Breakfast Salad~Soft eggs with cherry tomato salad, sprouts and toast

On weekends I like to treat myself. I like to starting my mornings in a healthy way. The idea of salad for breakfast may seem a bit strange but it is a great way to get a jump start on getting those recommended daily servings of vegetables. On any given day it is a struggle for me to consume one measly cup of raw veggies. I find that when I start with salad for breakfast, it motivates me to make healthier eating choices throughout the day.

I must confess that my salads don't require a recipe. They are dictated by what's in season and what I happen to have on hand. Here is a rough guide for you to follow.

Cherry Tomato Salad with Sprouts and Toast

1 serving

Salad

1 tablespoon goats cheese crumbled

1 stalk chive, chopped

5 grapes, halved

5 black olives, halved

pinch of salt

pinch of black pepper

pinch of red pepper flakes

1 slice toast

1 tablespoon hummus

1 soft boiled egg

alfalfa sprouts (as much or as little as you like)

Mix all the salad ingredients together. Spread hummus on toast and serve with alfalfa sprouts.

Moorish Salad

In Trinidad when something tastes good, we say that it is moorish because you want more of it.  Chef Jamie Oliver may have been thinking along the lines of a Middle Eastern influenced salad but I find the Trini meaning to be very applicable as well. 

Moorish Salad

(slight adaptation of Jamie Oliver's Moorish Crunch Salad)

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 1/2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted

4 apples, sliced thinly 

juice of  1 lime or  1/2 lemon

1 large carrot, matchstick slices

4 radishes, sliced thinly

1 handful fresh parsley and

or 1 handful fresh mint

1/4 cup raisins

salt ( to taste)

freshly ground black pepper

4 tablespoons tahini paste

1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Use a large frying pan. Heat the sesame seeds in the frying pan on medium high heat. Shake the pan and turn the seeds with a spoon occasionally. Remove from the heat when the seeds darken and are fragrant. Set aside to cool. 

Quarter your apples, remove the cores and thinly slice. Put the apple slices to soak in a bowl of water with a squeeze of lime. I do this to keep the apples from turning brown quickly. Slice carrot into very thin sticks. Slice your radishes thinly. Rough chop the parsley and or the mint.

Drain the water from the apples and combine in a large bowl with the carrots, radishes, raisins, parsley and or the mint. Toss the salad with the sesame seeds. Sprinkle with salt and black pepper to taste. Serve with a spoonful of tahini paste at the side or on top.

Sizzling Chicken Fajita Salad

I am doing all kinds of happy dances today over this recipe.  As much as I love looking at pretty pictures of food, when it comes time to roll up my sleeves and get down to cooking dinner, I want stuff that's REAL. That means I shouldn't have to make a run to the store for specialty ingredients, nor should I have to enroll in cooking school to learn a complicated cooking technique. Flights of cooking fancy are all well and good but sometimes despite the drool worthy photo, the recipe itself may not be practical. 

Exhibit A: How many of you thought I was crazy to make this?

Or what about this?

Oh my word, I can't even believe myself on that last one!

I am amazed that no one left a comment that said, "Lady you are CRAZY!"

Bless your hearts. I am grateful that you are such kind readers

In my defense I only take leave of my senses like that when I am on vacation and have oodles of time on my hands. The rest of the time, I am pretty much like any other working mom looking for food that I can bring to the table quick step.

As soon as I saw this chicken fajita recipe over at realmomkitchen I knew it would be crazy not to try it.

All you do is season chicken, cut up vegetables, toss everything in the oven and done.

In an effort to eat a little healthier I am trying to turn some of my favourite meals into salads.

Pizza salad anyone? See how that works?

This chicken fajita recipe easily adapts and becomes a salad.

Tried it. Liked it. Now go do it!

Chicken Fajita Salad
Servings 4

1 pound boneless chicken thighs, cut into strips
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 or 2 tsp chili powder (optional)
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp dried oregano
3/4 tsp salt
I large yellow or purple onion
1 large green bell pepper (seeded and sliced)
2 large red bell peppers(seeded and sliced)
4 tortillas
4 ounces such as shredded pepper jack cheese
4 ounces sour cream
5 cups lettuce (shredded)

METHOD
Season chicken with oil, chili, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, salt and garlic. Place in a greased 13' X 19' casserole dish and let marinate in the fridge for 30 mins.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F

Chop the peppers and onions. Add this to the chicken just before it is ready for the oven. Stir and turn over the vegetables with the chicken to coat with spice mixture.

Place the casserole dish in oven and. Bake uncovered for 30 - 35 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. During the last few minutes of cooking warm tortillas and cut into triangles to serve alongside the salad. Serve on a bed of lettuce with a dollop of sour cream.

COOKS TIP: My children don't like the heat of the chili powder so I omit it and sprinkle pepper flakes over my own serving.

Omelette with Greens and Pommerac

This morning I made this super simple breakfast. It may not seem like much but for me it is quite the deal since breakfast is a meal I usually skip. Now that I am on a spiritual rejuvenation of sorts, i.e. vacation, I find myself wanting to rejuvenate my physical self as well. As such, I am making it my goal to improve on how I start my days. 

Luckily this is not going to be too hard to do since a couple of the fruit trees in my yard are bearing heavily. Right now our pommerac tree is making a spectacular showing. Without a doubt this fruit is set to be a regular feature at my table over the next month. 

Red Pepper Omelette

(serves 4)

8 eggs 

1/8 cup onions (chopped)

1/8 cup red bell peppers

1/8 cup Parmesan cheese ( or any cheese of your choice, grated)

salt to taste

1 tsp oil

watercress

pommerac (sliced)

choi sum flowers

METHOD:

Crack the eggs into a small bow. Whisk with a fork. Add chopped onion and red bell pepper. Season with salt and whisk a bit more.

Heat oil on medium heat in a frying pan. Once the oil is hot pour in the egg mixture, tilting the pan to spread the egg mixture in a circle to cover the base of the pan. 

As the omelette sets use a heatproof plastic spatula to gently lift the edges. At this point depending the type of frying pan you are using you may have to lower your heat. I have a ceramic coated frying pan that cooks best on low heat. Raise or lower heat according to the kind of pan you are cooking with. Occasionally you can tilt the pan so that the liquid runs off the top and cooks. Cook until the base is set and light golden and the top is almost set. The top should remain slightly liquid. Once folded over the residual heat will finish cooking it.

Sprinkle your cheese over the top and using your heatproof spatula fold the omelette in half. cook for a couple seconds more then transfer to a large plate and cut into four pieces. Serve with watercress, pommerac and choi sum flowers.

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Strawberry Spinach Salad

It's the morning of my first day of summer vacation and I am giddy with excitement.

There I said it, summer!

In Trinidad some people assume that you are being silly to call the July/August long vacation, summer. We don't have four seasons like the temperate zone countries. So technically we don't have summer. It's perpetually warm here. What we do have is a period of more rain, then a couple months of scarcely any rain.

Whateves. 

In my mind it's not about the technicalities. Summer for me is more a state of mind than the actual change in weather patterns.

Summer is about sleeping in. Booyah! I don't have to hustle the kids out of the bed in the predawn darkness to get them ready for school.

Summer is about time.....and having lots of it. So much time that I am sure that I will eventually get bored. I look forward to ignoring mile long to-do lists and getting bored. I can't remember the last time I even had time to get bored. 

Bring it!

Summer is about slowing down.

That means there will be a lot less time in the kitchen and a lot more sandwiches and salads.....oh yeah and ice-cream and pennacools cause those are perfectly acceptable meal substitutes during summer. 

This strawberry spinach salad is a particular favourite of mine and it is one that I sometimes eat on it's own as a light dinner.

So tell me what does summer mean to you? 

For those of you still seriously opposed to the word summer, I wish you a happy Rainy Season! 

See now, that doesn't evoke quite the same sentiments as wishing you a happy summer does it?

Strawberry Spinach Salad

Plain or candied walnuts

herbed or plain feta cheese
strawberries ( sliced)
spinach leaves (washed)
Italian dressing to serve

So I am taking the easy way out here and assuming you don't need directions to make this salad. It is after all the first day of my vacation and I am feeling rather lazy. Even blogging, as much as I love it, feels like work right now.

A move forward and a look back

I know it seems like once again I have fallen off the face of the earth. I haven't. However last month we moved house and the new place doesn't yet have an Internet connection. Not having access to the Internet is a bit like falling off the earth, isn't it? 

Seriously, phone company you could have told us when we applied for service that your technicians don't 'fish' for cable. It would have saved everyone a huge waste of time. Cable guys we have called it in four times and told your office that the house is 200m from the road. Three 3 different guys have come by and still, no hook up. Sheesh! Walk with enough cable, already! 

Honestly, a month without any kind of technology and we are all like "Goodnight John-Boy," up in here. 

So how did we get here? Well two years ago, my husband and I purchased what we optimistically called a fixer upper. Looking back at this photo, I am willing to concede that might have been a-glass-is-half-full, kind of description.

The reality was actually a nightmare of  exposed wiring, bare concrete floors and walls that were clearly once inhabited by the crooked man of English nursery rhyme fame.

But see, here is the thing... on the day we went to view the house, we saw this first.

Can you say SOLD!

Its funny at the time I wrote this post we had no idea that we would ever have anything more than a postage stamp, sized garden. Now that we are staring at the the reality of something more, we are starting to question our sanity. Words like insane and crazy have been tossed about but I prefer the term visionary :-) Apparently so did the bank.

It would seem that my husband and I are in possession of some mad powers of persuasion. No one was more surprised than we were when we managed to secure financing for this project. This was achieved in part by waving this picture around and describing the surrounding scenic views of green hills and the lush vegetation.  

Hey did we mention the view of the waterfall from the front porch? 

Okay, so most days its a small spring but on rainy days the mountain opens up and it is quite spectacular. 

Interior renovations are complete and we have moved in. Most of the 'neighbours' including this magnificent falcon have already popped by for a meet and greet.

Understandably our first meals here were quite simple. The kind of thing that doesn't need a recipe. This is a simple red pear, walnut salad that I topped with pomegranate seeds and served with a store-bought strawberry balsamic vinaigrette. Being surrounded by all this green makes me think of salads and wholesome meals.

A lot of work remains to be done on the outside of the house but my new kitchen is a dream. Hopefully it won't be long again before we have an internet connection and I look forward to sharing with you the meals that come out of it as we settle in.

Black Bean and Corn Salad with Lime Vinaigrette

This versatile salad goes anywhere and holds up well in the heat unlike mayo based salads. It's great for picnics, backyard barbecues, the beach or wherever you choose to hang out with family and friends enjoying the outdoors. This is the salad that I am asked to make most often when friends get together for a barbecue.

Of course you can stay in and have this as well. You will want to make extra since leftovers make great next day sandwiches. Pop this salad into some whole wheat pita , add a  few cubes of pepper-jack cheese for an effortless, rocking vegetarian sandwich for lunch the next day. Just think of it as a free day from the kitchen. Whatever will you do with all that time not spent in the kitchen? Please don't say do the laundry!

I highly recommend letting this rest awhile. It tastes best the following day after the beans have soaked up all the flavours of the vinaigrette. If you can't make it overnight plan on making it and letting it sit at least 1 hour before serving.

Vinaigrette

1/3 cup olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

3 tbsp fresh lime juice

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp sugar

1/8 tsp cracked black pepper

Salad

1 can black beans (15 ounce) rinsed and drained

1 cup roasted corn kernels or one can corn, drained

3/4 cup red onions

1/2 cup tomatoes, diced

1/2 cup sweet peppers, chopped

1/4 cup chardon bénit (shado benny) finely chopped( substitute cilantro)

Method

1) In a large bowl combine salad ingredients

2) In a small bowl whisk together dressing ingredients

3) Pour over salad and toss until all ingredients are coated.

The above recipe is only a guide to get you started. This is one of those recipes that you will over time just develop an instinct for knowing how much of each ingredient to add. Taste this after you add the vinaigrette to the salad and adjust to suit your own preference. In time you will develop your own ratios for your own perfect version of this salad.

Pineapple, Beets & Carambola Salad

This recipe is for people who can't stand the earthy, ferrous and dirt flavour of beets. Surely I am not alone in my hatred of this root vegetable with it's pretty,  jewel-red colour?

I can't tell you how to feel about beets, but if you don't like them, then I can tell you that this salad  makes them  much more palatable. If on the other hand, you  have a love affair with these garnet bulbs, then it should be no problem to convince you that this recipe is worth your attention.

Beets, Pineapple & Carambola Salad
4 large beets roasted or boiled
2 cups pineapple cut into bite sized chunks
2 large carambola , cut to bite size pieces
3 Trinidad seasoning peppers * seeded and finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

Vinaigrette
2 cloves garlic
2 tbs lime juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/8 tsp salt salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

In a small bowl mix together salt ,lime juice and galic. Let stand for ten mins. Add the olive oil. Stir well, then taste. Adjust salt and add black pepper.

Place pineapple, beets and carambola in a serving dish. Chop peppers and parsely. Add them just before serving so that they retain their flavour.  When ready to serve, pour on the dressing and sprinkle with chopped parsly and peppers.. Toss salad and serve immediately. Don't prepare this salad too long in advance of your meal because the beets will eventually turn all other ingredients red.

*A note about seasoning peppers.
Here is what these local peppers look like. They are a flavouring pepper. They don't have any heat to them, yet they are not sweet like bell peppers..

Power to Purslane and a Professor

You know that nasty weed that keeps popping up all over the garden? Well I ate it! Just so you know and in case you find me on the floor foaming at the mouth you'll know what to tell them in the ER.

Let me start at the beginning. I'm not much of a gardener but I do love growing things. A few months ago, I came across some packets of seeds that must have been at least 2 years old. I wasn't at all optimistic about them sprouting but on the off chance that they might, I planted them in some seed flats. After 3 weeks, I was very excited to see that my seeds had sprouted. Wow! I really did not expect it and so many of them too. Hoorah! I diligently watered my sprouts.

As time went by and the first true leaves started to form, I grew suspicious. My tomato seedlings looked the same as my eggplant, which looked a lot like my peppers and so on. Huh? Darn it! They were weeds and they were everywhere. They were in between my flowers, in my pots, in amongst my herbs and even in the cracks of the garden path. Once a month I engaged in the seemingly pointless activity of pulling them out only to have them return - as weeds are want to do - winking at me with little, yellow-flower eyes.

One day I was hanging out on a recipe forum when a woman in France posted a photo of a lovely salad. I blinked twice and stared. The greens on her plate looked a lot like my weeds!

Holy Cow! I had an epiphany. I ran outside and looked at my weeds. Those yellow flowers winked at me but this time I winked back! Then I headed indoors to dream up recipes for their demise.

Three months later I still hadn't tried them. I wasn't brave enough. Two Caribbean plant books contained pen and ink illustrations and botanical descriptions of what looked like my weed. I read long winded descriptions of leaf shape and pattern, something about ovate, ovoid, spatulate leaves blah, blah, blah. There was a lot of 'to-ing and fro-ing' on my part, to the glossary and main text. Eventually I did what any right minded thinking person would do. I called a perfect stranger on a Sunday afternoon and asked. "There is a weed in my yard, can I eat it? "

Professor Julian Kenny is considered an authority on biodiversity in Trinidad and Tobago. He was a lecturer and Head of zoology in the faculties of Agriculture and Natural Sciences. The Professor doesn't know this but I am a HUGE fan. No, I don't know him personally, unless you count the fact that I sporadically read his articles in the newspaper.

I am sure he must have thought I was crazy, ringing him up and possibly disturbing his Sunday siesta to say that I was eating weeds and thinking of feeding them to my family. I was nervous and I am sure barely coherent as I rambled on about doing research for an article.  I also mentioned not wanting to kill my children with a salad that I was making for dinner.

Yes, he knew the plant but was more familiar with a pink variety which grew in sandy soils. To be certain, he advised that I make inquiries at the Herbarium, which is located at the University of the West Indies.  For all I know Professor Kenny may have been rolling his eyes skyward on the the other end but none of this was revealed in normalcy of his tone. He was exceedingly gracious and acted for all the world like it was the most natural thing for a housewife to call him asking if she could eat her front lawn for dinner.

A week later I had my answer, my weed had a name. It was Portulaca oleracea L. better known as Purslane or Pussley. I was also very pleased to learn that it is a highly nutritious vegetable that is currently being touted as a superfood due to it's high Omega 3 content- the highest of any plant.

Sadly, it seems that we have lost knowledge of this lovely vegetable. I wonder if it is still a commonly used ingredient in other Caribbean islands? If you are from the Caribbean and recognize this plant, please leave me some feedback in the comments section. I would love to know what it is called on your island and how you use it.

Here is a purslane salad I made some months ago.  I am submitting this to the Weekend Herb Blogging Event hosted by Anna's Cool Finds. The good news is that no one ended up in the hospital  - not even a tummy ache:-)  Purslane tastes a lot like watercress but not as pungent. We all really enjoyed it and  I  plan to use it in a number of different ways from now on.

What Luck Polluck Salad and a Lesson in Dialect

Have you had your salad today? Salads are my Achilles heel. I confess that many times after I have rushed about a hot kitchen, fussing with 'le plat principal' I am lazy about salad. Too often I am content to cut up tomatoes, lettuce and cucumbers on my plate and call it a day. Is it any wonder then, that I get to the point where I actually crave a salad?

I usually don't bother with recipes for salads preferring instead to use what is seasonal and to go with a formula of fruits, vegetables, beans or peas, sometimes nuts. If the salad is going to be eaten as a meal on it's own then I'll toss in cheese, eggs or meat.

These days it's all about avocado. An American friend once told me that she hated avocado. I could not understand why until I had the displeasure of eating one in the States. At first I did not even recognize it and I had to ask several times to be sure it was an avocado. The thing was so black and quail-up, quail-up, like an over-large prune. The repetition there is not a typo but dialect to express the idea that it was very shriveled and small. The skin was bumpy-bumpy. The pear itself was flavourless and watery-watery. No, I don't stammer or have Tourette's. Repeating a word denotes the sense of 'very' in local dialect and best conveys just how very awful this aberration of an avocado looked and tasted!

In the Caribbean we are truly blessed with tasty avocados. My favourite is a West Indian variety called Pollock. The leathery skin peels off easily. It has a firm texture with none of the annoying little fibers of the maroon-skinned variety. The deep, yellow colour doesn't discolour as quickly. It has a firm, yet smooth and creamy texture with an almost buttery taste.

Luckily I have 2 friends with Pollock trees, so there are always at least 3 sitting on my kitchen counter on any given day during the avocado season. You'd think with such an abundance that I'd be tired of avocados by now. No such luck. In this house a Pollock is coveted almost as much as a Julie mango and slices are rationed and measured; arguments abound about who has been sneaking pieces.

As you can see from the picture, I had some ingredients (olives, croutons and some blue cheese) left over from another salad. I did not want them to go to waste so I threw them in, turning this into those 'evil' high fat restaurant salads. You know the ones that you sanctimoniously order at the restaurant with friends because you are dieting. You feel so proud of yourself for your healthy choice. Ha! Luscious lobster in garlic butter sauce you are no match for my willpower! Look away Venezuelan fried pork thingy that looks so interesting! Does it taste like garlic pork you wonder? Never mind I am having the salad. Of course these salads fool you into thinking they are healthy but by the time you add up the fats, you might as well have ordered the steak.

Here is the basic recipe with my kitchen-dump extras left off.

* 1 lb boneless chicken strips (you can use chicken breasts but I prefer the more succulent meat of the legs and thighs.)
* 2 teaspoons hot and spicy Jamaican jerk spice (2 tsp is the amount recommended but I put 2 to 3 tbsp. It's to your taste.)
* 1/4 cup cooking butter
* 6 cups torn lettuce
* 8 cherry tomatoes (halved or quartered)
* 1/2 medium avocado, pitted peeled and coarsely chopped


Lime Vinaigrettte
* 1/4 tablespoon canola oil
* 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (or regular vinegar if that's all you have on hand)
* 3 tablespoons lime juice
* 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh culantro (or substitute 2 tablespoons cilantro)
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 dash fresh coarse ground black pepper

Method

The chicken can be done the day before. Rub legs and thighs with butter and jerk seasonings. Marinate for 1/2 hr or overnight. Grill or roast in 375°F oven for 45 mins to an hour or until chicken is no longer pink when pierced with a fork. Baste chicken with butter throughout cooking process.

In a screw top jar, combine 1/4 cup oil, lime juice, culantro (or sub cilantro, vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon salt and dash black pepper. Cover and shake well to make the dressing.

Put lettuce on 4 salad plates. Top with chicken, tomatoes, and avocado. Drizzle with dressing.

The Best Thing that Ever Happened to Supermarket Tomatoes

Do you regularly eat vine-ripened tomatoes? There is no argument that tomatoes which are left to ripen on the vine have the best flavour of all. But how many of us are fortunate to have ready access to them?



I remember the first time I tasted one. I was 16 ( really just the other day;-) I was hiking with friends and we ran out of water. There was a farmer in a nearby field of tomatoes and we stopped to ask if he had any. He didn't but invited us to have a tomato to slack our thirst until we got back to where we had parked our vehicles. "They are ripe and juicy." he assured. I scrunched up my face. A tart, acidic, tomato was not what I would call a thirst quencher. However, due to an absence of any other liquid options on that burning, asphalt, country-road and with at least another mile of walking in tropic heat and humidity ahead of me, I bit into my first vine-ripened tomato. Cue the Seraphims - heavens choir of angels. Ahhhhhhhhhh! My senses were thrown into confusion as my taste buds registered sugary sweet, at the same time that my brain was bracing to be assaulted by sour.

So here we are in the present. I still dream of that tomato but live in the real world. That farmer's field is on a treacherous mountain road, accessible only on foot or with a 4 X 4 vehicle. The supermarket is closer and air-conditioned.

At the farmers market, there is one stall that sells organic and sometimes vine-ripened tomatoes but the demand is great. Might I add that it is the rainy season and this market is largely open to the elements. The supermarket is air-conditioned, has a roof, and I don't have to beat off hoards of people with a machete to get to the fruit and vegetables. Yes, the market is always the better place for fresh produce but I have to get up at 5:00am to get the best stuff and beat the heat. Let's be honest, some Saturdays wouldn't you rather sleep late?

So for those less than perfect tomatoes and catching up on some sleep weekends, I offer you a vinaigrette that is seriously the best thing that ever happened to supermarket ripened tomatoes.

This recipe was featured in "Island Life" magazine. I've long forgotten the issue but the recipe has stayed with me. It is a salad from the Kariwak Hotel in Tobago where I can only surmise that the chef may not have had a reliable supply of perfect tomatoes. Some of the ingredients seem to be superfluous. For example the Dijon Mustard and mustard powder, the red wine vinegar and balsamic vinegar seem to be flavours that repeat themselves. Still, who am I to argue with someone who went to cooking school and created something that improves upon my less than perfect non vine-ripened tomatoes.




The Best thing that Ever Happened to Tomatoes Vinaigrette
Ingredients

* 6 ripe tomatoes, sliced
* 5 garlic cloves (minced)
* 1/2 cup chopped basil
* 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
* 2 tablespoons ketchup
* 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
* 1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
* 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
* 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
* 1/2 cup light vegetable oil
* salt (to taste)
* black pepper (to taste)
* Caribbean pepper sauce (to taste) (optional)


Whisk all dressing ingredients together except oil and basil.
Drizzle in oil, whisking constantly.
Add salt and black pepper to taste.
Stir in basil.
Arrange tomato slices on a salad plate and spoon dressing over slices.
Cover and chill.
Garnish with fresh basil leaves.
If you desire serve over fresh bed of lettuce.

I cook because I photograph

Julia over at, A Slice of Cherry Pie asked, "What can you do with watermelon and mint?" Here is my answer, A Deconstructed WMF Salad. Why deconstructed? Why not a full on watermelon-mint-feta salad like the one from Food and Wine which has been on my to make list for well over a year? It's because I made this long in advance of the actual meal and I was worried, that the dressing would make it soggy. There's nothing as unappetizing as a soggy salad.

This is a simple salad to be sure but clean, bright and fresh. I am of the opinion that the olive oil dressing suggested in Food and Wine would have dulled the sweetness of the melon. I am glad that I omitted it. In this instance I seasoned with a sprinkle of sea salt just before serving. The salad kept well and what little moisture it did produce was easily wiped up before plating.

Oh all right! I'll fess up. The truth is I saw a picture....which gave me an idea for a pattern. So now you know my awful secret. I do not cook to feed my family. I cook because I photograph. The fact that they can eat the by product of my creative efforts is just a lucky bonus for me. If you are at all confused that my cooking is less driven by a need to nourish my family, and more because I want to take a picture of food, then clearly you need to read, 10 Things You Should Know about Food Bloggers, by Not So Nigella. In it she explains the strange creature that is Foodus Bloggerus. Enjoy!