Quiet Simple Food

This is the season, and especially the week for rich foods. Between Christmas, Hanukkah and New Year's , our diets go crazy with an overload of sweets, meats and alcohol. During this down time, think about eating simple. It's easy. It's just trimming away the fat literally,

A good idea is to start off right.A decent well balanced breakfast is always appreciated. It;s also a great way to top off a day that may have more treats than "normal" food. After lush holiday brunches of french toasts and fancy omelets, return to simplicity with just plain whole wheat toast or oatmeal. Lunch can be simple salads (and this is a head start on all those New Year's diets) or soup. You can have sandwiches, but try to stick with just simple cold cuts on white or wheat bread. Stay away from mayo and butter (which you probably had lots of at all those X-mas parties). Instead use mustard or ketchup which have less calories.

It's hard not to have a sumptuous dinner during the holidays. Old friends call and want to go out or invite you over. If you're heading to a restaurant ,choose the plainest food on the menu. Think about a broiled salmon or chicken.Finish with sides of steamed spinach or Brussels sprouts as opposed to anything fried or with sauce. Desserts out can be fun but fattening, Thanks to a week of buttery cookies and boozy fruitcakes you may want to opt for a fresh fruit platter or just coffee and tea. Even a flavored coffee or cappuccino can be a little over the top this week. If friends do insist, then share something with the table. This means one or two spoonfuls. You can still have that rich chocolate mousse or carrot cake with ice cream.

Treat your tummy well this week and veer back to a simple diet. It's tempting to keep eating all those holiday goodies. Yet, it's a more a present to treat it right with good ,and nutritious foods. You'll feel a lot better.

Norwegian Good

Norwegian - and actually any Scandanavian cooking has always been maligned. People make fun of the supposed overuse of herring or lutefisk. There are always jokes about reindeer meat and lingonberries. However the Scandinavian peninsula is suddenly a culinary hot spot. It's featuring fresh dishes cooking the way the Vikings cooked and foodies are loving this modern Viking invasion.

This was the subject of Julia Moskin''s article in today's New York Times Dining section. In it, she explores the old techniques of drying, smoking along with pickling and curing. Even modern utensils are nixed for the more classic shells, juniper, hay and twigs as kitchen tools. Garden scraps are also used as decorations as opposed to fancy sauces swirled into patterns, The food itself wouldn't be out of place at a Viking feast. Yes there was reindeer but also moose and bear cooked with vegetables. This last is a true Lapp dish that 's now turning culinary heads.

Modern classics are also made however they have a distinct Northern European twist, Creme brulee is baked but it's with Danish cream. There is also a sourdough battered haddock served on juniper branches. Root vegetables , another Nordic staple, are plated with a sauce of cream whisked with vinegar, fermented beer and garnished with salted cod roe. Sweet dishes such as lemon shortbread is placed on a cloud like bed of perfumed lavender cream. Apples and oatmeal are scented with earthy hay and pine aromas. These were seen in the Manhattan restaurant Compose and created by Nordic chef Marcus Phillips.There seems to not be a dearth of salmon and creamed herring. The new batch of cooks want to stick with the idea of purity, freshness along with simplicity and ethics in cooking. Simple but effective.

Scandinavian cooking is now the hottest cuisine on the planet. Chefs and foodies are appreciating the rustic yet sophisticated way of using natural ingredients and equipment to create unique dishes. It's a take on the modern with roots going back one thousand years.