lunch!

Thanks to the salad in a jar idea, I've had one salad a day since Easter Sunday. I'd always intended to eat more salad, but simply didn't get round to it. Salad can seem tedious to make, dull to eat. Now I love prepping salad to put in a jar, and at any given time there are one or two jars sitting in the fridge. Still not bored with it, that includes both making and eating.
If you are wanting to eat a little healthier, then I can't recommend this idea enough. So easy to do. There are a million 'how tos' on the internet, but salad dressing on the bottom, hardier items, then leafy greens on top are the basic rule. Shake to distribute the dressing when you are ready to eat.

And now, I have found something else to serve in a jar ~ cake! Cake in a jar! That sounds almost as good as salad in a jar! Another idea found via pinterest, and one I decided to try out today. I know it's not a sparkling new idea, and I've seen cakes and pies in jars before, sometimes cooked in them. Oh, I don't know, cooking them in jars I'm not sure about, so I baked cakes as normal, and then sliced, iced and decorated in the jar.

They will keep in the fridge for a couple of days, and are so simple and mess free to eat this way. Perhaps a little too simple. Salad in a jar is great because it gets me eating something healthy, cake in a jar will be kept for treats, NOT every day!
I feel I should just say that I am not a great cake decorator, and I don't pretend to be! Nor am I a great baker, my cakes are wonky but I care not. I am what I am!

I like to think that this is a great picnic idea, but the truth is I would be reluctant to cart around so many things in jars for a picnic. It'd be heavy, and I'd have a fear of splintered glass in food if they'd bashed against each other. But I do think it's a brilliant idea for eating food in the garden in summer. One screw of the lid and flies and bees can't get in!

Oh, and to those of you interested in the orange-vinegar cleaning experiment (previous post), I can tell you I think it is going to be a winner. Just hours after putting the peels in to steep, I couldn't resist lifting the lift and having a smell. I was shocked. Definitely more orange than vinegar. After a couple of weeks I'm assuming it will just smell orange~y and only very vaguely of vinegar. I can live with that.
I'm going to start a grapefruit & lemon version at the weekend, because I feel that sure I'm going to like it enough to want to make more.
You can see how the vinegar has taken on a golden glow after just a couple of days.
I'm aware I have a bit of a jar obsession. What is it with jars? I just love them. Eating out of them, using them for food storage, holding candles or flowers .. anything. But I suspect I'm not alone. I feel certain that most of you reading this have as many jars in your home too!
I'm right. You know I am!!