The summer (and probably a touch of global warming) is certainly serving us well this year. Ever since the start of June I can honestly say that I have been sweating like a pig – not very ladylike, but true! – and in traditional Brit style all I can do is complain about the heat that I had longed for all winter.

But this led me to wonder how the “sweating pig” expression came into being. I mean, have you ever seen a pig sweat? I certainly haven’t! In fact, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen any animal sweat. So I turned to trusty Google – what did we ever do before Google? – to learn that the phrase doesn’t refer to the animal at all, but to pig iron, a form of iron smelting:

When pig iron is originally created, the smelter needs to heat the ore to extreme temperatures, and then move the liquid metal into the mold. Until the liquid cools, it can’t be safely moved…

How does the smelter know when the metal is cool enough to transport? When the “pigs” “sweat.” As the metal cools, the air around it reaches the dew point, causing droplets to form on the metal’s surface.

So there you have it, pig mystery solved!

If you’ve also been feeling a little hot under the collar this summer, then there is nothing quite like a crisp, refreshing salad to cool you down at dinner time. But are you sick and tired of caesar salad, have you overdosed on kale, can you simply not look at another limp lettuce leaf? Then you really, really, really MUST try this yummy Indian Summer Salad Recipe. The cucumber and tomato make this side dish super refreshing, while the cumin, chilli and coriander pack a gob-smacking punch of Indian inspired flavours.

This side salad is fantastic served with marinated chicken or lamb and makes the perfect cooling accompaniment to a hot and spicy curry. I served mine with my Chicken Frankie dish – the recipe will be up on the blog soon.

Enjoy!!!

First you’ll need to peel the cucumber and cut it into large pieces. I use half slices in my salad.

Then chop the peanuts into small pieces. I like to put my peanuts into a ziploc bag, seal it and bash the nuts with a hammer – so much easier and so much more fun than using a knife!

Now place all of the ingredients into a medium size bowl and toss until everything is thoroughly coated in the oil and spices  – salad done!

I like to serve this salad with an extra garnish of peanuts for aesthetics and extra crunch!