Feast for the Eyes

Check it out! Isn't this dish just a feast for the eyes? Believe it or not, I found the basic recipe in the quarterly magazine of our heath insurer! Good for them, good job!
I tried it and found it was 'missing' something. So I added a couple of things, I left out a couple of things, and here it is! All pimped up and ready to become your favourite 'make-ahead' recipe!

Enjoy!

Ingredients
(for 4 persons)
•tiny piece of ginger root (approx. 2 cm), rasped
•2 spring onions, sliced in thin rings
•1 red chili pepper (no seeds, chopped)
•4 pieces of white fish (approx.200 g each)
•toothpicks
•4 banana leaves
•1 tbs tamari sauce
•1 tsp of lemon zest
•1 tsp of sesame oil
•2 tsps of virgin olive oil

What you do
•preheat the oven to 175°C
•mix all the ingredients in a bowl keeping fish and banana leaves to the side
•now place each piece of fish in the middle of a banana leave and scoop 1/4 of the mixture on top of the fish
•close the banana leave using toothpicks
•place all the packages in a oven proof fish
•cook for aprox 30 min.

Notes
If you can find big enough banana leaves where you live, it is best to be able to close the leave entirely, making a little package :-D









Green Thirst Quencher

Living where we live (Western Europe), drinking (a lot of) alcohol is 'normal'. Actually if you don't join in, people ask you what is wrong with you, if you are on a strict diet or are taking medicine.
It is so 'main stream' that none of us even think 'we' drink a lot. But most of us do, I know that for a fact. 
So what is a lot, right? 'A lot' is different for everybody. But if you wake up feeling even a light headache, with less energy than usual, your stomach is maybe a bit upset and your intestines inflamed ... In my book, that sounds like your body is at least a bit intoxicated... 
I can feel like that after even after 2 glasses of wine.. Yep, I am a light weight.


Putting up a fight against drinking social pressure is very difficult, I know. Specially in countries where when you go out, the only alternative to having an alcoholic drink is having Coca-Cola or Sprite! 

So if you decide to drink less or not to drink alcohol at all (for a while or for ever) it could be difficult at first. So you need to arm yourself with some creativity. Here is a concoction that will pamper your body and I can guarantee your 'alcoholic drinking' buddies will want to have, when they see you having it!


Ingredients
•1/3 pineapple juice, 1/3 coconut water, 1/3 (sparkling) mineral water
•1 thin slice of lime
•1 fresh mint twig
•crushed ice

Note
Use organic produce. Your body will thank you for it, eventually :-D







Tomato and Pomegranate Salad

When I first started collecting my recipes, notes and findings under Cornucopia -I don't really consider myself a 'blogger' but rather a 'researcher'- I truly thought that what I was sharing was incredibly useful. The information was out there (I had found it), but lay hidden and was seen as 'alternative'.

Lots has changed since then and 'healthiness' had become a very big business. This is not all bad. We are all far better informed and more conscious about what we eat and what it does to our body and overall health.

Established chefs with big names and high end restaurants have changed their beat, paying heed to popular demand. Others like Yotam Ottolenghi had a mayor break through, just because we wanted 'pureness' and began to frown at 'processed'.

So here is one of my favourite Yotam Ottolenghi's salad. I am adding it to Cornucopia, because it belongs to my collection of 'culinary gems'. It is one of those recipes I like to prepare over and over again. Hopefully you will love it as much as I do and will help you out if you are looking for guilt-free inspiration...


Ingredients
(for 4 persons/side dish)

•600g of multi coloured (cherry) tomatoes, diced
•1 (medium) red onion, chopped
•1 (medium) red pepper, diced
•2 garlic cloves, crushed
•1/2 tsp ground allspice
•2 tsp white wine/cider vinegar
•1 1/2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
•60 ml virgin olive oil
•seeds of 1 medium pomegranate (170 g)
•1 tbsp fresh oregano leaves or 1 tsp of dry oregano leaves

What you do
•arrange the tomatoes, with the onion, pomegranate and red pepper in a (flat) salad bowl
•whisk the garlic, allspice, vinegar, molasses and oil into a vinaigrette
•pour the vinaigrette over the vegetables and now sprinkle the oregano over it.







Red Cabbage Salad Caleidoscope

I am a sucker for cooking TV programmes. Specially around Christmas time. Mostly, I get a bit irritated about how unhealthy all the presented recipes are. But I am always curious to learn something new and to find out what the latest 'trend' is. This past season, it was all about 'how simple and fast' it is to prepare a Christmas meal. 
Nigella is usually not much better that most of the over sized chefs I see on TV. Except this Christmas she did show us a fresh and healthy red cabbage salad that I pinned down. I love red cabbage but I feel I am always short of original ideas on how to incorporate it.

I tried this particular recipe different times since the beginning of December and...it's a keeper!

I have one comment I would like to add -for those whom also watched the BBC programme: in the programme, Nigella says it is one the salads one can prepare a couple of hours in advance, and still keep it's crispyness... Well, yes indeed, although there is a but. You can prepare it even a day in advance, if you would want to, provided you mix the vegetables but add the dressing at the very last minute...

Ingredients
(good for a side dish for 10)
•half a red cabbage, thinly sliced;
•4 big or 6 small spring onions (trimmed and sliced in 4 cm long batons);
•2 red peppers (seeds and membranes removed; sliced in thin 4 cm long strips);
1 yellow pepper (seeds and membranes removed; sliced in thin 4 cm long strips);
1 orange pepper (seeds and membranes removed; sliced in thin 4 cm long strips);
•1 red chili pepper (seeds and membranes removed; diced);
•100 g fresh coriander leaves;
•juice of 2 limes (zest and juice of one; juice of half het second one);
•250 ml pineapple juice (fresh, no additives please!);
•1 1/2 tbsp Himalayan salt (crushed);
•2 tsp sesame oil;
•2 tsp maple syrup (honey or agave are good alternatives);

What you do
•toss all vegetables (except the chili pepper and coriander leaves) in a large bowl;
•mix all the remaining ingredients in a small bowl;
•a little while before serving (30 min.) add the dressing and coriander leaves to the vegetables and mix.







Note
I cannot stress enough how important it is for your health to choose organic produce! If you cannot find it or you cannot afford it, please do wash all your products thoroughly (with warm water) to remove as much chemicals and wax residue as you can, before consumption.