Ingredients

-5 leaves gelatine
-350ml Prosecco
-1tbsp caster sugar
-6tbsp limoncello
-edible gold glitter, for sprinkling

Directions

Place the gelatine leaves in a bowl of cold water for 5 minutes or until soft. Squeeze the leaves and discard the water.
Put the limoncello into a bowl that fits snugly over a pan of boiling water, add the gelatine and sugar and heat gently until dissolved. Remove from the heat, add the Prosecco and pour into a jug.
Very carefully and slowly, pour over the jelly into the glasses until each glass is almost full. Refrigerate until set. Top with gold glitter to serve.

Ingredients

For the panna cotta:
-3 gelatine leaves
-500ml single cream
-3tbsp caster sugar
-2tbsp cofee extract
-100g pecans
-4tbsp runny honey
-a good pinch of sea salt


For the syrup:
-150ml strong espresso
-125g caster sugar


You will need:
-4 dariole moulds, lightly oiled

Directions

Soften the gelatine leaves in cold water. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, gently heat the cream, sugar and coffee, squeeze the gelatine leaves then add to the pan and stir to dissolve. Pour the mixture through a sieve then divide between the dariole moulds. Let them cool then cover with clingfilm and put in the fridge to set. They need a minimum of 5 hours or overnight.
To turn out the panna cotta, dip the base briefly in hot water, run around the edge with a flat-bladed knife and gently pull away from the edges. Tip onto plates to serve.
For the honeyed pecans, heat the oven to 200C, gas 6. Toss the pecans with the honey and sea salt. Spread out on a lined baking tray and bake in a hot oven for 10 minutes until lightly toasted. Serve warm or cold with the panna cotta.
To make the syrup, heat the espresso and caster sugar gently in a small pan until the sugar has dissolved entirely, then boil until it has reduced to about half and you’re left with a thick syrup. Allow it to cool. Drizzle over the panna cotta.

Ingredients

-4 tbsp instant espresso
-50g (2oz) unsalted butter
-100g (4oz) caster sugar
-2 large eggs
-100g (4 oz) self raising flour
-125g (4½oz) mascarpone
-150ml (¼pt) double cream
-2 tbsp tia maria
-2 tbsp caster sugar
-35g (1¼oz) cocoa powder
-20g (¾oz) chocolate curls, to garnish

Directions

Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/350F/Gas 4. Grease and base line a 30cm x 20cm Swiss roll tin with greaseproof paper. Dissolve 2 tbsp espresso granules in 1 tbsp boiling water.

Using an electric whisk beat the butter and sugar together until pale. Add the eggs and whisk again until well combined.

Sift the flour over the mixture and fold in with the coffee. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 8-10 minutes until golden and risen.

Meanwhile place 2tbsp espresso granules, 2 tbsp caster sugar and 75ml (3fl oz) water into a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer for 5 minutes until thickened.

Lay a damp tea towel on the work surface then top with a piece of greaseproof paper larger than the swiss roll. Dust the greaseproof paper with a heavy layer of cocoa powder then carefully turn out the warm sponge onto the dusted paper.

Peel away the greaseproof paper on the base of the sponge and brush generously with the coffee syrup. Score a line along one of the shorter ends of the sponge, approximately 2cm (¾ in) away from the edge.

Start rolling using this incision to help the roll begin, and the greaseproof paper to help you turn. Leave to cool completely.

Whip the cream to soft peaks and fold through the mascarpone cheese and Tia Maria. Unroll the sponge and spread with the cream, leaving a 1cm (½ in) border of clean sponge all around.

Carefully re roll starting from the short end with the incision. Roll all the way to the end and stop once the seal is at the base. Dust with cocoa powder and scatter with chocolate curls.

Salmon

Super-rich in omega-3 fatty acids, salmon can effectively reduce blood pressure and keep clotting at bay. Aim for two servings per week, which may reduce your risk of dying of a heart attack by up to one-third.

"Salmon contains the carotenoid astaxanthin, which is a very powerful antioxidant," says cardiologist Stephen T. Sinatra, MD, the author of Lower Your Blood Pressure In Eight Weeks. But be sure to choose wild salmon over farm-raised fish, which can be packed with insecticides, pesticides, and heavy metals.

Not a fan of salmon? Other oily fish like mackerel, tuna, herring, and sardines will give your heart the same boost.


Avocado

Add a bit of avocado to a sandwich or spinach salad to up the amount of heart-healthy fats in your diet. Packed with monounsaturated fat, avocados can help lower LDL levels while raising the amount of HDL cholesterol in your body.

"Avocados are awesome," says Dr. Sinatra. "They allow for the absorption of other carotenoids—especially beta-carotene and lycopene—which are essential for heart health."

Olive Oil
Full of monounsaturated fats, olive oil lowers bad LDL cholesterol and reduces your risk of developing heart disease.

Results from the Seven Countries Study, which looked at cardiovascular disease incidences across the globe, showed that while men in Crete had a predisposition for high cholesterol levels, relatively few died of heart disease because their diet focused on heart-healthy fats found in olive oil. Look for extra-virgin or virgin varieties—they're the least processed—and use them instead of butter when cooking.



Nuts
Walnuts are full of omega-3 fatty acids and, along with almonds and macadamia nuts, are loaded with mono- and polyunsaturated fat. Plus, nuts increase fiber in the diet, says Dr. Sinatra. "And like olive oil, they are a great source of healthy fat."

Berries

Blueberries, raspberries, strawberries—whatever berry you like best—are full of anti-inflammatories, which reduce your risk of heart disease and cancer.

"Blackberries and blueberries are especially great," says Sinatra. "But all berries are great for your vascular health."





Legumes
Fill up on fiber with lentils, chickpeas, and black and kidney beans. They're packed with omega-3 fatty acids, calcium, and soluble fiber.

SpinachSpinach can help keep your ticker in top shape thanks to its stores of lutein, folate, potassium, and fiber.

But upping your servings of any veggies is sure to give your heart a boost. The Physicians' Health Study examined more than 15,000 men without heart disease for a period of 12 years. Those who ate at least two-and-a-half servings of vegetables each day cut their risk of heart disease by about 25%, compared with those who didn't eat the veggies. Each additional serving reduced risk by another 17%.

Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees (the genus Apis) is the one most commonly referred to, as it is the type of honey collected by most beekeepers and consumed by people.

 High-quality honey can be distinguished by fragrance, taste, and consistency. Ripe, freshly collected, high-quality honey at 20 °C (68 °F) should flow from a knife in a straight stream, without breaking into separate drops.After falling down, the honey should form a bead. The honey, when poured, should form small, temporary layers that disappear fairly quickly, indicating high viscosity. If not, it indicates excessive water content (over 20%) of the product. Honey with excessive water content is not suitable for long-term preservation.

Honey is mainly devoid of essential nutrients, containing only trace amounts ofprotein, dietary fiber, vitamins or minerals (table).

A mixture of sugars and other carbohydrates, honey is mainly fructose (about 38-55%) and glucose (about 31%), with remaining sugars including maltose, sucrose, and other complex carbohydrates. Its glycemic index ranges from 31 to 78, depending on the variety.The specific composition, color, aroma and flavor of any batch of honey depend on the flowers foraged by bees that produced the honey.
Typical honey analysis:

Fructose: 38.2%
Glucose: 31.3%
Maltose: 7.1%
Sucrose: 1.3%
Water: 17.2%
Higher sugars: 1.5%
Ash: 0.2%
Other/undetermined: 3.2%

Honey has a density of about 1.36 kilograms per litre (36% denser than water).

Health applications

In myths and folk medicine, honey has been used both orally and topically to treat various ailments including gastric disturbances, ulcers, skin wounds, and skin burns by ancient Greeks, Egyptians and in Ayurveda and traditional Chinese medicine.

Ingredients 

-3 (10.5 ounce) canscondensed chicken broth
-2 cups water
-1/2 cup finely chopped green onions
-1/2 cup uncooked wild rice
-8 slices bacon
-1/2 cup margarine-3/4 cup all-purpose flour
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning
-1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
-2 cups half-and-half cream
-1 1/2 cups cooked, diced turkey meat
-2 tablespoons dry sherry

Directions

In a large pot over medium heat, combine chicken broth, water, green onions and wild rice. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until rice is tender, 35 to 40 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp. Allow to cool and then crumble. Set aside.
When rice is tender, melt the margarine in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir in flour, salt, poultry seasoning and pepper all at once. Cook, stirring, until smooth and bubbly. Stir in half-and-half and cook until thickened, 2 minutes. Stir half-and-half mixture into rice mixture. Stir in bacon, turkey and sherry. Heat through and serve.

Ingredients

-3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
-1 large red onion, chopped
-2 large stalks celery, chopped
-4 cloves garlic, chopped
-2 large carrots, diced
-1/4 pound thinly sliced pancetta, cut into thin strips
-1/2 head Savoy cabbage, finely sliced, blanched and drained
-1/2 bunch Swiss chard, finely sliced
-1 large waxy potato, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
-4 cups low-sodium chicken stock
-3 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced
-1 bouquet garni (1 sprig rosemary, 4 sprigs thyme, 1 bay leaf and 1 bunch parsley, tied together with kitchen twine)
-3 cups cannellini beans (canned or cooked dried beans)
-1 cup spinach, coarsely chopped
-Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a 4-quart pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, celery, garlic, carrots and pancetta and cook, stirring, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add 4 cups water, the cabbage, chard, potato, chicken stock, tomatoes and bouquet garni. Bring the soup to a gentle simmer and cook 25 to 30 minutes.

Place half of the beans (1 1/2 cups) in a food processor and process until smooth. Add the bean puree and the whole beans to the soup and simmer 10 minutes. Add the spinach and cook 2 more minutes. Season generously with salt and pepper. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with cheese.