Pumpkin Smoothie

I've been craving some of the flavors of fall — pumpkin, nutmeg, and cinnamon, but wanted a healthy way to indulge. So instead of pie, I tried this pumpkin smoothie. It's satisfying and guilt free. And it makes a quick breakfast or snack to keep you going through the grocery shopping, prep and cooking for the big feast tomorrow.

I've made it with plain canned pumpkin and then added spices and some agave for sweetness and I've also tried it with canned pumpkin pie filling for a quicker version. That one already has the spices and sweetener added, so it's a little quicker. But I prefer to use the plain pumpkin and add my own level of sweetness and spice. Add as much or as little of whichever spices you like. You could also sub milk or rice milk for the almond milk I used, but I like the little bit of almond in it. A banana adds creaminess. And I've tried this with a little almond butter, which has a more pronounced flavor, or silken soft tofu, to add some protein. Experiment with it and make it how you like. I like it icy cold, so add ice at the end, or refrigerate the pumpkin, tofu and almond milk before blending.

I haven't tried this yet, but it would probably also freeze into popsicle molds for tasty frozen treats. Since temps are still in the upper 80s here, that's sounding pretty good about now. Bring on the cold fronts!

Happy Turkey Day! (Links below to some Thanksgiving feast favorites.)

Pumpkin Smoothie

1 cup canned pumpkin purée
1/4 - 1/2 cup silken soft tofu
1/2 banana
3/4 cup vanilla almond milk
1 - 2 tablespoons agave
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
12 grates of fresh nutmeg
pinch salt

Combine all ingredients in a blender and whiz until well combined. If desired, add ice and blend again until smooth.

Makes one large or two small servings.


More Thanksgiving recipes:
Pecan pie
Pecan pie bars
Stuffed squash
Roasted carrots and parsnips with sage
Roasted butternut squash with cinnamon chipotle butter

And for the day after... this soup would also work very well with leftover turkey:
Smoked chicken, mushroom and wild rice soup

Toasted Oat and Brown Sugar Milkshake

Hot news: Just found out that apparently, tomorrow, February 6th, is International Ice Cream for Breakfast Day. That's all the excuse I needed to try out a recipe from my new Thoroughly Modern Milkshakes cookbook. Adam Reid, the kitchen equipment specialist from the PBS show, America's Test Kitchen, gives us this "guide to milkshake modernization." Reid does for milkshakes what David Lebovitz did for ice cream in my favorite ice cream book, The Perfect Scoop, providing easy-to-replicate but imaginative flavors that invigorate the taste buds.

Reid covers all the basics and offers many variations on classics like chocolate and coffee combinations for those who want their old favorites, but he takes you much further with combinations like vanilla, honey and sesame; vanilla rum and salted cashew; Mexican chocolate with chipotle and almond; chocolate Guiness, Vietnamese coffee, strawberry basil; blackberry lavender; avocado coconut and lime; peach with brandy and nutmeg; minted cucumber lemon... I could go on and on.

Since tomorrow is ice cream for breakfast day, I wanted to try a shake that combined breakfast flavors in a shake. I narrowed down the contenders to two: toasted oatmeal and brown sugar or maple bacon. I know, bacon is the it girl of food fashion these days, but something about the toasted oats and brown sugar sounded so comforting. So I'll try the bacon shake next time.

I love toasting old-fashioned steel cut oats before cooking them. It really brings out the flavor of the oats and makes them much nuttier. Reid's recipe used a pinch of ground cloves to flavor the shake. I'm not a huge fan of cloves, so I switched to cinnamon. Use what you like. Nutmeg might be good too. And with all the cedar flowing through the air around here, I wasn't looking to add to my nasal challenges anymore, so I made a mostly (except for a teeny bit of butter) nondairy version subbing vanilla almond milk for the milk, and nondairy ice cream (I used vanilla Nada Moo), for the traditional vanilla ice cream.

Results: It was creamy and luscious and by far the best oatmeal anything I've ever tasted. I only made a half recipe version for myself and really regretted that after I finished the photos and had a taste. Wow. I wasn't prepared for it to be that good. It was fun and unexpected and most-of-all, addictive.

This might be fun to serve at a brunch in little shot glasses before the meal. Reid suggests a variation using Scotch and some honey to further elevate the heavenliness of this concoction. That could be even more fun for a special brunch.

Toasted Oatmeal and Brown Sugar Shake

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/4 cup thick cut or steel cut oats
2/3 cup + 1/2 cup cold milk (or soy, rice, or almond milk)
2/3 cup water
pinch of salt
3 tablespoons brown sugar
pinch of cinnamon, cloves or nutmeg
8 small scoops vanilla ice cream, softened slightly

First, make your oats...
Melt butter in a small saucepan. Add the oats, stirring continuously, and cook for 5-6 minutes until golden brown. You'll smell their nutty fragrance.

Standing back a bit (it will sputter!), pour in 2/3 cup milk, 2/3 cup water and salt. Bring up to a boil, then lower heat to medium-low and simmer until oats have softened and liquid has been absorbed, about 15-18 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Let cool until room temperature. (I speeded this up by scraping the oats into a small bowl and putting it in the fridge for a few minutes.)

(If you wanted to make this ahead, you could have the oats cooked and in the fridge until you're ready to mix the shake together and serve.)

In a blender, combine 1/2 cup of the cooked oats, 1/2 cup of milk, brown sugar, and your spice of choice, and blend for at least a minute, until oats are completely smooth. Add in the ice cream and pulse to break it up initially. Then blend full speed until well combined.

Pour into cold glasses and serve immediately.

Makes about 3 1/2 cups.

Adapted from Thoroughly Modern Milkshakes by Adam Reid.

Pineapple Mint Slushie

It's that time of year when we're seeing triple digits by lunchtime and I only want to eat and drink things that are cold, preferably frozen. So I share with you the perfect summertime refresher that my friend, Jennifer, introduced me to at her house. You combine fresh pineapple juice with mint and ice and sometimes Jen adds fresh ginger to give it another layer of flavor.

This one is a little bit fussy — you purée fresh pineapple and then have to press it through a sieve to remove the pulp, unless you have a juicer. But it doesn't take long and gives you the ultimate smooth essence of pineapple.

I drink piña agua fresca all the time at our favorite neighborhood Mexican joint. It's really good. But theirs doesn't include the mint. Fresh mint somehow makes the pineapple flavor even more somehow. For a little different spin, I like it with the ginger too. But as much as I love ginger, it's warming to me, so I usually make this in the blazing summer with just mint. Try it both ways and see what you like.

Note that you can prep the pineapple juice and combine it with the mint a little ahead of time and stash it in the fridge. But don't blend it with the ice until you're ready to serve it. You want these icy for the utimate slushie refreshment.

I haven't tried this, but I'm guessing a little shot of rum in here would be pretty tasty too.



Pineapple Mint Slushie

1 pineapple, peeled, cored, and chopped
approximately 1/4 cup sugar or agave syrup, to taste
1/2 cup fresh spearmint leaves
1-2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger, optional
5 cups ice cubes

In a blender, purée the pineapple.

Pour a little of the purée at a time into a seive placed over a bowl. Press it through the sieve with a spoon.

When all of the purée has been run through the sieve, discard the pulp, and return the juice to the blender. Add the sugar/agave and mint. Keep in mind that you may need more or less sweetener depending on the ripeness of your pineapple. Taste to decide. But don't skip it altogether. The little bit of extra sweetness really brings out the flavor of the pineapple. It's flat without it. Whiz together in the blender until the mint is incorporated.

If serving immediately, add the ice cubes and blend completely until smooth. Serve in chilled glasses.

If not serving immediately, refrigerate the pineapple-mint mixture until ready to add the ice and serve.

You're not likely to have any extra since folks will probably be asking for seconds. But in case you do, you can pour the excess into popsicle molds and freeze them for later.

Serves 4-6, depending on serving size.

Adapted from Martha Stewart Living, January 2004.

New Twist on Lemonade

Today is "lemonade day" -- a community-sponsored event to teach kids how to run their own lemonade stands. I'm probably not going to set up my own lemonade stand today, but I did try this new lemonade recipe this weekend and wanted to share it.

This recipe comes from Frank Stitt's Bottega Favorita. Stitt is known for his two Birmingham, Alabama restaurants, Highland Bar & Grill, which applies French techniques to Southern flavors, and Bottega, which focuses on Italian and Mediterranean flavors. His book, Bottega Favorita, is one of my recent library finds and it's loaded with full, warm flavors.

Most people know how to make lemonade, right? But this new twist intrigued me because I'm a big vanilla-lover. You make a traditional sugar syrup but with a bit of a vanilla bean to flavor it. Then add your fresh lemon juice and you're there. It's very simple, but has a softer, rounder, more floral and addictive flavor. I'll be making lemonade this way from now on.

You'll want a fresh, fat vanilla bean for this. Go the extra mile and track down a real vanilla bean instead of extract. It makes a difference.

Vanilla Lemonade

4 cups filtered water
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
10 ounces lemon juice, from about 4 large lemons

In a saucepan, combine the water, sugar and vanilla bean. Simmer and stir until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Pour the cooled syrup into a pitcher and add lemon juice. Stir to combine and then chill in the fridge. You can leave the vanilla bean in the pitcher, just remove it before serving.

This is pretty concentrated so serve it over lots of ice.

Serves 4-6.

Adapted from Bottega Favorita by Frank Stitt.

Berry Soda

Lest you think I've been completely virtuous (after that last post about getting cookbooks at the library), I have to confess to one new purchase...Bryant Terry's Vegan Soul Kitchen.

Bryant Terry is one of the chefs that was included in the Green Kitchen online video site I posted about recently. Though Terry resides in Oakland now, his childhood in Memphis inspired his interest in cooking, farming and community health.

His newest book, Vegan Soul Kitchen, feeds your soul with Southern comfort food but without the guilt you usually associate with it. I love that. There are lots of traditional Southern staples here but with new flavors, many with a tropical flair.

Recipes I've marked to try include:
• watermelon with fresh basil sea salt
• watermelon-strawberry slushee
• rocket salad with watermelon-basil vinaigrette
• sweet, sour, spicy blackberry limeade
• roasted plaintains with roasted garlic-lime dipping sauce
• black-eyed peas with sun-dried tomatoes and kombu
• sautéed jalapeño corn
• sweet coconut-ginger creamed corn
• wilted spinach and swiss chard with tahini dressing
• coconut grits with roasted plaintains
• quinoa cornbread

The first recipe I tried from his book is for strawberry soda. As strawberries start popping up, this is a refreshing way to enjoy their sweet flavor. The recipe calls for mineral water to make it bubbly, but we found the mineraly-ness interfered a little too much with the strawberries, so try club soda. Also, how much agave nectar you need will depend on your strawberries. Taste your nectar after blending and decide if you want more.



Strawberry Soda

1 pint fresh, ripe strawberries, rinsed and leaves removed
2 tablespoons agave nectar
2 cups club soda

Combine the strawberries and agave nectar in a blender (or use an immersion blender) and purée until smooth.

Strain through a piece of cheesecloth set in a sieve to remove the seeds. (I tried it in a fine mesh sieve and the seeds still made it through, so go the extra mile and use cheesecloth.)

Pour the berry nectar into a pitcher and slowly add the club soda. You can tilt the pitcher as you pour in the soda to minimize the foam. Gently stir together to combine. Serve immediately over ice.

Serves 2.

Adapted from Vegan Soul Kitchen by Bryant Terry.

Google Green Smoothie

In my office, I'm the one who is usually made fun of for walking into a meeting with a "healthy" green smoothie. "What is THAT?" And while this smoothie is green, it's so refreshing that it could win over even the most reluctant smoothie drinker. The green color comes mostly from the mint, which is one of my favorite flavors and is great here.

This is another recipe from Food 2.0: Secrets from the Chef Who Fed Google. It's a simple recipe for a smoothie that is refreshing in warm weather or cold. It's good now, because it includes apple cider, which is easily available. But it reminds me of my favorite lemonade from local Vietnamese restaurant, Tam Deli. I order the lemonade there so often the owner knows to start making it when we walk in the door. After many orders and a wee bit of cajoling, I've managed to pry out of her that her secret is whole lemons, limes and a secret ingredient...cucumber. It's made fresh and is very frothy, mild and tremendously refreshing. I've experimented with making my own version at home and will share that recipe later.

The cucumber and lemon in this smoothie remind of that lemonade and I like it just as much. Once you have the ingredients, making it is a snap.

Notes: If you use a Japanese or thin-skinned hothouse cucumber, you don't need to remove the peel. But if you're using a traditional, thicker-skinned cuke, you'll want to peel it and remove the seeds. While the recipe serves two nicely, if my hubby isn't around, I'll gulp it all down my own self.

Google Green Smoothie

1 hothouse cucumber, cut into chunks
15-20 large, fresh mint leaves
1 cup apple cider
1/2 cup lemon sorbet
8 ice cubes

Place all ingredients except ice in a blender or the canister of an immersion blender. Blend until smooth. Add ice cubes and blend again until smooth and all ice is incorporated. Serve immediately.

Serves 2.

Adapted from Food 2.0: Secrets from the Chef Who Fed Google.

Horchata Ice Cream

When it comes to Mexican drinks, I've always been more into agua frescas than horchata. But for some reason, lately, I can't stop craving horchata. It's cold, light enough to be refreshing, yet comforting at the same time.

Horchata is a drink made from rice and a little cinnamon. I used the recipe in Rick Bayless' Mexico One Plate at a Time cookbook. His recipe goes one step further and adds almonds to the mix which is how it should always be made, as far as I'm concerned.

Horchata will remind you a bit of rice pudding but it's much lighter and only a little sweet. It's flavors are very soft. And it's light enough to be a true drink, not a dessert.

I couldn't help but think what a great ice cream flavor this would make. I made Bayless' horchata but with milk instead of water and then added that to an ice cream custard base. It turned out to be as delightful as the drink. It is a little richer, thanks to the eggs and a little cream. But it isn't overly sweet. The hint of cinnamon and almond round out the flavors but gently. This recipe has a little higher ratio of milk to cream, so it freezes a little harder. But I like that it's not too rich. The eggs add enough richness on their own.

To start, make the horchata:

2/3 cup long-grain white rice
1 1/4 cups blanched almonds
3-inch piece of cinnamon
2 1/2 cups whole milk (or water, if you're only making horchata and not ice cream)
1 cup sugar
cheesecloth

Heat the milk (or water) over low heat until it comes to a simmer. In a bowl, combine the rice, cinnamon stick, and almonds. Pour the warm milk over the rice and stir together. Let cool completely, then cover and refrigerate overnight.

Add the sugar and then whiz in a blender. You'll want to blend it on high until completely smooth, several minutes. Strain through a fine sieve lined with a cheesecloth. Use a spoon to press the solids against the sieve to extract as much liquid as possible.

You should have about 1 1/2 cups of horchata concentrate. Pour into a quart container and put a strainer on top.

(To make horchata for drinking, add 2 more cups of cold water. Taste for sweetness and add more sugar if necessary. Serve over ice.)

Adapted from Rick Bayless' Mexico One Plate at a Time.


To make horchata ice cream:

1 cup whole milk
1 cup cream
5 egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
slivered almonds, toasted (for serving)

Warm milk and cream to a simmer over medium heat.

While the milk is warming, whisk together the egg yolks in a separate bowl.

When the milk is warm, very slowly. and whisking constantly, pour the milk mixture into the bowl of egg yolks. Whisk together and then pour it all back into the saucepan.

Heat the custard mixture over low heat, stirring or whisking constantly. Keep whisking until the mixture coats the back of a spoon. (You can test it by running your finger down the back of the spoon. If it leaves a trail, you're done.) Take it off the heat immediately.

Pour the custard through the strainer into the horchata mixture. Add the ground cinnamon and whisk well to combine.

Put the horchata container into a larger bowl, then fill the outer bowl with ice. Pour some water into the outer bowl, forming an ice bath. Let cool in ice bath on the counter until the ice melts. Then remove it, cover and refrigerate overnight.

Freeze in ice cream maker according to its instructions.

Serve with slivered almonds sprinkled on top.

Makes a little less than a quart.

Carrot Orange Ginger Smoothie

After oral surgery last week, I'm continuing my exploration of foods that are easy on the teeth. This smoothie is an old favorite that I haven't made in a long time. I'm glad I had an excuse to try it again. The beta carotene is really good for you, but it's even better tasting. Reminds me a little of an orange creamsicle. You get a big hit of orange flavor from the orange juice concentrate without completely watering down the smoothie by using orange juice. I'm going to refreeze the OJ concentrate in an ice cube tray so I can have it on hand for future smoothies.

1/2 cup silken tofu
1/2 cup carrot juice
1 cup vanilla frozen yogurt
4 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
pinch of salt

Blend all ingredients in a blender.
Serves one.

Adapted from Super Smoothies by Mary Corpening Barber and Sara Corpening Whitford.