Fresh Pineapple and Basil Seafood with Silvered Almonds Over Jasmine Rice and Spinach.

Fig-Raspberry Red Pepper Glazed Pork Tenderloin Over A Risotto Puff Mixed With Carrot Puree

The beginning.....

the nice scent of cooking raspberries

the dish of fresh raspberries and pork tenderloin with risotto carrot puff

A Wintry Fresh Strawberry, Banana, Raspberry, and Orange Smoothie

...in the middle of a warm winter day in California

A Snowy Mint, Spinach, Apple, Banana, and Orange Smoothie

Fresh Banana, Orange, and Apple Blend

I created a complete fruit blend with fresh bananas, one orange, and one apple with ice cubes and cinnamon. All natural with no sugars added made the beverage quite refreshing.

Apple, Beet, and Mint Juice

Steamed Salmon with A Fresh Cold Apple Compote Slaw and Arborio Rice

An Edible Delicious Food Ecosystem

I made a shrimp noodle salad with fresh ingredients.

The levels from bottom up to top:

Slices of fresh orange and fresh lemon naturally made tarts
Baby spinach leaves
Slices of fresh pear
Slices of fresh shallots
Shrimp with olive oil and basil
Linguine with a tinge of cheese, pepper, salt, and cream and almond shavings

Fruit and Vegetable Creativity

Grapefruit - Orange - Carrot - Ginger

These fruits and vegetables are blended together to create a breakfast juice for healthy living. I discussed in an earlier post about creating art pieces out of food. Enjoy seeing the shapes and figuring out suggested object.

The Beauty of Juice Sculpture

Delightful Crepe Art Pieces

Sugar - Kosher Salt - Whole Wheat Flour

An Eggland Egg

Egg Yolk and White

Whisk

2% Horizon Organic Milk

Crepe Batter

Strawberries - Navel Oranges

Strawberry Vessel

Cross-section of a Strawberry

Beauty of Sliced Reds

Ring of Orange Zest and Fruit

Blend of Sweetness

Horizon Organic Butter

Crepes Treats

With Whipped Cream

When I created the photographs of the crepe ingredients, I visually became interested in the shapes and common themes in the process. I ask for you to see the circles and geometric triangles and their patterns. Whether in plants or in humans, one can see the growth from a tiny space as that space grows larger in an uniform pattern.

Please look at the orange. Have you notice that there is a center and the growth radiates out in segments. The srawberries start with a seed-type center and growth bigger as if it is vase being molded into a larger size from a tiny triangle to larger. I ask for you today or tomorrow - please notice the shapes around you whether squares, rectangles, triangles, circles and framed shapes.

Take one shape and see whether you can condense and place another shape within a shape. One can build or collapse. Notice how strawberries and oranges can grow its fruits yet at the same condense down to a seed size and start all over again. One can see a dish; start on a couple of ingredients then in set increments; one can create a beautiful dish. At every step, one can see beauty in each individual ingredient. Create your new art piece out of delicious foods.

A tiny fact about the strawberries is about the origin. The current strawberry dominating the market is a hybrid created in Europe between a North American strawberry and a large Chilean strawberry. The modern-day strawberry is also known as the pineapple strawberry. Next time, you taste a strawberry; notice the pineapple flavour. Cut a cross-section of a pineapple and compare the two delicious fruits on their taste, texture, and growth layers. Enjoy. 

Pure Carrot Soup Warmth

As I prepare the pure, fresh carrot soup, the method of cutting and placing the ingredients in the cooking pot reminds me of my own parents' cooking as I was growing up in their house. My parents met in cooking school; throughout my life, I often found one of them or both in the kitchen. My writing will contain explorations on the physical aspects, emotions, and memory of being a carrot soup.

Today, I diced shallots for a nice flavoring. But I did shed a few tears. How does an onion or shallot makes us cry? When we cut into the onion, enzymes are released into the air. The enyzmes have a sulfur content in form of an invisible gas when combined with moisture; sulfuric acid is created. When the acid comes close to our eyes, we have a defense mechanism with the tear ducts to keep it out. There are recommendations to reduce the effects of the onion. Some say to chill the onion. I learned from a friend to turn on the burner and cut the onions near it. Some say to wear googles. I keep still and just cut and dream.

As I make the preparations of soup and placing them in the pot, I smile about the memories of my parents. I have emotional attachments to my upbringing. In the field of psychology, experts state that we have a certain memory which contains long-term and short-term episodes. We are able to retrieve some facts or past memories. The ones that we can recall are the ones filled with full engagement of all senses and emotions. I believe that listening to my parents in the kitchen as they prepare a meal or my father in a restaurant kitchen had an emotional effect on me. They were engaged in what they were doing. When I placed one ingredient at a time, I could hear my father or mother talking about the dish that he or she was making for dinner. They really loved to cook. I find this in all fields. When someone are fully engaged in activity, you can hear them talk things out and are in the zone.

Psychologists pinpointed as people are being in flow if they love what they do. I really believe that people should take moments out of their lives and be fully engaged in a hobby. On my standpoint, one can cook homemade, fresh meals instead of opening a can or reheat a frozen meal. There is a lasting, well-fulfilled experience to engage with every ingredient that you put into a frying pan, ramkins, food processor, a cooking pot and best of all sharing food and knowledge with others.

As I go through the stages of being a carrot soup, I'm self to which I love the memories from my parents' cooking, my closeness to my ingredients, and my closeness of sharing my love on cooking with you. Be a soup for the day.

Here are my celebrated steps of being soup:

Vitamin C Medley

Strawberries - Carrot - Shallot - Orange - Italian Parsley - Coriander

All of these foods are enriched with vitamin C. Surprisely, we have plentiful array of choices for each meal if we open our minds to possibilities. Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, is important in our lives to play a role in preventing cancers and heart disease. The vitamin is often referred as an anti-oxidant for preventive measures.The acid occurs in nature. In order to have proper efficiency of the vitamin, the acid must be paired with other nutrients. The reason is the vitamin acidity must be catalyzed. You can look at the structure and see how the formula looks like here:

The strong mark - main carbon bond contains a hydroxyl group which makes the acid water-soluble. The distinguished mark is O and H which is the elements for H2O, known as the water molecule. 

In order for the reaction catalyzed - another element must come to play. One can add sodium Na+ (salt) to the acid.  Imagine when a recipe calls for kosher salt to shallots or Italian parsley, do you notice the breakdown of the vegetable or herb? The reaction becomes watery or breakdown on the structure of the leaves - clumps into a condensed beautiful wrapped bunches of leaves. The beauty of seeing this formula in a real life experiment is when the additional group breaks away from the ring structure. There are other factors and further steps towards nutrition; which comes into play when you give heat and a drops of extra olive oil.

Today, I ask for you to analyze how your fruit, herb, or vegetable is made and how the structure and make-up changes when you add one ingredient or few ingredients at a time.

But, there are arguments how vitamin C boost the immune system. There is information out there about how the vitamin battles the common cold, relieving stress, preventing blood clotting, high blood pressure, depression, and preventing heart attacks. In expert published studies, there are skeptical publications how vitamin C cannot act alone as the prime solution for preventing sickness or diseases.

On a scientific approach, there must be reactions with other nutrients in order to solidify its efficiency. It must fulfilled a replacement need for a missing part on another reaction in the body or another nutrient. Vitamin C, alone, cannot prevent diseases. With these thoughts and adding a holistic approach, I believe all components come into play - one must exercise, have a full variety of nutritious foods and spices, healthy mind, and healthy, bright foods for optimal reactions. Enjoy your next strawberry salad or even better - carrot soup which I will make today with variety of herbs and other cooling natural elements from yogurt and heat. 

Enjoy seeing your vitamin C potential in beautiful foods. Imagine the vitamin C in your body. Where does it go? I will explain in another post. Have a beautiful day.

Fresh Herb Dressing

Left - Mint Middle - Coriander Right - Basil

Culmination of Culinary Herbs Basil - Coriander -Mint

Red Onions

Non-fat Plain Yogurt

Honey

 Fresh Herb Dressing

I wanted to isolate the dressing in a "botanical studies" scale. As a observer of nature, one has to identify plants by its appearance. Have you noticed the difference or similarity between the fresh or dried herbs that you use in your cooking? If you are curious, one can smell the difference by dry or fresh. But you need to look at a whole scale, one should use fresh herbs. Having a real subject is the key component of knowing the plant.

I loved seeing the broad-like green leaves in the basil and mint. The leaves of the coriander, also known as cilantro, are more parts within the leaves. With careful consideration, I would like to serrate different parts of the leaves and place veins or stems in a microscope slide. Or I can use x-rays to draw out the botanical outlines of the parts. As I analyzed the leaves, I used an imaginary cross-section where the food processor cut into the leaves. I imagine how the leaves will combine other ingredients.

On the side, I used extra- virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper for a sauteeing base. I placed fresh diced red onions. The onions come from the bulb vegetables. One sees bulbous structure in shallots and garlic. As the onions caramelized for a few minutes, I took off the heat. Next time I cook, I would like to measure out the temperature from room to cooking to cooling. I would love to precisely know each stage of the cooking by mere reaction point.

I combined the red onion base with the herbs in the processor. At this time, the temperature is quite slightly warm. The products must to elevate to create a successful dressing. I measured out 1/3 cup of non-plain yogurt and small teaspoon of honey into the processor. I blended for about 20 seconds.

I tasted the ingredients together. I love the freshness taste. I appreciate flavors of the recipe due to the fact that I took notice what each part is made and how each part reacts with one other. I will analyze how the vitamins transfer from the dressing to our bodies in one of my next posts.

As I went on my short shopping trip to prepare for the dressing, I gave concentrated effort to omit processed and useless ingredients. I found the origins of the ingredients contributed to my choosing. I may ask my readers to look at each individual ingredient and learn one fact about each one. You will appreciate the work and effort of a dish.