My son gets super mad at his partner for salad dodging. I can't help but smile proudly - I guess I raised him to enjoy his vegetables, and eat raw salad as well as the other stuff. She tries, but she's a one food on the fork at a time kinda girl. Still, she loves my salads, so I'm winning there.

A good tasty salad needs to have a lot of flavour, and cooked food as well as raw. Let's put the raw food argument aside and go for a bit of old school vegetarian here where dairy and egg are okay as well. We like our protein too. And my eggs are from very, very happy hens. They're out right now free ranging and clucking happily. My eggs are next level - and we're loving them boiled with a little salt and pepper.

Of course, there's a base of lettuce or spinach leaves, straight from the garden. Thinly sliced fennel. Grated beetroot. They taste earthy and real, and sometimes accidentally crunchy when I haven't managed to wash all the soil off. Du'oh.

The dressing this time is the last of the olive oil that the local goat fetta came in, mixed with some seedy mustard. A good dressing is everything. This one is cheekily creamy and slightly sharp. It's awesome.

A couple of slices of pan fried halloumi - that stuff is salty amazingness. I only use it sparingly, so it lasts. The cost of living isn't getting any cheaper is it?

I want to give you something next level though - seared, pan fried sprouting broccoli. @fermentedphil might appreciate this one as we talk about the parts of plants that are quite underrated to eat. These guys are on the verge of flowering as the soil dries out in the heat. I can't eat them fast enough. I chucked a bit of oil in the pan, seared them (yeah, that's asparagus in there too), added a generous squeeze of lemon juice, and kinda caramelised them. Seriously absolutely divine.

Grated beetroot of course, if you have them. @thebigsweed will appreciate this. I will roast the rest and pickle them as he does, because I simply can't eat that much grated beetroot.

As I write, a text message comes through from Mum. Dad's been doing pretty crap today - a lot of vomiting this morning, mainly bile as he hasn't eaten much at all since his operation. Most of his tubes are out though. I keep willing him to get through this so he can come home to some good, nourishing meals. Mum's salad's are pretty awesome too.

What's your favourite salad ingredient, or are you a salad dodger?