Spinach Summer Salad Recipe

1 (10-ounce) bag spinach mix / 1 bunch spinach leaves

1 cup halved red grapes

6 to 8 strawberries,  sliced

1⁄2 cup chopped walnuts


Dressing Ingredients

1⁄2 cup vegetable oil / olive oil

1⁄4 cup white wine vinegar

1⁄2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon horseradish sauce (optional)

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

2 tablespoons poppy seeds

Salt and Pepper to taste


Toss all your salad ingredients together in a large bowl.
In a medium bowl, combine the dressing ingredients and whisk well.
Let the flavors come together 10 minutes, then give it another good whisking and pour it into the salad.
Toss everything to mix well, then serve it immediately

Note:

You can also add other fresh fruits and nuts of your choice

If you want to have a light dressing cut down all the dressing ingredients to half its portion

Food Signatures

FOOD SIGNATURES !!!

This is interesting info... 

You are what you eat, so eat well. A stupendous insight of civilizations past has now been confirmed by today's investigative, nutritional sciences. They have shown that what was once called 'The Doctrine of Signatures' was astoundingly correct. It now contends that every whole food has a pattern that resembles a body organ or physiological function and that this pattern acts as a signal or sign as to the benefit the food provides the eater. Here is just a short list of examples of Whole Food Signatures. 

A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye...and science shows that carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes. 

A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart is red and has four chambers. All of the research shows tomatoes are indeed pure heart and blood food. 

Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows that grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food. 

A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds are on the nut just like the neo-cortex. We now know that walnuts help develop over 3 dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function. 

Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys. 

Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet the body pulls it from the bones, making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body. 

Eggplant, Avocadoes and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats 1 avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? .... It takes exactly 9 months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them). 

Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the motility of male sperm and increase the numbersof sperm as well to overcome male sterility. 

Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics. 

Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries.

Grapefruits, Oranges, and other citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts. 

Onions look like body cells. Today's research shows that onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes.



'The news isn't that fruits and vegetables are good for you, it's that they are so good for you, they can save your life .' 

Garnishing Your Way

Nothing transforms your ordinary dish into an extra-ordinary one more quickly than a Garnish....It's always best to make garnishes just before serving; however, if making garnishes in advance, store like you would similar foods – cover with plastic wrap or place in an airtight bag or container and refrigerate.....so here you go with a few tips for a quick set garnish ...............



Tools: There are many tools available to make beautiful garnishes and edible decorations. If you are just learning, all you really need to begin is a sharp paring knife; a small, sharp, serrated knife; and a melon baller

Once you have mastered some simple techniques with these items, you can add other useful tools like a butter curler, a grapefruit knife, various shapes of small cookie cutter and a hand grater with a small section of holes and a larger section of holes. Wooden toothpicks and skewers are also used for more complex garnishes.

Lemons, limes, and oranges are extremely versatile. Slice them thin, cut them into wedges, or spiral-score their rinds and use them whole for tremendous visual appeal! Save the spiral curl from scoring the rind and use that for embellishment as well!

Fresh cranberries, rasperries, and blueberries are very attractive on a food table! Use them on top of desserts, or pair them with a sprig of fresh herbs for added interest

Line your serving platters with leafy lettuce. It adds a beautiful touch, keeps food from slipping around on the plate, and it absorbs grease

Olives and olive sprigs make a gorgeous compliment to bread dipping oils and salads

Grate chocolate and sprinkle it over your favorite dessert or coffee

Fried Garnish: This can also be done with an ingredient of your dish or plainly with onions and potatoes by slicing them thinly and frying until they are crisp. For desserts, use thin fried slices of dough, or fried rice noodles as a crispy fried garnish. Pile crispy fried garnishes high on top of the main item.

Soups: Creamed or pureed soups need a garnish to add interest to their bland, uniform texture and color. Swirl heavy cream, plain yogurt or sour cream on top of soup to make an artistic pattern. Use a single ingredient or a combination to garnish soups


Nuts: 

Whether chopped, flaked, toasted or fried - offer an abundance of flavor, texture and color and make an ideal garnish for many dishes.


Toasted, flaked almonds make an attractive garnish for rice and curry dishes, giving  a contrast in texture and color. Brown the flaked almonds on a baking tray either in a hot oven or under the grill (broiler)
Whole, halved or finely chopped walnuts add flavor and are and attractive garnish to many salads, green vegetables, and can even be finely chopped in savory butters for fish.
Pistachio nuts are a delicate pare green in color and have a sweet, pleasant flavor. They can be used to garnish desserts.
Pine nuts are delicious fried in butter and then sprinkled over vegetables or salads or into spicy vegetable soups.
Desiccated or flaked coconut, toasted is traditionally used as the accompaniments to curries. Sprinkled over a tomato salad, it offers both a flavor contrast and a crunchy texture.
Hazelnuts have a very distinct flavor and are most delicious toasted and skinned. Finely chopped, they make a crunchy coating or sprinkled over vegetables. Flaked, can also garnish soups and salads.


Soaking fresh vegetable / leafy garnishes in cold water for 30 minutes helps preserve them and keep them crisp and fresh. After soaking, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate till needed.





For more detailed and picture illustrations you can check out - http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/tools-and-techniques/how-to-garnish-cooking.htm