What a day it’s been. I was sick yesterday and couldn’t go to work and today was so so. Alex spent all morning today updating and redoing my blog from scratch. Pretty much everything looks the same, but the code has been changed quite a bit (it should load faster now) and we’ve done some small tweaks. If anything isn’t working like it should please let me know so we can fix it. It should look OK in IE now too, which is great.

Other things going on.. well, we had this wonderful spelt salad today with a fruity and tangy mango vinaigrette. That was nice. It was also not too hard on my stomach which is still quite upset from yesterdays sickness. And most of all, this was delicous and addictive. I could see myself eating this all summer. Making fruit vinaigrettes is such a fantastic thing to do.. another favourite of mine is a raspberry vinaigrette, or one with strawberries, lime and basil. Yum.

The spelt salad itself was simple and made with easy to find, delicous ingredients. The mix was great, creamy avocado, crunchy pumpkin seeds, nutty and chewy spelt which made for an interesting eating experience. If you don’t have white balsamico the normal kind works just as well, it just has a different colour.

Spelt salad: Serves 2-3

• 200 ml (3/4 cup + 1 tbsp) whole spelt berries
• 1 small red onion
• 1 tsp white balsamico
• 1/4 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp oil
• 1 carrot
• 1 avocado
• 4 sun dried tomatoes in oil (drained)
• 500 ml (2 cups) loosely packed spinach
• 4 tbsp chopped parsley
• 4 tbsp pumpkin seeds

Cook spelt berries according to instructions (mine takes 1 part spelt, 2 parts water and a little salt and needs to simmer for 20-25 mins). Drain and let the spelt cool. Meanwhile, cut the red onion into thin half moons and mix in a small bowl with the balsamico, oil and sugar and let marinade while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. This makes the onion more mellow and much tastier. Thinly slice your carrot into half moons. Dice the avocado and finely chop the sundried tomatoes. Tear the spinach into smaller pieces. Mix all the vegetables together in a big bowl and add the spelt. Mix in the chopped parsley and lastly put the pumkin seeds on top. Serve with nice bread and the mango vinaigrette.

Mango vinaigrette: Serves 2-3

• 60 ml (1/4 cup) cubed mango (I use frozen, thawed)
• 3 tbsp white balsamico
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/8 tsp ground chili flakes
• salt and black pepper

In a small mixer or blender, mix the mango, balsamico and oilve oil until it’s smooth. Add in the chili flakes and season to taste with salt and black pepper. Enjoy!