Main meal salads for warm days

Ironically I have settled down to write this post while it is pouring with rain outside! Hardly a day I would think of making a salad on!

However, on those days when I just fancy a salad, or it is too hot to cook, a chunky, full of flavour salad is just what the doctor ordered. Here is a round up of my favourite salads. Some I have made again and again, and a couple I have yet to try, though they are definitely on my to make list! There is something for everyone on this list. Some may need add ons, like bread, something grilled on the side etc. Hope you find something you like!

Here is a tasty pasta salad from Fake Ginger. This salad is a side dish but I could see me eating it on it's own due to all that yummy pasta. Find the recipe here.

I cannot wait to try this one! I love the colours and the mix of sweet and savory. Find this Garlic and Lime Barbecue Chicken Salad over at Cafe Delites.

Love hamburgers? Howabout a hamburger salad? I think this will be a big hit in this house! Find the recipe at Can you Stay for Dinner.

This is a must make! Full of flavour, we all loved this one and I'm making it again next week. The dressing was lovely and thick. I suspect it should be more like a light dressing but we enjoyed having large dollops of the stuff over our creation! You can find this recipe here from Averie Cooks.

There is something about savory and sweet that I just love. So naturally this salad caught my eye. Coconut, pineapple and ginger. What's not to love? This recipe from Carls Bad Cravings can be found here.

I've lost count of how many times I have made this salad. I always serve it with some warmed through ciabatta. The main thing I change with this one is to substitute apple for the grapes. I have tried it with grapes but prefer the crunch of apple pieces. This is super easy and the candied pecans are yummy! The recipe comes from Dishing The Divine and can be found here.

This Thai salad makes a ton! Or was it just my portion control?? Anyway it was lovely. The crunch of the nuts and cabbage make this very enjoyable.  Find the recipe here from the Recipe Critic.

Last but not least is another pasta salad. Looks delicious doesn't it? I can see this one being a lovely addition to my autumn cooking with all that pasta. The recipe is from Chelsea's Messy Apron and can be found here.

Which one has your mouth watering?

Have a great weekend!

Cutlery holder from tin cans

The summer holidays are flying by. We have been very busy. Busy in a good way of course. This week my son turns 10! I can't believe how time has flown. I am so lucky to have a great kid. He is getting pretty spoiled this birthday! Well you only turn 10 once right? We are taking a bunch of his friends go karting then out to dinner. His best friend is staying over and then we are going to watch the Red Bull Air Race at Ascot. Should be a great weekend. Fingers crossed that the rain stays away.

The weather picked up this past weekend and we finally got the barbecue out! Last year I made a cutlery holder with some recycled tin cans. It was a quick project and pretty basic looking.

Whilst colourful, I felt it was missing something. I decided to make it over for this year.

I started by painting all 3 cans off white. To cover the original bold colours took about 3 coats.

They looked so much better just painted all the same colour. I wrote out 'Knives', 'Forks' and 'Spoons' in pencil, the carefully painted over the letters in red using a very fine brush.

I sprayed the paint work with clear sealer to protect it, then got about a metre of gingham ribbon which I glued to the top and bottom of each can to give them simple embellishment. 

I think the red and blue together is lovely and bright, perfect for the summer.

I also made a little bunting to complement them.

Long may the sun shine!