely delicious - enjoy!

22.09.13 | GIGANTE BEAN SALAD WITH PRAWNS

Let me share this really lovely salad we had a lot over the summer. It's simple, fresh and flavoursome and perfect for a weekend lunch. You could switch the leaves up if you're not too keen on the peppery watercress, i think baby leaf spinach would work well. The key to this is the marinating time, so make sure you let it sit for at least an hour.

21.05.13 | ORZO SALAD WITH FETA & ROASTED PEPPERS

Hey! I made you a salad! Not only that but I made you a salad that will a) fill you up b) stop you reaching for the chocolate come 8pm and c) will sit happily in your fridge as leftovers for a couple of days (perfect for late night spoon snacking)!!

It's fresh and zingy and everyone in this little home loved it. The faff part for me was roasting the peppers (lazy me) so the next time I made it, i turned to my trusty old jarred roasted peppers. Don't feel bad if you're tempted to do the same because well, life is short and anyway i saw Sir Jamie of Oliver use them on the TV once and if that isn't a green light to cheat then i don't know what is!

I serve this with grilled meat and a glass of super cold pinot grigio for the ultimate in BBQ chic.

Err, did i really just say that? Oh dear.

C'mon, lets go!

13.04.13 | SUPER SALAD WITH ROASTED RED PEPPER DRESSING

Every now & then I post a picture of something that I've made on twitter or instagram, or even my own personal facebook page now that I'm totally OK with real life friends knowing about the blog (ok, so not totally ok, that is still a little bit strange) but none the less, every now & then people go mad get a little more interested than usual for what i've made and they contact me wanting the recipe or asking when it will go live on the blog (which is awesome by the way - thank you!)

But, you can bet your life that those times it's almost always going to be something I got majorly lucky on taste wise. 

It's also almost definitely going to be something I made up out of god knows where. 

And I can pretty much guarantee that it's going to be the one time i didn't have my camera next to me snapping every stage. 

So of course this is exactly what happened when I made this Super Salad, which is why it's taken me ages to get it on the blog. I had to scurry around in my (still very much baby) brain remembering what i used, what I did and in which order I did it in, but I finally did and here it is. Yaay for that...

24.02.13 | PANZANELLA

Panzanella is my new favourite thing. It's a salad (no, really?!) so of course I'm going to love it for that reason alone, but what's extra great about this salad is that it is so versatile. 

Panzanella is a classic Italian salad made using stale bread and although the recipe combinations vary from region to region, this one has to be my fave at the moment because of its simplicity & its ability to sit happily along side anything... 

You want some grilled chicken with it? Go for it! 

What about a nice piece of pan fried sea bass or some salt & pepper prawns? Now you're talking! 

Hey, you could even go all kinds of crazy and have grilled chicken AND some spiced up couscous like I did three times this week. Yes, count them - THREE! 

You could do all of those things, but this bold and punchy salad will make you just as happy eating it on it's own because it is that good.

Go on, get some PanZan in your life!

FOOD: CARNIVAL SLAW

Here's a question: am i about to treat you to a 'new-to-me' recipe for a good old slaw? Oh yoooou betcha!

If you don't love marinated cabbage dressed up with flavours that will make your taste buds sing, then it may be your cue to leave (but do stay anyway because you're nice and I like you).

Now, where do i start with this one? Yes it is another slaw recipe in the middle of Autumn, but stay with me on this one because this slaw is very different to this one and this one.
Carnival Slaw is the perfect combination of sweet/sour/crunchy and because it is not at all spicy i think it's pretty much perfect with any dish that feels the need for a good old helping of slaw.

It is perfect as a side to grilled meats, it's perfect for veggie burgers, it's perfect for your kiddos and it is perfectly perfect for standing alone in the kitchen, in the dark, with the fridge door open scoffing crazy amounts straight out of the bowl. Ahem, moving on....

I first saw the recipe on Shutterbean ages & ages ago but me being me, i didn't bookmark it. So, when i came to look it up again i could not find it for love nor money. I simply could not remember the name of it, but what i could remember was that Tracy described it as 'the slaw all the parents went apeshit for' - so I googled 'Shutterbean Apeshit Slaw' - et viola I FOUND IT! Yay! I know I can't call this apeshit slaw forever, even though I really want to.....

You really should make it, because we all really did go apeshit for it...

FOOD: MEXICAN SLAW

How good is cabbage?! 

How especially good is red cabbage?!

How taste bud tinglingly good is red cabbage when it's mixed up with chilli's, lime juice, salt and transformed into a Mexican Slaw?

Too good, that's how good.

Remember when I confessed all about my Mexican food addiction? Well, it all started off with this salad. When I first made it I couldn't believe how fresh & zingy it was, and I majorly overdosed on the stuff!

For months, every single bbq, picnic or party simply had to include this dish & i'm not exaggerating when i say there was never any of it left. In fact, anyone i've ever made this for has practically inhaled it within seconds. That's fine though because this slaw is SUPER good for you, therfore it's totally acceptable go ahead and stuff your face!!

I think it goes particularly well with a homemade chicken burger & sweet potato fries as per our supper last night, but I also think it would be ace with Drea's vegan chickpea patties. 

Go Make!

FOOD: BLACK BEAN AND MANGO QUINOA

Sometimes in life you need to just get over stuff.

Sometimes, it doesn't matter if you gain 4lbs over the summer.

Sometimes, you need to accept that your worn out uggs are not doing their job as footwear anymore.
You especially need to realise this if you slip over and fall smack bang on your ass THREE times in one morning (it's ok, nobody saw you, but seriously, three times?!)

Other times in life you need to embrace stuff.

Stuff like cookie butter. NO! FOOL! Actually not like cookie butter - i gained 4 pounds sneaking spoonfuls of this stuff. I'm warning you, if you ever get the chance, do not embrace cookie butter. 

No, you need to embrace stuff like the leaves that are turning yellow & falling from the trees or the fact that the nights are drawing in & you can call up your chimney sweep to get ready for that first fire of the season. You need to embrace the fun planning of Halloween and then bonfire night and then Christmas! Sorry, way too early to mention that word i know...

Then there are times in life when you just need to man up & both get over it and embrace it. Just like I just did with some corn.
Yes, I am rambling on like a crazy person about corn.
You see I have a funny thing about corn being used in salsas or salads. Don't ask me why because I have no idea. It's just one of those things & i to be honest I hadn't felt like it's something i ever needed to address because it's just corn, right? Er -Wrong! As a Mexican food addict  i totally needed to get over it & embrace that funny little yellow bit of oddness.

So I got brave.

And after i congratulated myself for buying a fresh cob of corn, I made this recipe which blew my socks off! I had it today for lunch in a tortilla with lashings of hot sauce & then tonight, i had it again after the mister told me he was going out for steak (!) but i served it with some grilled chicken. It's a flavour bomb waiting to go off & you need to try it.
Especially if you have a weird unjustified aversion to corn.

Go Make!

A MINI SMöRGåSBORD

It's been a bit quiet lately here on the blog front due to the rest of my life being insanely manic. I hate this end-of-school time of year when there is so much to do, and so much sort out ready for the summer break. But amidst the chaos i took some time out & I went to visit my two oldest girlfriends this weekend (Hi  Kel! Hi Jem!).

It was a loooong overdue catch up as the last time was almost 3 years ago (3 years!!) but then i guess that's what happens when you throw re-locations to Spain, new babies & general life stuff into the mix. Time has a habit of flying by. 

It was such a lovely sunny visit; we had good chats, we drank good wine, we danced around the living room until 3:30am & I learnt a valuable lesson about offering to cook for 7 people in a kitchen I didn't  know, whilst slightly inebriated. Hmmm. 

Anyway, the night before I went off on my child-free adventure, I made this lovely Swedish mini-feast for me & the mister. It was gorgeous & as there's no actual cooking involved, it's a sinch to knock up. 

BLACK BEAN SALAD W/ PRAWNS AND PINK PICKLED ONIONS

Hmmm. 

Beans. 

A tricky subject in this house. 

Do I like them? Yes! No! Maybe. I love butter beans, black beans, canellini beans but i hate, hate, HATE kidney beans. I hate black eyed beans too & I'm also a bit weird about baked beans. 

But, the mister loves them all, and Flo too will literally exhale any type of beany dish in a matter of minutes. Dex on the other hand wouldn't even entertain the idea of being in the same room as a bean, whereas India's current opinion on any food is 'can i throw it across the room? Yes? Winner!' 

So, because we are a bunch of fusspots, choosing a bean dish as a meal in this house, is kind of like a leap of faith. But, sometimes you have to take one of those - it's important - and this particular leap was one that I'm bloody glad i did. It's sweet! It's zingy! It's flippin' amazing...

A 'NOT BORING' CHICKEN SALAD

Whenever anyone ever suggested chicken salad for lunch, 'meh' used to be my reaction. In my head, chicken salad used to be filed alongside 'beans on toast' or 'a jacket with tuna'. Y'know what i mean right? They are OK-ish meals, but kind of dull, it's like i have to really really fancy beans on toast to actually make it. Well, it was exactly the same for chicken salad, I just couldn't get excited about it. But then i stumbled upon two neat little marinades, 1 for chicken & 1 for red onions & the most amazing chicken salad was born! It would be a sin to not share this with everyone...