Happy Monday folks! We’ve had some freezing weather in Melbourne recently but finally the sun is back out and we have a few days of crisp mornings but sunshine and blue skies ahead – yippee! It’s making me feel like Spring is not too far away, so I decided to celebrate with a spring-esque dip!
One of the things that attracted me to my little apartment when I was house hunting was the balcony. It’s a pretty decent size, north facing and covered so it is protected from the elements. It’s a lovely place to sit and read the paper on the weekend, or have a glass of wine after work, but I also hoped it would have great potential for growing some herbs and vegetables.
After making a couple of batches of my Pomegranate & Mint Iced Tea I decided it was time to use pomegranate in a salad again, and had my heart set on this lentil concoction. It almost wasn’t to be as all of a sudden I struggled to find pomegranates anywhere, but I refused to give up and after visiting five separate fruit & vege shops (which is no mean feat when you walk everywhere!) I finally got my hands on some more of the bright coloured beauties and could whip up this salad! Thankfully it was as delicious as I had hoped and it was definitely worth the effort to find the pomegranate!
With the crazy hot weather we had in Melbourne over the summer, being able to have hearty salads for dinner with some grilled tofu or haloumi became a must. Even spending too much time over the stove was too much, let alone turning on the oven! That’s where this salad came to the fore and it didn’t disappoint! The lentils provide bulk and protein and the fresh, crisp vegetables are deliciously refreshing. I kept it simple with some lemon juice and oil as the dressing, it really doesn’t need any more than that!
Even though we’ve finally had some respite in Melbourne from the crazy heat we’d experienced over summer, iced tea has remained a staple in my fridge. The citrus iced tea I shared a little while back has been on high rotation, but when I found myself with a rather ripe pomegranate in my fruit bowl I decided to mix things up and try a pomegranate based version instead! Even better, the mint came from my little balcony – it’s growing things already!