My version of a kick ass salad.

I hate the salads in the UK.  A few pieces of limp lettuce, a bit of cucumber and tomato. No dressing. Can you say boring. I have gone salad mad. I can not get enough. Fruit or veg. Its Spring. Bring it on. So here is what I do for a real kick ass salad. A meal. I love it.

Take your lettuce, what ever kind you like. Even try mixing some different kinds. I love adding spinach. Wash it and spin it in a salad spinner. I found my salad spinner at Aldi for like £3. It dries of the lettuce and you can just put it on a zip lock bag and it last for a few days.

On a big plate or a large bowl take a good handful of the lettuce. Add to it and or all of the following

Chopped red pepper, tomato, cucumber, chopped celery, carrot (take your peeler and make strips) apple chunks, pear chunks, avocado, feta cheese, linseed, cashew, almonds or walnuts.  Feel free to also add chicken chunks, or tuna, or bacon if you like.  Add anything you like. That is the beauty of it

Then dress it. I do it really simple. Drizzel olive oil and medina balsamic vinegar.  You can do olive oil and lemon too. Or take some Mayo or olive oil, add some French brown mustard, white wine vinegar and honey.

Enjoy.

Veggie Paella

I love Spain. I love going to a beach side restaurant and having freshly made Paella. There is nothing like it. You will, however, find me picking out all the fish, Mussels, and shrimp. I can’t  be doing with seafood. Ever since I got seafood poisoning in Dallas Tx at a lovely seafood place I can not stomach the idea. So here is my version of Paella. It is no where as good as the stuff in Spain, but I don’t live in Spain so I have to make due.

Veggie Paella

1 bag of Paella Rice

1 onion finely chopped

1 Bell Pepper finely chopped

1 carrot peeled into strips and chopped

3 stalks of celery finely chopped

1/2 cup peas

(any other veg you may have can go in the pot. I am not picky)

Olive Oil, enough to cover bottom of pan nicely.

Garlic  powdered or fresh

1/4 tsp of Saffron  (yes its expensive, but you can get it for about £2 at Tesco. Not the highest of quality. or leave out. It just wont be yellow)

1/2 to 3/4 tsp of Paprika to taste.

3 or 4 veg Oxo cubes

2 or 3 chicken Oxo cubes

1 can of chopped tomatoes

salt to taste

Boiling water or broth

Very similar to Risotto.

In pot, put in Olive oil and heat up. Add garlic, Paprika, saffron for 30 sec to flavour oil then add veg. Cook until onions have softened. Add rice and cook a bit more.

Now add boiling water or broth in ladle fulls. Then add Oxo cubes. Stir and let it boil then add more of the water. Repeat as its cooking rice. towards the end, about the time of the last ladle fulls add tomatoes and peas (if frozen, fresh add with other veg.) Taste and make sure that the rice is cooked. This wont be as creamy as Risotto.

My family loves this.  Makes a really nice meal.