Culinary Creativity

The inspiration for S and K’s dinner tonight comes from day two of our NYC vacay. We literally wandered the streets of NY on our trip, not really knowing what we would find and without any real destination in mind.

 

Imagine our excitement when we stumbled upon the Union Square Farmers Market. Gorgeous produce, vibrant fresh flowers, organic milk straight from the farm…amazing. We walked through admiring the selections that each vendor offered all the while wishing we had something half as cool in Florida…seriously Tampa, can we hop on the Farmers Market train soon?

 

Anyway, the farmers market was filled with fresh veggies and fruits and each restaurant we dined at clearly took their inspiration for fresh, brightly colored fare straight from the farmers markets. Each meal we ate was light, fresh, colorful and delicious. The daily specials at nearly every restaurant we came across had some type of mixed green salad with fresh fruit and shrimp or other type of seafood…there must have been something in the air. Ahhh, yes…summer. 

 

I used that inspiration to come up with tonight’s creation; an Orange, Radish and Mint Salad over a bed of organic baby spinach and a side of wild rice and shrimp with fresh herbs. Lots of fresh and vibrant flavors in that, yes?

 

The salad was simple. I just segmented the oranges, thinly sliced the radishes, and cut some mint to go on top. Drizzle with EVOO and sprinkle with salt and pepper…voila! Served over some organic spinach…

For a little carb and protein action I made some wild rice (love the blend of colors and textures!) in my rice cooker with some veggie stock for extra flavahhh flave…know what I mean? Then I sautéed the shrimp up with lemon, basil and mint and called it a day!

After seeing the farmers market in NY I found myself “shopping by color” at the grocery this morning, inspired by all of the vibrant colors and light flavors I was around this weekend.  Presentation is super important to me. We eat with our eyes first, ya know? I think it’s important to add variety and color to healthy meals to keep it exciting. It’s always fun for me to look to restaurant menus and the freshest produce for inspiration.

 

Off the Mat

 

A year ago I would have laughed if you told me I would be putting together healthy and creative meals on a whim like this today. Not that I didn’t love cooking then, but I pretty much followed recipes like it was the law, never veering off or thinking to add something to it (ahem, much like life!). What can I say, I’m a rule follower by nature. But that doesn’t sound like any fun. I mean, what’s life without an extra glob of almond butter or an extra pinch of cayenne…am I right?

 

But I have learned to let go of that a bit, shaking off the rigidity and letting in some fun and playfulness. My yoga practice has been a huge inspiration for this. I can hop on and move my body, playing with different poses and sequences and exploring what feels right at the time. I learned to trust the movement, listening to where I wanted to go and observing how different times of day, week or month influenced my practice. Just like food. With different seasons or a new environment, my tastes change. I’m inspired to try new things and new flavors as the days go by, not really worrying about the outcome, just learning along the way. We just have to be okay with experiencing it and seeing what comes, know what I mean? We all have a bit of creativity and adventure in us…and that means you! Let it out, enjoy it and have fun!

Tagged as: NYC, Off the Mat, rice, Salad, shrimp