Permission to Play with Your Food

One thing I have found in my many years of "dieting" is that dieting is boring.  A nutritionist friend suggested one time that I play with my food.  I thought she was nuts, but when she explained to me that she hadn't eaten a square sandwich in ages, I finally caught on.  She taught me about little things like using different breads, using mushroom caps instead of bread to make sandwiches, and things like adding funky food coloring to plain old water to spice things up.  And other things like sprinkling shredded carrots on top of a dish for a little extra color.

Now,  I love adding those special little touches to even the most mundane every day meal.  It somehow makes it a "special" dining event.   

Not all of these are my original ideas. Some of them came from family members, some from cooking shows, some from the internet, so it would be literally impossible to give credit to everyone.  For what it is worth, I appreciate each and every tip anyone's ever given me or has shared on the internet for the rest of us.

Here are a few of my favorite tips for garnishing dishes:

A little lemon or orange zest looks really cool grated on just about anything in a contrasting color. There's a neat little tool in the gadget section of the store that makes this really easy.

Star fruits are GREAT for garnishing desserts and salads.  And they taste good too.

Capers and peppercorns are great little additions. Use your imagination.

Freeze fruit or vegetable slices in ice cubes - or even better, flowers, then float them in punches.  Do this with cherries and float them in a punch for Halloween. Great idea for a kid's party.

Pearl onions are WONDERFUL in stews and soups instead of chopped onions. They look like pretty, translucent pearls floating and are mild, so they are a great addition.  You can buy them frozen, or in jars, so you can always have some on hand.

Slice the top off a nice red tomato. Hold the tomato in your hand and cut in half, but not all the way down, leave a lttle bit intact.  Do the same again twice then lay the tomato on your plate on top of a lettuce leaf and serve your egg, tuna or chicken salad inside the tomato.

Celery is a great garnish.   Instead of slicing all the way, gently drag your knife blade and make several cuts so as to "fray" one end of the celery, then place the pieces in a bowl of iced cold water for about 30 minutes. The ends will separate and curl and look very pretty for garnishing dishes.

Strawberry fans look wonderful on top of just about any dessert.  Large strawberries work best.  Here's how you do it:  Hold the strawberry stem side down in your hand. Gently slide your knife from the pointed tip ALMOST all the way through two or three times, then gently slide the slices apart to make a fan.  Place upon your dish and serve.

Chocolate shavings or curls look very pretty sprinkled on top of cool whip or other light colored desserts.  Or try shaved white chocolate on top of a dark dessert.

Nuts are a great, crunchy, textural addition to salads, stir fries and oriental dishes.

Make small  "nests" on your plates with your rice noodles and put your veggies in the center.

Here's a great link for making Radish Rosettes. These are SO pretty when served atop a salad or on the side of a plate. 

Or you could make a radish fan.

(strawberry, onion and radish pictures borrowed from recipes.howstuffworks.com unless otherwise noted)

BTW.  recipes.howstuffworks.com has some GREAT garnish ideas.

If you're feeling REALLY creative.  Try this radish swan.  Mine did not turn out as good as theirs, but I'm going to try it again one day soon.

Even better - google food sculptures.  You won't believe what you'd find out there.

Sugared flowers and fruits look beautiful atop a plain jane chocolate cake.

Oh yeah.. and if you research it, you'll find a number of edible flowers that look wonderful sprinkled in your salads or garnishing your plate.

When you serve breakfast in the morning, make a face with your eggs and bacon.  Put your eggs on your toast, sprinkle a little cheese at the top edge of your eggs for hair, use bacon or sausage to make a smile.  GREAT for a sick child.  Also works with pancakes and butter pats.

Try paprika sprinkled on your lighter colored dishes. 

Get creative with a little food coloring.  But don't try green mashed potatoes.  Somehow that one didn't go over well  :-O

Toasted sesame seeds work great on just about anything.

Stir in a few finely chopped red, green or yellow bell peppers or  some bright red pimentos with your corn or peas.

Try taking three or four chives and tying in a loose bundle with another chive and arranging on a plate.  This is really pretty if you add a slice of carrot or serve beside something in a contrasting color

Here's another for making green onion brushes.  Or try it with red chili peppers!

Instead of mixing two vegetables together, or just putting them side by side, try making a circle with your corn and putting your carrots in the middle, or vice versa. 

Use good metal cookie cutters to slice stars or other shapes from beets, turnips, yams and other colorful fruits and vegetables.

Use hollowed out bell pepper halves of various colors to serve rice sides or other veggies.

Try doing the same with grapefruit or orange shells for fruit salads.

There are many, many more ideas out there.  Be creative. Use your imagination. HAVE FUN.  The possibilities are endless.