Creativity in the Kitchen - Culinary Artistry

This past year has revealed so much to me about food, about being creative and about thinking outside of the box.

I have been going through some of my food photos and events over the past year. I am so grateful that I have taken photos. I remember when I started doing my website and had to create over a dozen dishes at once, that was a lot of work. I didn't know how to take food photos. However, I am very grateful to a friend who helped me create exquisite plates. And now each time I create a new dish I simply snap a few photos.

Creating an attractive dish is more than placing an herb or a flower on the plate. It's the composition. Even the dish itself is important. Not every plate I create is perfect. And maybe I don't do it according to symmetry. For me it's the food, the plate used, the decorations, the overall colors. It's everything.

This shrimp platter consists of spinach, shrimp with tails on and spicy radish sprouts with a purple flower to accent.

For me salads are all about being colorful and deliciously surprising. This salad had tomatoes and basil and avocado and sprouts and even a goat cheese cake. The colors were meant to stand out.

A piece of Ahi to the right and mushroom risotto could look bland and colorless. With the pesto butter and asparagus and basil leave the plate really comes alive. A little red was necessary to make the green on the plate pop a little more, especially since I had to use a white dish.

I think the handmade leaf plate makes a simple piece of bread with some cheese and tomatoes stand out like a piece of art. And the avocado salad is placed artistically atop a leaf of yellow swiss chard. For my orzo salad with sundried tomatoes, pine nuts, carrots, garlic, basil and feta it was formed into a small bowl and decorated with sundried tomatoes and basil leaves to really make the colors pop.

A sweet coconut sticky rice with 3-berry sauce is layered in a see-through bowl and crunchy coconut topping is crumbled on top. Something you want to eat. I certainly want a bite of that now!

The pineapple bowl with tropical fruit in it is my favorite. The pineapple leaves add green, the orchid says "Hawaii" and I really like using the bamboo tray for contrast. And the orange edible flowers add brightness to an otherwise bland chocolate cream shortbread with coconut.

When I began this journey I always knew I loved food but now I appreciate the beauty of food. I really appreciate the delicate balance of colors and textures and consistencies. Experimenting has been fun. The creative aspect has been enjoyable. What I appreciate most is knowing that edible art is meant to be eaten! And where it takes me next is part of the adventure!

Easy Spreads and Dips - Recipes Included

When I was growing up the dips that we used to make were always made with mayonnaise and sour cream. Since most people are looking for healthy alternatives I have had to come up with some options. I am a huge fan of spreads and dips and have come up with a few that are really healthy as well as really beautiful too!

Today I came up with a recipe that uses carrots and cashews! It’s delicious yet so healthy and you could eat it guilt-free. Remember, that even if you are eating something like nuts that are heavy in calories and natural fat you are not eating these calories in the other fatty ingredients you normally would be using and eating. In addition a cashew is full of vitamins and nutrients. The recipe for carrot cashew paté is a great dip for an afternoon snack with your children, using baby carrots and celery sticks as dippers.

I also am going to share my ultimate garlicky hummus recipe. I made this recipe up for a friend who didn’t want to spend the $5.00 at the health food store for a small container. The ingredients were still expensive, but in the end a much better deal because of the quantity and quality of the end result! If you want to get away from bread and fatty crackers there are fat-free crispy flatbreads available and even tortillas that you can use for these spreads.

The key to eating well is thinking outside the box and discovering alternatives that will satisfy the cravings and yet your taste buds are still enticed. You can make these spreads ahead of time for parties and they last up to a week or so in the refrigerator. You can make them look beautiful and get creative when you decorate them for even your family, I bet your kids will want to participate!

Eat well and make cooking an art, not just something you have to do. Make it fun and try something new and different! Thinking outside the box allows your creativity to flow and your imagination run wild.

Cashew Carrot Paté

Ingredients:
3 med. carrots, peeled and chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
3 cloves garlic peeled
1 c. raw unsalted cashews (soaked for 1 hr. and drained)
1 tbls. soy sauce or tamari
2 tbls. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
sea salt, to taste

Preparation:
In a food processor blend the carrots, celery and garlic to a fine consistency.
Drain the water from the cashews. Add them to the processor with the vegetables and process along with the soy sauce or tamari, olive oil and sea salt. Stop periodically and scrape the sides with a rubber spatula. Continue to blend until creamy. Chill and serve.
For serving you can put the mixture into a medium glass bowl to use as a mold. Place a plate under bowl and carefully allow paté to sit in middle of plate. You can take a peeler and make a few carrot curls for decoration on top. Place a few whole cashews on top if you like or even a few chopped cashews for decoration. Serve with carrot or celery sticks or crackers and flatbreads.

NOTE: you can use soaked raw almonds (skins removed) or sunflower seeds instead of cashews. Cashews give a nice creamy consistency, especially raw ones.

Ultimate Garlicky Hummus

Ingredients:
2 15 oz Cans Garbanzo Beans (2 2/3 cup cooked beans drained, reserve 3/4 c. bean liquid)
6 Garlic Cloves Peeled
3/4 c. Tahini (raw sesame paste)
3/4 c. Bean Liquid
1/2 c. Fresh Lemon Juice
3/4 c. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tbls. Sea Salt
Optional Herbs (parsley or basil)

Basil Leaves

Pine Nuts

Sundried Tomato Strips

Preparation:
In food processor blend garbanzo beans, garlic cloves and tahini until mixed. Slowly add reserved bean liquid and lemon juice until processed. Add olive oil in a slow drizzle. Keep blending until well blended and smooth. It takes about 10 min. Add 1 tbls. or more sea salt to taste. You can add dried or fresh basil and/or parsley. Blend mixture a little more until just mixed.

To serve you can decorate the top with a sprinkling of pine nuts, basil leaves and a few sundried tomato strips. Use your imagination.

This makes over 4 cups hummus. Refrigerate in covered containers, keeps about a week. Enjoy with flat bread or in wraps.

NOTE: If you need to adjust the lemon juice or garlic to taste with a little more water or bean liquid. If you are using fresh herbs only add a few basil leaves or parsley, you do not want the mixture to turn green.