Healthy summer snacking platter

Okay, so it's the hottest July day on record in the UK today and I promise you, it feels just that hot! It's no fun being at work all day and then on a delayed train without air conditioning, but now that I'm finally home I feel like a nice and light summer supper (nothing too hot of course). I still wanted to include a couple of cooked elements, but they can also be eaten cooled down just as well.

This vegan platter is just one example of what wholesome yet easy dishes you can eat in the summer. This platter contains a few warm and filling components and then fresh local vegetables.

Not too bad of a mix on a hot day.

Here are the things I had on my platter this time:

Hummus

Croutons

Spring onions

Radishes

Mixed leaves with beetroot shavings

Puy lentils

Black quinoa

Pumpkin seeds

I cooked the lentils and quinoa in water with some added vegetable stock powder and the other ingredients on the platter were raw.

I found that the croutons added something nice and also more substance, although I only rarely eat them otherwise. Maybe I should do so more often.

Now it's back to lazily lying around for me and maybe having a cooling drink to end the evening with. Luckily it's already starting to cool off here, I was just able to sense some oxygen in the air!

Have fun and stay cool!

Your VegHog

Strawberry-lime cider ice lollies

The hot weather continues and I'm still trying to find the best cooling drinks and food. I now started making my own ice lollies as I bought a set of four of these silicone ice lolly moulds, and they are awfully practical for making all kinds of different fruity and boozy refreshing ice lollies.

Rekorderlig strawberry-lime cider is one of my summer favourites to have in a bar when it's really hot, and with some added fresh mint and lime it's even better. That is the reason why I chose these ingredients to make my ice lollies.

I got four ice lollies out of these:

500 ml Rekorderlig strawberry-lime cider (1 bottle) 

A few small mint leaves

½ lime

First I poured the cider into a large jug and let it stand around a while, and stirred so that the carbonation mostly disappeared. During this time you can already add the mint leaves and tiny lime pieces into the cider.

Fill the drink with the greens into the ice lolly moulds and freeze. Enjoy the frozen goods when you need the cooling most.

Your VegHog

Mixed summer salad

It was a very warm day yesterday and I didn't feel like eating much. I had a couple of rye bread slices with cheese for breakfast and then skipped lunch. This salad was my dinner, and it really was enough. I scavenged my fresh vegetable section and the dry cupboards and found these appealing ingredients to combine in a salad.

One of my favourite additions to this salad are the fresh new season garden peas. When I was a child I wouldn't love any summer snack more than peeling pea pods and eating the content, preferably directly on the field where I picked them. That always was a highlight of the summer when the peas started to ripen.

The balsamic pearls look fascinating and they are a fine thing to be added to salads, otherwise I kept the dressing simple. The balsamic pearls that I purchased are suitable for vegetarians, but I would look out for gelatine as some versions might contain it.

I'm only listing the ingredients used without the amounts, as you can use whatever you happen to have and put more or less of some ingredients to the salad. So, here's what went into my salad:

• garden peas of the new season
• sweet baby peppers
• red & gold santini tomatoes
• black olives
• mixed baby salad leaves
• toasted pine nuts
• mozzarella
• salt & pepper, olive oil with balsamic pearls as the dressing
• garlic bread on the side
  

Have you made a more or less random summer salad as a main meal this year?

I have no idea yet what to eat today as it seems to be even hotter. I might cook some of my own courgettes from the balcony.

Your VegHog

Fruity halloumi salad

There's a heatwave in England! I certainly don't want to complain, but I still prefer staying in the shades. However my plants like this weather very much as long as I water them enough.

In this sort of heat it's good to eat lightly, just some fresh produce. Fruits are among the best choices that can be done, but as you might know, I really prefer savoury dishes to sweet ones, so I do add fruit to savoury salads like this one. I nearly always add cheese to salads as that makes them filling enough to be a stand-alone dish. This is a perfect salad to be had with a vegetarian barbecue as you can grill the halloumi at the same time.

Have you ever added fruit to your salads? Please share your taste experiences in the comment box!

Ingredients

4-6 nectarines

1 pomegranate

200 g strawberries

Mixed salad leaves

250 g halloumi cheese

Vegetable oil for grilling (not needed, if a charcoal barbecue is used)

Method

Chop the nectarines and strawberries into small cubes and remove the pomegranate seeds. Place these into a salad bowl on the top of mixed salad leaves.

Grill the halloumi cubes so that they get distinct grilling marks. Grill them either on a griddle pan or on a char-coal grill outdoors. Add the halloumi warm to the salad.

Enjoy the salad and stay cool!

Your VegHog