(10 seconds each to read and are almost that quick to prepare)
By Lisa Messinger
Food and Cooking at Creators Syndicate
Kids use picture books as an easy way to follow a story. Exact words and details don't matter as much as getting the gist of what's going on. Surprisingly, food photographs can serve as similarly simple guideposts.
For instance, I don't know Food Network star Bobby Flay's recipe for Grilled Shrimp on Tortillas with Avocado Relish, but have made the delicious dish many times. I was flipping through a magazine and saw the mouthwatering catch swimming in a large golden serving tray; I knew I could easily emulate it with my own ingredients on hand and convenience products.
To imitate: Brush corn tortillas with a little olive oil, heat them until slightly crisp and carefully cut them into triangles. Top with store-bought guacamole swirled with a tiny amount of sweet pickle relish or green tomatillo salsa, and then crown with shrimp that has been quickly grilled and dusted with a dash of packaged taco or burrito seasoning, or Mexican seasoning blend.
Sometimes, it's just getting the idea for innovative ingredient combinations from food photos that can inspire while saving many steps. Fine Cooking magazine published its 100th issue with a dazzling photo of a colorful corn and blueberry compote topping a sweet corn cake.
To emulate: Toss together some fresh corn kernels and blueberries (or thawed and drained frozen corn kernels and blueberries) with a dash of maple syrup and use it as a crown on store-bought or homemade versions of corn bread, rice pudding, plain yogurt and even cooked chicken breast.
Creative copies: I also would not have thought to use a dressed olive oil/balsamic vinegar romaine salad as a topping for bruschetta if I hadn't seen it in the cookbook, "The New American Olive Oil: Profiles of Artisan Producers and 75 Recipes" by Fran Gage. That recipe isn't even in the book - it's just shown in an instructive photograph. There was also a photo of a caramelized onion bruschetta that could easily be copied simply topping bruscetta with onions prepared that way.
Imitate this inspiration: Our favorite markets and restaurants also can do the trick. I often see appealing cooked cashew-covered chicken breasts under glass at the deli section of a local supermarket. It inspired me to paint some cooked skinless breasts with store-bought pesto and roll them in finely chopped cashews.
Serendipity is a New York City institution famous for its ice cream concoctions and other confections. The most known is its "Original Outrageously Divine 'Frrrozen' Hot Chocolate," of which owner Stephen Bruce once wrote, "It's famous, it's infamous, it's notorious. Marriages have been proposed over it, couples have been wed in it, princes have been made from it. People have traveled from all over the world for just one sip of our creamy, dreamy, icy blend of chocolatey goodness. It'll make you want to blow bubbles through your straw. It makes everyone a child again."
Even before Bruce and his partners started selling mixes and finally published an at-home convenience rendition of the once top-secret blend, an easy version emerged, just from looking at it as one sipped it in their parlor or saw a photo of it online.
Duplicate this delicacy: Chop some of your favorite fine chocolates, melt them (being careful not to burn) and combine with your favorite hot chocolate mix and sugar (or sugar substitute), to taste. When heated, stir in whole milk (or almond milk is a creamy lower-calorie, lower-fat alternative), to taste. Whir in a blender with ice until smooth.
Fun fare like this also shows how innovative food and beverage preparation can be easy, nutritious, economical, entertaining - and fast. They take just 10 seconds each to read and are almost that quick to prepare. The combinations are delicious evidence that everyone has time for tasty "home cooking" and, more importantly, the healthy family togetherness that goes along with it! Another benefit: You - and your kidlet helpers - effortlessly become gourmets, since there are no right or wrong amounts. These are virtually-can't-go-wrong mixtures, so whatever you choose to use can't help but draw "wows."
QUICK TIP OF THE WEEK: Spicy fresh peppers are filled with phytonutrients - so much so that they are often called "superfoods." Experts remind us, though, that when handling them or chopping them to wear latex gloves and not to touch our eyes during or afterward since the same properties that give them their sassy flavor and health benefits can be irritants.
Lisa Messinger is a first-place winner in food and nutrition writing from the Association of Food Journalists and the National Council Against Health Fraud and author of seven food books, including the best-selling The Tofu Book: The New American Cuisine with 150 Recipes (Avery/Penguin Putnam) and Turn Your Supermarket into a Health Food Store: The Brand-Name Guide to Shopping for a Better Diet (Pharos/Scripps Howard). She writes two nationally syndicated food and nutrition columns for Creators Syndicate and had been a longtime newspaper food and health section managing editor, as well as managing editor of Gayot/Gault Millau dining review company. Lisa traveled the globe writing about top chefs for Pulitzer Prize-winning Copley News Service and has written about health and nutrition for the Los Angeles Times Syndicate, Reader's Digest, Woman's World and Prevention Magazine Health Books. Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com.
