Salad with Serrano Ham and Melon

I have no choice. I have to make salads because it is so hot that I cannot even imagine switching on my oven. The amount of lettuce consumed in this house is reaching staggering proportions.

A little bit of Serrano ham (or Parma ham, any type of 'raw' ham will do) with a lovely melon, lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, onions, a few pieces of feta and of course a lovely balsamic dressing. This is what happened here and I was pretty happy with the results. Perfect on a hot summer evening.

Pasta with Ham, Mushrooms and Asparagus

I love asparagus.

Two weeks ago I made a pretty tasty pasta dish with garlic, shallots, ham, mushrooms then I topped it with a sprinkle of parmesan and pan fried asparagus.

Of course that sounds very basic but there was some skill involved and a cup of white wine.

In this foto I applied Florabella's colour pop and ocean actions.

I quite like the subtle effect!

Ham and Cheese Muffins

I am on a roll.
Muffins - sweet and savoury.
This week it is ham and cheese muffins.
I thought they would be a good breakfast for the kids.
And I was right.
Plus you can freeze them :-)

Of course the recipe called for buttermilk which I did not have. In fact, I never have buttermilk. Like ever. Luckily there is a way to simulate buttermilk and it is dead simple.
Add one tablespoon of lemon juice in a one cup measure and fill up with milk. Let it rest for 5 minutes and you will have curdled milk a.k.a buttermilk substitute.

The muffins are perfect kids food - go on, make some!

Here is a link to the site where I found the recipe and here is a copy:

TIP: make sure you use cheddar cheese or an aged cheese!!

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
2 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup ham, chopped fine

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine the first 5 dry ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine.
3. In a separate bowl whisk the eggs, oil and maple syrup and stir to combine.
4. Add the buttermilk to the egg mixture and stir.
5. Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour and stir until just combined.
6. Fold in the cheese and ham.
7. Scoop the batter 2/3 of the way up into greased muffin cups and bake for 18-20 minutes (15 minutes if using mini muffin cups).
8. Cool on a wire rack and serve.