Of Summer, Sleep and Salads
I really hate it when the weather gets multiple personality disorder around this time of year. One day it's nearly summer, the next it's almost winter - not a good thing when you have a fairly narrow comfort range of temperatures. Mostly it's playing havoc with my pitiful attempts to sleep. Winter is fine - the heating is on, so the temperature inside stays fairly stable and I can just hide under the thick duvet in my Pyjamas. Summer is less good, but fairly easy to work around - under or on the thin duvet, with or without clothing (and if it gets really hot, open the window). Right now, however, one night I wake up sweating like a pig because it's too hot under the thick duvet, even sans nightwear, the next night I wake up shivering under the thin duvet despite re-donning my PJs. it's just not fair!
It might not quite be summer yet, but it's close enough for me to hit the salad bowl, and my house salad goes something like this: Start with some lettuce, I've usually used iceberg in the past, but that's more through force of habit than because it's any good. Next, add some sweet pepper for crunch - yellow or orange ones add some colour, but green or red will do. Add some tomatoes - I've mostly been using cherry tomatoes or similar, because the slices you get out of normal-sized ones are just too big, and because it's easier to get flavourful small ones. Now for some meat - a couple of slices of ham (chopped) - Sainsbury's have some new seville orange-topped ham which is really rather yummy. And then some more meat - a few inches of dried sausage (the sort that's about an inch in diameter, not your big salami), thickly sliced. Finally drench it in home-made vinaigrette (3:2 ratio of extra-virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar, a good dollop of wholegrain mustard and salt & pepper to taste. No need to make it every time, I make up a fresh batch in an old Snapple bottle every few days). Toss, then enjoy with something bready on the side.
It might not quite be summer yet, but it's close enough for me to hit the salad bowl, and my house salad goes something like this: Start with some lettuce, I've usually used iceberg in the past, but that's more through force of habit than because it's any good. Next, add some sweet pepper for crunch - yellow or orange ones add some colour, but green or red will do. Add some tomatoes - I've mostly been using cherry tomatoes or similar, because the slices you get out of normal-sized ones are just too big, and because it's easier to get flavourful small ones. Now for some meat - a couple of slices of ham (chopped) - Sainsbury's have some new seville orange-topped ham which is really rather yummy. And then some more meat - a few inches of dried sausage (the sort that's about an inch in diameter, not your big salami), thickly sliced. Finally drench it in home-made vinaigrette (3:2 ratio of extra-virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar, a good dollop of wholegrain mustard and salt & pepper to taste. No need to make it every time, I make up a fresh batch in an old Snapple bottle every few days). Toss, then enjoy with something bready on the side.