Smoothies

For Christmas I requested one appliance on my Christmas list – an immersion blender. Since I opened the box on Christmas, I have kept it working making various things like sauces and smoothies. Mostly smoothies.

My main go-to smoothie has been this one which uses frozen bananas, vanilla and almond extracts, and milk. I substitute low-fat soy milk and add a bit of liquid honey for some added sweetness. Yummy.

For variations, I’ve added cocoa powder (not bad but not enough chocolate taste), as well as frozen and/or fresh fruit (berries work great). I found that you don’t need ice cream as long as you froth the smoothie enough. Healthier than a milkshake, and cheaper than going to Dairy Queen.

Cooking milestones

I made this recipe again over the long weekend, and that’s when I suddenly realized that when I originally made the pasta dish I had also made my first roux. I had also cooked with wine and clam juice for the first time.

I never really thought about or cared about roux before, but after reading The Making of a Chef I’ve started obessing over some of the things that Ruhlman talked about, like roux. His section on the bread baking class enchanted me and I can’t stop thinking about no-knead bread recipes and bread makers. I really do not need another appliance in my kitchen right now.

Who knew this “learning to cook” thing would give me so many new things to obsess about.