Garlic bowl salad

 This is a long time family favourite. Lardons, frisée salad, potatoes, cream, raspberry vinegar and ( lots ) of garlic combine to create a very satisfying salad dinner.

This get together bowl of scrumptiousness is very easy to make and just requires you to follow a couple of important steps.

Foodie Funny, Kitty vs Human

I have a long running joke on Quora (around 4 years) about Kitties and Humans.  Animal lover here and thoroughly entertained by the determination of a 2 or more kg kitty (depending on breed).  Fab little overlords and cute as heck.

My grey tuxedo (growing up) adored cheese, any and all forms of cheese. Open any packet of cheesy crisps, cheese biscuits or simply cheese and she could magically appear from nowhere.  

Fab kitty.

Difficult to explain so, in the world of Human vs Kitty...it's a draw..

It's the innocent eyes...and kitties love cheese.  Oh heck, justifying a cheeky kitty.  Guilty (with pleasure).  The human caption pulls the draw.

Another foodie funny:

Hungry Pup

Seabass, Artichoke and Potato Salad

I happen to love jarred artichokes in potato salad with a mustard vinaigrette dressing. They work really well together.

Here we have a seared seabass fillet and green beans to 'adorn' the salad.

There's also a tip from Germany, add pickle brine to your salad dressing.

Plus a tip from me, something 'oniony' ok I know oniony isn't quite a word but chives or finely sliced spring onion are fine.

Thai Red Chicken Curry with Squash and Kale

This is exactly why I love home cooking.  The same vegetables that made an Italian pasta are now in a Thai curry.

There's red curry sauce too, it 'sank' of sorts in the pic above. Proof of the red curry sauce is here:

I have tinned coconut milk (around 60% coconut) plus pure coconut block (that can be made up to whichever percentage chosen).  Add Thai curry paste, Thai chillies and lime leaves (all frozen in the special draw at the bottom of my freezer). It's never difficult to rustle up a Thai coconut curry.

Swede and Potato Rösti with Haggis

Leftover haggis and whiskey sauce, with chives atop a rösti.

The rösti idea came from a conversation with Loïc, he'd enjoyed a similar dish for breakfast at the Wolseley Hotel in London.

It happened that I had some haggis and whiskey sauce left over from Burns Night and the 'clapshot' as in swede or neeps and potato rösti popped into my head.  

Rösti can be made with various grated roots..equal parts grated swede and white potato made this one... I've made sweet potato and parsnip before.

A cheesecloth or clean towel is good for squeezing out the water of these lovely root vegetables.

Orzo Pasta with Squash, Kale, Pancetta and Pecorino Cheese

If you're looking for something easy and tasty, we've covered it!

Butternut squash, peeled and diced, pan roasted then added to toasted orzo pasta.

Kale, pancetta a squeeze of lemon and coarsley grated pecorino cheese finish the dish.

I like pan roasting squash, it's convenient and only takes around 10 minutes to become tender.

Timings are convenient as the cooked squash can be tipped into the orzo and hang out with the other ingredients.  The uncooked kale can also be added straight into the simmering orzo, it will become tender in around 5 minutes.  Perfect.

If you're new to orzo, it really is handy to have in the cupboard, it cooks up quickly and is very useful for using up 'bits and pieces' in the fridge.

Leftover Roast Beef-Thai Beef Salad

I think, any time you roast some beef (either pot roast with liquids or in the oven) it's wise to plan for leftovers.  This Thai beef salad really changes up the flavour.

The beef can be practically any cut as long as its tender, completely cool and sliced thinly too.

Dressing is where we really smash it (technical term).  Fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, aromats, chilli and shallot please.

There are tomatoes in the salad, for acidity, cooling cucumber and/or shredded lettuce (both pictured) plus fresh coriander/cilantro and mint.

There's a different flavour profile in each bite, mark of a good salad in my book.