Tomato Salad with Herb Vinaigrette

This would be a great side dish for a barbecue or pot luck.  It is made though by having a selection of different tomatoes with their different flavours, textures and colours.  You could add in some sliced rings of shallot or onion if liked.

I've made the vinaigrette traditionally so it emulsifies.  The mustard helps and it's actually surprisingly easy.  For years I made it by the supposedly "easier" method of putting all the ingredients in a jar and shaking but it never really works properly.

I love this time of year when tomatoes are at their most fragrant.  Why not make something which really makes a star of them?

Prawn Noodles

Prawn Noodles was an attempt to "beat the takeaway" in both speed and nutrition.  My local takeaway, although lovely, is about 30 minutes waiting time and a bit high in fat.

This, while not really being healthy, has a hint of vegetables in it and a bit less oil.  What's great though is this is one of my 10 minute recipes so it definitely wins on time!

Pea and Ham Frittata

Frittata is a fab thing to use up the stuff in your fridge.  It's great warm or cold and fantastic for a picnic.

This is a vastly simplified version from most recipes which is a bit like a baked omelette but imagine it more as a quiche without the pastry.

I've used frozen peas but if you would like to use fresh, go for it, just cook them lightly first.

Beef Noodles

I had a really small steak left in the freezer the other day. The good thing about making steak into a salad or into a stir fry is a little goes a long way.  This is great for your health (red meat is good but too much isn't, even better if the red meat is being bulked out with vegetables) but also great for your pocket.

The inspiration for this was fried crispy beef.  This is not crispy before you get excited but it was as tasty and if anything more satisfying than the original recipe but also vastly healthier.

Halloumi and Tomato Salad

This recipe was inspired by the Italian Salad Insalate Caprese.  In this heat it has been far too muggy to eat heavy food.  Something about the intensely salty halloumi made me think "this will work" and you know?  It did!  The saltiness really brought out the flavour of the tomatoes.

For the best flavour, allow your tomatoes to come to room temperature first.

Strawberry and Spinach Salad

Strawberries might not be the most obvious combination with spinach but they have a similar combination of sweetness, tart and fragrance as the best, ripest tomatoes.

One of my most (and least) endearing qualities is I can rarely sit still and do nothing, I am always talking or rushing around at 100 mph.  I can sit still if I'm on holiday and have a good book in my hand but it's rare and in general I'm always doing something.  I argue that it's because there's always something to do but others look on, exasperated wondering why I get up at 6am on a weekend.  So on Saturday I'd visited a friend's house, done my shopping for the week, paid my mechanic for my car service and MOT, driven half an hour to see a potential desk for my study (sadly too big), got a couple of extra bits and bobs from the market and, as usual, succumbed to a few blogging "props" which I know I will rarely use because honestly I take photos of food on white plates nearly all the time.

On the way back, I realised it was nearly lunchtime (yes, really all of this in only a few hours) and started thinking on what to eat.  I fancied some fruit and started thinking about strawberries.  Sadly my home grown ones are still mostly green but I had a punnet in the fridge.  Strawberries have a surprising affinity for good balsamic vinegar and by the time I got back home I'd paired these in my mind with deliciously green baby spinach and slightly bitter walnuts to balance the sweet and sour flavours with the fruit and dressing.

About 5 minutes later, I was sat in the sunshine in my garden stopping for, erm, at least 10 minutes tucking into this lovely salad.

Oh no, there's a vegetarian coming to my barbecue!

Barbecues, at least in the UK can be a meat filled affair.  Often filled with sadly disappointing sausages and burgers as dry as a hockey puck.  Ok, not my barbecues, even my meaty ones are better than that but once in a while, why not limit the amount of meat?

At least when you do have the unexpected vegetarian turn up, you might realise it's not all that scary and have a few ideas up your sleeve.  Maybe, you might be tempted to stray away from the usual ribs and bangers?

This is a massive amount of food and even as a meat eater, I didn't miss meat at all.

Serrano ham wrapped prawns

I had some lovely serrano ham in the fridge, prawns in the freezer and it got me to thinking of how I could marry the two to come up with a lovely tapas style dish.

Fruit Salsa and Vanilla Tortilla Chips

Fruit salsa and not in the way I made pineapple salsa either, this is as a sweet snack for serving with home made sweet tortilla chips.  Unconvinced?  Read on, this is really rather lovely.

Coffee Chocolate Swirl Ice Cream

Ice cream.  Scary and difficult to make isn't it?

NO!  IT ISN'T!  I've found this brilliant new method which takes only about 10 minutes of preparation.  No ice cream maker, no constant whisking, just make the mix and freeze.

Don't believe me?  Read on.

Melon and Black Forest Ham

The first time I had Black Forest Ham was when I was 13.  I'd been studying German for a year and went on an exchange to the Schwarzwald with 30 or so kids from two local schools.  It was chaos.  I was a studious child but felt hopelessly out of my depth being put in a home with a family whose language I barely spoke.

One thing I remember was breakfasts.  In the UK we used to have cereal or toast, nothing else.  Every day the breakfasts were a selection of cheese, meats, fruit, bread.  I loved it.  It was so different and so interesting.

I remember seeing the ham and assuming it was Parma ham (which I'd never eaten).  My friends exclaimed in disgust how their families had served them "raw bacon" for breakfast but I liked it.

So I hesitate to call this a recipe but here was today's breakfast which brought back all these memories.

Halloumi Salad

Halloumi is the lovely cheese from Cyprus which is beautiful if squeaky in a salad.  Don't be put off by it's squeakiness, it's delicious and the kind of ingredient which makes meat eaters love vegetarian food.

This is early summer on a plate.

Mixed Green Vegetable Side Dish

Green vegetables.  I love them.  This is the kind of side dish I would happily pay for in a restaurant.  You know when you order your mains and you're asked if you want a side?  You're never sure if you are being sold something with a massive profit margin or if it's something which will really complement your meal.  Well this will be something which will go fantastically with pork, fish, chicken, oh actually pretty much anything.  It is not a waste of time side dish but something lovely.  This would be great to serve up with a dish for that certain special someone, perhaps with some roasted potatoes with rosemary?

The quantities are less important than the idea.  Roughly speaking you want an even mix of each different vegetable.  Mix it up for what's seasonal.  Cabbage could be nice and would work well cooked in the buttery juices.  If I'd had some broad beans that would have been lovely.  Soy (edamame) beans even better but I think it all has to be green.

This would be on my restaurant menu.  You know, that restaurant in your head that you pretend you're young enough, energetic enough and good enough to open?  Ok, just me...

Smoked Salmon Layered Salad

A delicious summery salad for warmer days.  The radish gives a little gentle heat and is really seasonal right now.

Spinach and Feta Frittata

Frittatas are great things for using up what's in the fridge or freezer and are fantastic for picnics and packed lunches.  This amount, at least for me, is enough to serve 2 but I tend to always make a frittata this large so I have leftovers for the next day's lunch.

There is a natural affinity for spinach and feta cheese, they are lovely together and think of this as a crustless quiche, that is a gluten free quiche which also happens to be the flavourful part but with lower calories.