It is all about Salads: The Summer Platter

I have stopped exercising. Those who know me would realize that something is absolutely not right. I have always, always, ALWAYS exercised; whether it lead to weight loss or not is a different story. I got a bit tardy mainly after the birth of my daughter. Being careless and not taking out time for myself are few things that have become mainstream in life right now. I keep complaining about not having enough time or something to that effect all the time. When I say this to others, I hear the old ‘me’ laugh out loud!! I don’t go to work, I have no ‘outside’ pressures  to talk of which means I should spare atleast an hour a day to exercise. But I haven’t been for the last 2 months. The whole idea of stepping into the gym and on the treadmill depresses me.

But, but , but…… nothing stops me from eating healthy and keeping it light on the food side of things. Well, that isn’t happening the way I want to either with my experiments in baking. I feel trapped with nowhere to go. On one side, I have an obsession – baking – threatening to devour me with all that gorgeous butter and chocolate and on the other side, my reluctance to do anything that resembles exercise.

So once in a while to balance things out, I go ahead and make myself some Salad! So I prodded and mulled to come up with something fantastical. About the same time I saw Anamika’s post about baked potato chips. I thought it would be good to indulge in some carbs. Then I felt, it wouldn’t be enough so I decided on some more carbs in the form of burghul. While putting all these together, I felt a craving for some tasty proteins. So I scavenged my refrigerator and found some lovely Halumi Cheese. Together, I made myself a satisfying salad which I dared to call the “ Summer Platter”

Recipe for Summer Platter

Ingredients

a carrot

a cucumber

A slice of tomato

2 Russet potatoes

3 tbsp of olive ( 1 for baking potatoes; 2 for the dressing)

Salt and pepper to taste

1 and half tbsp for honey

2 tsp of white vinegar

A block of halumi cheese

3 tbsp of burghul

2 tbsp of lemon juice

Preparation

1. Make baked potato chips like this and arrange them on a plate.

2. Soak the burghul in some water for half  hour till it fluffs up.

2. Wash all the vegetables and cut them into slices. Arrange them around the plate in any fashion you like

3. Cut the block of halumi into slices and roast them in a pan till they take a golden crust on both the sides.

4. Lay the burghul in the middle and arrange the halumi on top.

5. For the dressing; Mix honey, olive oil, white vinegar, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Drizzle all over the salad.

6. Tuck in.

The sweetness of the honey balances out the tartness of the vinegar and lemon juice. You ought to be a little careful about the salt though, since Halumi is a salty cheese on its own. The dressing goes fabulously with the salty halumi.

Halumi,  is one cheese I discovered after moving to Bahrain. I find it so different and versatile compared to other cheeses. Halumi is made from the milk of the goat and sheep. It is salty and firm in texture compared to most cheeses. I was amazed to discover that when you roast Halumi it does not disintegrate like other cheeses. It retains its texture but takes this gorgeous golden-brown hue which tastes divine.

What I find incredible is, when I bite on a halumi slice it makes a squeaky noise and it makes my daughter laugh. Then I bite some more and she rolls on the floor laughing (literally). For that alone, I can keep eating halumi for the rest of my life! 🙂

Also, if you have no patience to lay down the slices of veggies on the plate then you can rough them up into smaller bite sized portions in a bowl. Either ways, it is filling while you tune in to watch your favourite programme on BBC lifestyle!

I am sending this post to the Salad contest on Taste Junction just in time!