A friend of mine, whose counter space measures in the acres, recently bought one of those high-end, fancy-dancy blenders that can purée into baby-food-worthy smoothness everything from kale to the living room sofa. And she puts it to good use, whipping up daily concoctions to dose her family.
Now, I love a good smoothie as much as the next person, and having spent a few months working in a juice bar, I got to indulge myself with new flavors and combinations of ingredients which I sadly cannot reproduce at home. Not because I couldn't reconstruct them, but because I don't have the apparatus to deconstruct some of the tougher, more fibrous ingredients.
Here's my trusty blender, circa 1950, I'm sure. Part of Oster's If-It-Ain't-Broke-Don't-Fix-It line.
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| Somehow "Osterize" never caught on as a synonym for "blend" |
If you don't throw in celery, kale, or gummy items, this sort of home appliance does the trick.
Witness this morning's smoothie offering. I had one over-ripe banana, a leftover half-avocado, some yogurt, and some frozen berries:
I know I've told you about making my own yogurt before, but I haven't had the time lately. So sue me.
Throw all that into the Osterizer, along with enough milk periodically to smooth it out.
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| Another one of my award-winning photos. But the one without the flash looked like mysterious figures in a dark nightclub. |
Blend, stop, stir and smash. Blend, stop, stir and smash. And voilà!
Okay, so it was still too thick. One daughter even added homemade granola to the top and ate it as a parfait. But it was tasty tasty!
If you're part of the low-end blender crowd, here are some tips I've learned from experience:
- Boost protein with avocado (can't taste it, really), yogurt, peanut butter, or almond butter;
- Pomegranate "seeds" are awful! They don't add flavor--just seeds big enough that you can spit them out like we used to do with watermelon;
- Frozen berries are awesome, but there's a fair amount of seed chewing;
- Frozen berries do mask green color, however, like when you've added avocado and spinach and don't want your consumers to know;
- For a little sweetness, try honey or maple syrup or even almond extract;
- The all-fruit smoothie days are over--even my vegetable-averse son will tolerate the avocado, a little cucumber, and even some fresh herbs. If you happened to have cooked carrot or a wee bit of cooked butternut squash, I bet that could be snuck in, no prob.
