I love the ready mixed packs of quick cook grains you can buy so easily in health food shops now. They are brilliant for throwing together a hearty salad when friends are visiting for you want an easy dinner and plenty of leftovers for the next day. That’s why this Freekeh and Quinoa Seed Salad is such a staple in our house.

It’s a fab base for other salads on top, like ‘slaws, or for additional protein like feta, fish, tofu, cooked meats. This is also a fab substitute for rice or couscous with a meal as it’s absolutely packed with protein, vitamin B, a host of essential minerals and fibre. You really can’t go wrong with this one.

I use the Waitrose quick cook grain mix but you can use what you find. Or even get a ready cooked grain mix if you want to make this dish in about 5minutes!

Too many years ago I ate one of the most delicious meals of my life in the kitchen of one of my dearest friend’s houses. She was living in Athens at the time and we visited her at the beginning of the summer, just before the temperature began to bite. The evenings were long and balmy and her husband came home from work with an enormous watermelon. It was perfectly ripe and tasted like no melon I had ever eaten before. It was vivid, bright and refreshing. We ate it with some fresh, salty halloumi cheese with a bowl of nuts and lashings of cold wine. It was heaven. A simple but perfect meal making a memory to last forever.

When I saw watermelons were being stocked again I of course knew it was unlikely I’d find any as tasty as that one, but they did seem just ripe. I have made the dish you see in the photo with a seedless watermelon (which my youngest will be thrilled with as he hates picking out the inky black seeds) and it means you can do fun, crazy things like cut out shapes. You can, of course, just cut the melon into chunks as well.

I have used feta as I feel it works well in this salad and is cheaper and easier to come by than really good halloumi. It also goes a little further as it covers the melon more readily. I would make and serve this on a platter rather than in a bowl as you don’t need to toss this salad and it looks much better if the cheese is sitting on the melon. I have also used some mint from the garden because it grows like the weed it is useful to have around. But because whole melons are at their best and cheapest this platter for four comes in at about £1.50! Summer just got tastier…

When I was a student I used to live in an area of London packed with Turkish and Greek supermarkets. And they were certainly the best place to shop cheaply on a budget. The boxes of perfectly ripe fruits and vegetables were better quality than the premium ranges in supermarkets and cheaper than the economy lines. They all packed such a flavour kick meals felt indulgent and rich rather than thrifty. I practically lived on this Tomato, Cucumber and Parsley Salad which goes with everything and can be kept in the fridge on standby for a couple of days so you always get your good stuff. Try adding feta, chicken, steak or some fresh tuna steak for a heartier meal. Or just soak up the juices with a chunk of bread like my children do. This is actually the perfect salad for little ones as it’s already chopped up so can be eaten with a fork or spoon and they actually tend to like the punchy flavour of parsley over a bland lettuce leaf.

Even if you don’t live near a gorgeous Mediterranean supermarket you can gather these ingredients from the supermarket, especially as they are coming into season and down in price now. This makes enough for about four as a side but I would double the recipe if you are cooking for a family and have it again for packed lunches or dinner the next day. It should cost around 30p a portion but go for the best flavour tomatoes you can. At the moment I am using baby plums but as the summer continues will go for some really ripe on the vine large tomatoes.