Recipe: Vietnamese Inspired Crab Salad

LAST weekend we were lucky enough to have some pretty amazing weather. A perfect spring day with bright sunshine, clear blue skies and a mild breeze. Possibly the nicest weather we have had in months and certainly good weather at any rate for the North East of England, good enough to walk outside without a big winter coat and gloves.

As it was mother’s day on Sunday we headed to Sandsend, a small fishing village near Whitby, for a stroll along the beach with Max the dog and some lunch at our favourite spot – a pub called The Hart Inn, a proper Yorkshire pub serving up the freshest seafood. Sandsend is our favourite spot for a Sunday walk anyway and we visit as often as we can. We ordered our usual crab salad with half a lobster as a mother’s day treat, chips for Mum and new potatoes for me. It was warm enough to eat in the pub garden so we basked in the sunlight and devoured our seafood while Max scoffed some gravy bones.

I don’t know if it was the combination of sun, sea and sand; the fresh, juicy crab meat or the notion that Spring was in swing but I just felt inspired. I wanted to put together a dish that was light and colourful with a chilli kick. We are going to Vietnam later in the year and it is no secret that the fresh, zingy flavours of Vietnamese food pairs really well with seafood.

Recipe: Garlic Miso Kidney Bean and Wild Rice Bowl

THE other night, I got home a bit later than I intended. I had yet to prepare lunch for work the next day and it was getting late. “It’s okay,” I thought to myself, life gets in the way of being organised sometimes and you have to be a bit creative with what you’ve got.

I must confess that I hadn’t found the time to do the weekly grocery shop yet and so I scrambled around to see if there was anything that I could make a meal out of. I had some leftover wild rice in the fridge, a tin of kidney beans and a few half-portions of veggies that needed using up. Perfect! With the aid of a couple of my trusty store cupboard staples, I managed to produce a quick and tasty lunch.