There is nothing like a nice salad despite the weather, but a good idea in winter is to have something hot with it, although some salads you can serve warm.

How do you make your salad? Is it the old way of a piece of ham, or such like, and a bit of lettuce, cut tomato and cucumber all separate on a plate, or are you one for enjoying a tasty, colourful salad?
Maybe a homegrown potato salad or coleslaw, and there are many others for sale, but remember, they are very high in salt and fat.

There are so many fresh salad ingredients around, or you can grow a lot of your own, which is even nicer. Instead of buying a lettuce, buy a bag of salad leaves, and you get a good selection, and they keep for a week in water in the fridge.  There is no reason why anybody can’t grow basic salad ingredients. Even if you have a small garden, stuff will grow in tubs, so nobody has an excuse really.

What you put in a salad is down to your imagination really. From nuts to fruit, raw veg chopped up is lovely, and don’t forget the chestnut mushrooms. It all goes with some nice fresh salad leaves and a tasty dressing.

You can use a variety of things for the dressing, from mayo to flavoured vinegar and oils.
Plain Greek yogurt makes a great dressing mixed with mustard, lemon and flavoured vinegar, plus, of course, fresh herbs. All are very easy to make and keep well in the fridge. If you can’t be bothered to make a dressing, there are loads of bottled ones to buy, from French dressing to Italian dressing. Ranch dressing, Honey and Mustard, and Thousand Island Dressing, not what I call a salad dressing, though.

Learn to experiment with salads. There are loads of recipes for different ones online. What you eat with your salad again is a personal choice; fillet steak makes a great addition to any salad, as does a decent ham, spicy chicken bits, and even flavoured cold sausages or salmon fillets fried in butter. The choice is endless.

So, how do you make your salads, and what do you put in them?
Let us know, and any recipes for any nice salads or dressings are greatly appreciated.

So, today, post anything salad-related and let's enjoy some nice, exciting salads.