Flowers
Name: The botanical name is Helianthus. The Greek word "helios" means sun and "anthos" means flower.
Origin: South and West of the USA.
Colour: Most sunflowers are bright yellow with dark brown centres, but varieties are appearing now which have tan, orange, maroon or striped petals, and green-yellow centres. Some are even without the central disc, but are fully covered in petals instead.
Trivia:
Facts: Sunflower stems were used to fill lifejackets before the advent of modern materials. Low-pollen sunflowers have been developed in recent years which not only helps asthma sufferers, but extend the flower's life
Language of Flowers: The dwarf sunflower means "adulation".
Medicinal: The sunflower is grown for the seeds and oil it produces.Each mature flower yields 40% of its weight as oil.
History: The flower was cultivated by North American Indians for many years as a food crop The nutritional value is still the main reason for growing it in many parts of the world. Only recently have we begun to grow sunflowers for decorative reasons..
Food Facts
ever wondered what your body does with your dinner? after a meal it begins to divide all that kilojoules among your organs...
10% to the kidneys
10% to no one really knows where this goes...
5- 10% to the heart
10% to the brain
10% to thermogenesis (to break down what you just ate)
25% to the muscles
2-3 % to fat cells
23% to the pancreas, liver, spleen and adrenal glands...
well there you have it...
so the next step is to give you all a great recipe to try out....hahahaha
Recipe
The corn coulis also pairs nicely with pork tenderloin, shrimp, or grilled chicken.
Active time: 35 min Start to finish: 45 min
ingredients:
1 teaspoon finely chopped shallot
1/4 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
4 teaspoons olive oil
3/4 cup corn (from 2 large ears)
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh basil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup 1% milk
1/2 lb plum tomatoes, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch dice (1 cup)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
30 large sea scallops (2 1/2 lb total), tough muscle removed from side of each if necessary
preparations:
Cook shallot and garlic in 2 teaspoons oil in a small skillet over moderately low heat, stirring, until softened, about 1 minute. Add corn, basil, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until corn is tender and beginning to lightly brown on edges, about 4 minutes. Add milk and scrape up any brown bits from bottom of skillet, then remove from heat.
Pur谷e corn mixture in a blender at medium speed until very smooth, about 1 minute. Force pur谷e through a fine-mesh sieve into a small saucepan, pressing hard on and then discarding solids. Cover coulis until ready to serve.
Toss tomatoes with parsley and salt and pepper to taste in a bowl.
Pat scallops dry and season with salt and pepper. Heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil in a 12-inch nonstick heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then saut谷 half of scallops, turning over once, until golden and just cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes total. Transfer to a platter and keep warm, loosely covered with foil. Saut谷 remaining scallops in same manner.
Reheat coulis over low heat, covered, then spoon 2 tablespoons onto center of each of 6 plates. Arrange 5 scallops per plate in a circle on coulis, then spoon tomatoes into center.
Each serving contains about 222 calories and 5 grams fat.
Makes 6 servings.
(By Epicurous.com)
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