Watermelon and Mango Ice Blocks

How hot does it get in summer where you live? It's been hovering around 32˚C in Hong Kong these few weeks and the humidity only makes it seem hotter.

Ice cream and ice cold drinks are staples of the summer diet, but it's hard to enjoy these treats while maintaining that summer bod you've worked so hard for!

These ice blocks are delicious and healthy, perfect for these hot summer days. All you need is some fresh fruit, which should be abundance at this time of the year! Watermelon and mango is actually a combination I've fallen in love with after trying this flavour combination in a drink.

The watermelon is refreshingly crisp, while the mango is sweet and fragrant. I used Thai mangoes for this, which are yellow and shaped like a leaf. I prefer the mangoness of these compared to the greeny-red round ones. I also added some lime juice to the mangoes just to cut through the richness a little.

Try out these delicious fruity treats and let me know what you think!

Full recipe here --->

Warm Poached Egg Breakfast Salad

I like to pretend I'm somewhere hot and sunny with breakfasts like these. I associate fruit salad type breakfasts with summer mornings on the beach, so refreshing and so energetic!

It's so much better than toast. Or cereal. Or porridge.

Even a Full English.

I think I've just upset the entire 50 million or so population of England by saying that, I'm sorry! But I still have mixed feelings about the heavy meal that is a fry-up... I find that all the oil and meat doesn't always agree with me first thing in the morning!

Although I do appreciate something hot, even just warm, in the mornings. The best way to dethaw yourself after waking up to a cold room is to warm from the inside.

So I get the pan out and heat it up, standing right next to the stove to make maximum use of any escaped heat. First thing in the morning is not a good time to be doing dishes, so keep your equipment to a minimum by choosing a tallish pan that's not too wide.

Fill with boiling water from the kettle, (I like to stand near that too when it boils, and let some of the steam soothe my face - cooled steam of course, wouldn't want to burn myself!) and gently simmer it in the pan.

Poach the egg: Gently but swiftly draw circles around the pan with a wooden spoon to create a whirlpool at the middle. Crack in an egg right into the middle of the whirlpool and cover the pan with a lid. Simmer for 90 seconds, then remove with a slotted spoon. This gets you a nice runny yolk.

It's just beginning to thicken, and looks like lava that's the colour of happiness.

Make two, because one's not enough. ;)

Leave them on a plate to rest and drain. Also drain your pan of the water, and wipe it dry.

Replace the dry pan onto the heat, and turn to medium. Now, we grill: Or pan-fry. (I need a griddle pan, so I can pretend to grill!) Add oil, let it heat up and drop in some cherry tomatoes to the sides. Then, slice up your halloumi cheese into thinnish chunks, and place those into the pan too, in the middle. Brown the cheese on one side, then flip to do the other. Keep an eye on your cherry tomatoes too, spinning them around so they heat up and blister. It's done when the halloumi is browned, the cherry tomatoes can be served at whatever stage they're in.

Dish it up: Line the bottom with some fresh baby spinach leaves, then layer on the halloumi and cherry tomatoes. Peel, slice, and add a few kiwifruit discs, and then finish with your two poached eggs on top!

Now sit back, relax, and enjoy your (mental) flight to a tropical island of your choice, with this warm poached egg breakfast with a salad of kiwifruit, cherry tomatoes, spinach and grilled halloumi cheese!