Dessert is a must for any special occasion such as Christmas dinner, and my theme for this year’s menu is Wild Christmas. The following recipe is a great expression of this theme using nature’s ingredients. The nutty and creamy flavor of the poppy seed mousse in combination with the fruity sweet wild blueberry coulis creates a delicious well balanced dessert that’s also not too sweet.
Comfort food is great especially in the cold season, and a good home-made soup is easy to prepare, will keep our body warm, and doesn’t require the addition of a lot of fat. In this soup, I’m combining chestnuts and wild duck breast, topped by delicious orange foam. Chestnuts are very healthy and have a beautiful, rich, sweet, and starchy flavor which perfectly complements the salty smoked wild duck breast.
Autumn is in full swing and I like how the trees are turing red and you can find many varieties of pumpkin. My favorite is the Hokkaido Pumpkin because of its nutty taste, almost like chestnuts. You don’t have to peel off the skin, and you can use it in almost everything, in soups, salads, or purees, and it can be grilled, sautéed, or roasted. Here I created a healthy Hokkaido-Bulgur-Risotto, using bulgur instead of rice because of its health benefits. Bulgur is a good source of plant-based protein and very rich in dietary fibre, vitamins, and minerals. The risotto can be served with meat or fish, but also by itself as a meal. Here I served it with marinated lamb chops, which is one of my favorite combinations.
In this recipe I created a highly nutritious sports lunch for two, combining sweet and savory ingredients from Brazil, the host country of the 2016 Olympics. While it’s important for anyone to eat well in order to stay fit and healthy, it’s especially important to fuel your body with the right nutrition when competing or being very active.
Right in time for the Olympic Games in Brazil, I created a fruity and refreshing Mango Caipirinha to enjoy on a beautiful sunny day – just imagine being alongside the picturesque beaches of Rio while listening to tropical tunes of Bossa Nova. Thinking about special ingredients from Brazil, Cachaça and mango immediately came to my mind. In this recipe you will find both an alcoholic and non-alcoholic version of this fruity variation of the famous Brazilian drink.
