I was looking for some jail jokes to go along with today’s band, but that turned up nothing to laugh about.

So, in honor of all those sweating through final exams out there, here is a laugh for you….and me.

Looking for a cool and different salad to serve on a hot night?

Try this fresh and fast Thai-Style Salad. Crisp lettuce topped with herbs, onion and warm minced pork all drizzled with a fragrant, spicy-sweet dressing and nutty toasted rice powder. Light and lovely.

Thai-Style Salad

Ingredients for the dressing:

1 dried red chile
3 slices ginger
1 lemongrass stick
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 fresh red chile
1 Tbs sugar
50ml lime juice (from about 3 limes)
1 Tbs Thai fish sauce

Ingredients for the salad:

30g Thai sticky rice (uncooked)
1 Tbs vegetable oil
400g/14oz lean pork mince (ground pork)
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 head of iceberg lettuce, half shredded and half torn (I also tossed in some other mixed greens.)
1/4 cup mint leaves, chopped
1/4 cup basil leaves, torn
Steamed rice, optional
Naan to serve with, if you like (I served Papadum, which I had on hand. It made for a wonderful fusion meal.)

Directions for the dressing:

1. Put dried chile and ginger in a dry frying pan and toast over medium heat until charred and crisp. Mash with a mortar and pestle.

2. Remove outer woody sheath from the lemongrass and finely slice the inner core. Add to the mortar with the garlic, sugar and fresh chile. Add juice of one of the limes and mash, then add the rest of the lime juice and the fish sauce. (I did all of this in the food processor.) Set dressing aside.

Directions for the salad:

1. Toast the rice in a dry frying pan until the grains start turning yellow. Watch carefully so as not to burn. Remove to the mortar and pestle and grind to a fine, sand-like texture. Set aside.

2. Heat the vegetable oil in a large a pan over a medium-high heat and fry the pork mince, breaking it up thoroughly, for about five minutes or until the pork is cooked through and browned in places. Drain off any excess liquid and set aside.

3. In a large bowl, combine all of the remaining ingredients. Add the hot pork and rice, if using, and stir to combine. Pour the salad dressing over and scatter over the ground toasted rice.

Serves 4 as a main course

Recipe from Delicious Magazine

Gaoler’s Daughter (pronounced ‘Jailer’), a band out of South London, have an album coming out this August titled ‘How To Make Time’.

And where did that unusual band name come from? “She’s a character from Kenneth Grahame’s book ‘Wind In The Willows’. She sets ‘Toad’ free from prison by dressing him up as a washerwoman.”, quotes Ben from the band.

‘Cordelia’ is the first released track and is very good, indeed.

I love songs that start with that delicate strum of guitar. This is all around indie-pop perfection. And Cordelia is an underrated name.

You can have a listen to ‘Cordelia’ on Soundcloud and also watch the video for the song. Beautiful people and beautiful cars always go well together.

Check out Gaoler’s Daughter on the band’s Website. They are playing tomorrow, the 15th June at the Coppafeel! Presents Festifeel 2013 all day event in London.

You can buy the band’s older music on Bandcamp. Keep checking the Gaoler’s Daughter website for info on how to buy the new album.

Cheers!