Peanut Butter Banana Bread Smoothie

 

Like many people these days, I am trying to get more protein and fiber in my diet.   I was craving banana bread after tasting some my friend Sheila made yesterday, so I thought I'd try to make a smoothie to match those great flavors.   Besides being delicious, this smoothie features 7 g fiber and 21 g protein.  Plus, it's got a nutritious boost of calcium - almost 30% of my daily requirement.  

Peanut Butter Banana Bread Smoothie

2 bananas, peeled, sliced and frozen
1 cup skim milk
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats (uncooked)
1 container (5.3 oz) plain non-fat Icelandic or Greek yogurt 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of ground nutmeg
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon maple syrup
2 T. peanut butter powder

Add all ingredients to a blender and pulse until smooth.  Garnish with bananas and peanuts, if desired. Serve immediately.

Gift Idea: Hot Cocoa

Here is a Christmas gift I want to try this year...saw this all over Pinterest. but I am going to make it with a hot cocoa recipe I saw in The America's Test Kitchen DIY Cookbook

The cookbook suggests mixing it with milk, but I'd do it with water if I was also using Baileys.  I'd also make it in pint jar, so it could make one serving.  

Makes 10 jars

10 pint jars
10 "airplane sized" bottles of Bailey's
1.5 cups nonfat dry milk
1 cups confectioners' sugar
3/4  cups Dutch-processed cocoa powder
3/4 cups white chocolate chips
1/4 teaspoon Salt
bag of mini marshmallows

Combine ingredients in large bowl. Pulse ingredients in food processor until chocolate is finely ground.  Put 1/3 cup hot cocoa mix in each jar, top with marshmallows.  To make hot cocoa, stir contents of the jar into 1 cup of hot water, add Baileys.

The SodaStream Experiment

the start of the snowstorm

On Friday, there were dire predictions of a big snowstorm, but we were taking it with a grain of salt since so often the TV news likes to whip up a weather frenzy.    I decided it was time to experiment with my new kitchen gadget, the SodaStream Genesis.   The good people of SodaStream sent me one to evaluate last month, and I was curious about them because I couldn't see why they were flying off the shelves at the stores.  Do people really need a soda water maker?  I lived in an old house in Hancock when I was in grad school, and it had a vintage seltzer water bottle in the bar.    In the days before a person could buy club soda in a bottle or can, you'd have to make your own.    Plus, I have always wanted to try my hand at making my own tonic water for vodka and tonics, but have yet to figure out where I can get the cinchona bark to make my own quinine.   But I am getting ahead of myself...

The snowstorm was late - it was supposed to start at 9 pm.  I was nervous to let the teenagers drive to the movies to see the new Hobbit, but since the snow wasn't happening yet, common sense prevailed.   As it happened, my son saw the actual start of the snowstorm when he returned after midnight.   So much for meteorological predictions!   The SodaStream people had sent me tons of syrups to evaluate, and so far, so good.  Their cola tastes surprisingly good, and it's very fizzy.  I decided to make my own syrup for this holiday cocktail (shown above) by using cranberry juice concentrate - the frozen stuff in a can.  It worked out fantastic!

Cranberry Fizz

1 oz. cranberry juice concentrate
1 shot vodka
Club soda (either storebought or home made)
Lime wedge

Add cranberry juice concentrate and vodka to glass, stir.  Add soda and ice, stir.  Garnish with lime wedge.

Making the cocktail this way reduces the calories, and thus the WW points for this cocktail to just 3, which is great for a cocktail. 

So, I had to sit down and "do the math" on whether it's actually worth it to buy a SodaStream.  The cost of my Genesis is around $100.   I thought that I'd have to buy a new SodaStream CO2 cartridge after it was used up (it can make 60 L of soda) but I found out yesterday when I was at Costco it can be refilled at Home Depot for about $5, but SodaStream doesn't recommend that.  Instead, you can exchange it at Target, Home Depot, Kohls, etc. for a recharged cartridge for about $15. 

I prefer to buy my soda in 10 oz. glass bottles, instead of larger plastic bottles.  At my local grocery store, I pay $4.99 for 6 10 oz bottles, but I could make it for over a $1 less with the soda stream, including the cost of the machine.   All in all, the SodaStream is well worth it.  I am looking forward to taking less returnables back to the store, which is a good thing.    The snowstorm actually DID happen....it still is happening in fact.  We got a total of 6 inches here....

....and here is the view from the front door....

Glad we are going to have a white Christmas this year!
 

Better than Skinny Girl Cocktails

I tried the Skinny Girl Cosmo the other day - I shelled out $15 for 750 ml  of something that tasted like artificial sweetener.   I was a bit concerned because I don't tolerate Splenda very well - it gives me gastrointestinal distress. Since people call Splenda "natural", just like Skinny Girl cocktails are advertised, I looked for the ingredients list and there was none.  Evidently, alcoholic products don't have to list what's in them.   What I did find online indicates that it is "less than 100 calories per 4 oz. serving" and it is "sweetened with agave syrup", and the drink is about 24 proof - than means 12% alcohol.  And it got me thinking - couldn't I make regular light cocktails at home without resorting to funny tasting sweeteners?  And wouldn't it be more thrifty if I did?  The answer is a resounding "yes".

Each bottle of Skinny Girl should yield six  4 oz, drinks or so,  with a WW point value of 3-4 depending on the variety.  So that means each drink costs about $2.50!  Yikes.  It would appear that Skinny Girl is skimping on the vodka to minimize the calories because a shot of vodka is 4 WW points.   Also, vodka is 80 proof (40% alcohol), so to water that down to 24% proof, that means that roughly 1/4 of the drink is alcohol, instead of 40% or almost half.  Unless you are drinking shots, most alcoholic drinks are "watered down" in the same way.    For example, if I were to make a drink of diet tonic and vodka, here is how it would calculate, proof wise:

1 shot vodka (1.5 oz) (40% alcohol) = .6 oz alcohol
4 oz. diet tonic  (0 % alcohol)

total drink is: .6/4 = 15% alcohol or 30 proof. 

So the bottom line is that the consumer is paying Skinny Girl to water down her drink.   Why not make your own cocktails at home, and stick to the real ingredients that you want?  Not that I have anything against agave, but I'd just as soon sweeten my drinks with real sugar to avoid its metallic aftertaste.  And then, one can add your own water as she sees fit.....I like to add water by adding ice and club soda.   Another way to cut calorie corners is to make flavored simple syrups instead of sugary liqueurs to add to a drink.  Roughly, a shot (1.5 oz) of simple syrup is about .5 WW points. if you make your simple syrup a 50/50 ratio of sugar to water.   Flavor it with citrus peels and juice.    A liqueur like Triple Sec adds 3 points to a drink.  Here's my recipe for a great tasting simple syrup that can be used to flavor all kinds of drinks, from iced tea to lemonade to a lighter Cosmo...

Citrus Simple Syrup

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 lemon
1 lime

Juice the lemon and lime in a small bowl, and add sugar and water and rinds from citrus.  Stir. Microwave for 2 minutes, stir again and allow to cool.  Store in the fridge.  Another way to add lots of flavor is to use small amounts of thawed fruit juice concentrate. I like to use cranberry cocktail concentrate in all kinds of mixed drinks. 

Here's my version of a lighter Cosmopolitan.   Note that one of the key features of a Cosmo is that properly made, it packs a wallop because of it's high alcohol content.  A regular Cosmo is 11 WW points.   My recipe is only 6 points.

Better Than Skinny Girl Cosmo
(serves 2)

3 shots premium vodka, like Grey Goose or Ketel One
2 shots citrus simple syrup  (see recipe above)
1 shot Rose's lime juice
splash of cranberry juice concentrate
orange rind

Put all ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with crushed ice.  Shake for at least 30 seconds.  Pour into martini glasses.  With a vegetable peeler, peel 2 small curls of orange rind for twist garnish and add to each glass.  If you need a little more vodka, go ahead and add another shot....some days are like that.

Here's another great cocktail for summer - my version of a sea breeze.  I think that the club soda makes it taste even more refreshing. 

Bubbly Sea Breeze

2 T thawed frozen cranberry cocktail concentrate
1 shot vodka
club soda
lots of ice

Measure concentrate and vodka in a 12 oz. size glass.  Fill to the top with ice.  Add club soda and stir.
5 WW Points Plus Points, if you are counting them for a 4 oz (or more) drink, depending on your club soda pour.


I also enjoy the premium rum cocktail called "Dark and Stormy", and while I generally don't like artificially sweetened products as my cocktail mixers, I've noticed that diet Vernor's Ginger Ale (a Detroit favorite) is more of a spicy (not so sweet) ginger ale and the ginger flavor tends to makse the unpleasant aftertaste.  Spring for the best dark rum you can find for this drink.

Spicy Dark and Stormy
1 shot dark rum
Diet Vernors Ginger Ale
Lots of ice

Fill a 12 oz. tumbler with ice, add rum and ginger ale, stir.  4 WW points

Another great summertime cocktail is the mojito.   I keep a container of mint growing on my back porch just for this purpose.   It's very refreshing and pretty to look at in the glass.


Fresh Mojito
2 sprigs fresh mint
1/2 lime
1 shot citrus simple syrup (see recipe above)
1 shot light rum
club soda
lots of ice

Muddle one mint sprig's leaves in the bottom of a 12 oz. tumbler.  Juice the lime into the glass, and add rind half.  Add syrup and rum, fill glass with ice and club soda.  Stir, and garnish with the other mint sprig.  4.5 WW points - I round down to 4 LOL.

Miracle Sangria

Image courtesy VintageHolidayCrafts.com

The thing about summer is that a person always has a ton of fruit laying around.   And if you are like me, you often have half bottles of various and sundry liqueurs, brandies, etc. taking up valuable space in the liquor cabinet.   That's why this sangria recipe is a miracle - it lets me use up that peach that might be past its prime, or the lime wedges left over from last night's vodka and tonic, or even lemon rinds that remain from making fresh squeezed lemonade.   Whatever you have on hand, use it!

Here's the basic recipe - feel free to switch things up to use up what you have on hand.  I had a half bottle of raspberry liqueur left over from some long forgotten cocktail project that had an inch of dust on the cap.  Substitute the brandy for whatever fruity thing you might have kicking around in your stash - I'd stay away from anything too off the beaten path (i.e. the banana liqueur I bought to make Bananas Foster probably wouldn't be a good choice).  And substitute the citrus and apple with whatever you have that needs using up - apricots, peaches, melon, etc. will all work just fine.  I mix mine up in a half gallon canning jar - it would be a great cocktail to bring along in the camping cooler for my next camping trip.     I like to stretch my sangria (and reduce my calorie count) by drinking a half a glass and topping it off with a splash of club soda.

Miracle Sangria

1/2 c orange juice (or whatever other kind of juice is languishing in the fridge)
1/2 c brandy
1 bottle dry fruity red wine (I like tempranillo or garnacha for sangria)
1 c club soda
1 lemon, sliced
1 orange, sliced
1 apple, cored and sliced

Mix everything together in a large pitcher - a half gallon canning jar is perfect!  Serve in tall glasses over tons of ice.  It's the perfect drink for summer...and here is the perfect summer song:

Dark Days Challenge Week 6: The Wolverine Cocktail

It's the holidays, so why not have a cocktail party for your supper?    This week, I wanted to experiment with some of the cherry brandy I made with a recipe from Linda Ziedrich's Joy of Jams, Jellies and Other Sweet Preserves.   The cherries were late this year, so I didn't miss them in their entirety as I often do, since we go out of town for the 4th of July week.    I made cherry berry spoon fruit and I also made (and remade) cherry preserves with cherries I bought at the Ann Arbor Farmer's Market. I don't remember exactly where they were from - most likely they came from the west side of the state, because we get a lot of vendors during fruit season from the more temperate side of Michigan, but I can remember buying sour cherries locally years from a place I drove to that had a cherry pitter, which was totally cool!  I really hate pitting cherries.

Late in July I bought more cherries from a roadside stand somewhere between Manistee and Traverse City.   My husband and I camped at Orchard Beach State Park while the kids were at their respective camps - the eldest at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp for art and the youngest at Boy Scout camp in Ohio.   We went wine tasting and canoeing and had a great time.  I'll say I got the cherries in Empire, because I remember stopping by the Grocer's Daughter to sample the fine chocolates.   Inspired by Melissa Clark in the NY Times, I made some real maraschino cherries. By the end of the season, I was really sick of pitting cherries, so the cherry brandy was a recipe that didn't require it, which appealed to me.

The recipe is pretty simple - and if you live in Michigan and want to make some right now, you can buy frozen sour cherries from Traverse City right now at Meijer.  The cherries are edible when it's done, but they aren't at their prime visually.   The maraschino cherries definitely look better.  

2 lb stemmed sour cherries
1 cup sugar
3 cups brandy (I used cherry brandy made at Black Star Farms in Traverse City)

Layer cherries and sugar in a 2 quart jar.  Cover the cherries with brandy.  Close the jar with a tight fitting cap and shake to dissolve the sugar.  Store the jar in a cool dark place, shaking occasionally.   The brandy will be ready in about 3 months. 

I developed this Michigan cocktail that I dubbed "The Wolverine" because Michigan is the Wolverine State.   I hope the Spartan fans aren't offended....I didn't name it the Wolverine because I went to the U of M Business School.  My heart lies with my beloved Michigan Tech Huskies, where I went to undergrad and graduate school to study engineering. 

Here's how I made my cocktail:

1 shot cherry flavored brandy (home made)
1 shot vodka (I used vodka from New Holland Brewery in Holland, MI - 155 miles)
1 shot apple cider (Wasems Orchard - 23 miles)

Shake with crushed ice and serve up in a martini glass.   Or, add some club soda (Faygo - Detroit MI 50 miles) and serve on the rocks in a highball.

Spice Rack Challenge: Electric Basil Lemonade

You know what they say don't you?  "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade".  Well, today, I needed a little something more than lemonade.   It's not that it was a horrible day, it just didn't work out how I wanted it to work.  As they say,  "Some days you're the windshield, some days you're the bug".   Today was my bug day.   This month's spice rack challenge was basil, and I have lots of it in my patio garden.   There's also lots in our little edible schoolyard project at the high school.   My neighbors started a little business making baguettes, so we've been eating lots of pesto.  What to make of my basil?    Friends urged me to try the basil limeade they serve at the Jolly Pumpkin in Ann Arbor, but if I am at JP, I am getting their fine beer, not limeade.

They say that "some days you're the Louisville Slugger", but today I was the ball.  After a long day of things not adding up, a cocktail was in order.   A quick look at my fruit bowl showed only lemons, not limes.  Why not basil lemonade with some vodka?  I wasn't exactly sure this was going to work out well - the idea of basil in something sweet, not savory, just didn't sit right with me.  But I kept thinking of the folks that love the basil limeade, so I decided to give it a whirl.  But I remembered that they also say "sometimes you are the hammer, and sometimes you're the nail".  But this time it all came together for me.   The basil didn't taste savory, it made the lemonade more refreshing.   And the vodka certainly made it more refreshing, too.  Let's not kid ourselves.   But at least now I can look back on today and realize that tomorrow's another day.  Here's to that!

Electric Basil Lemonade

1 shot simple syrup*
juice of 1 lemon
1 shot vodka
4 leaves basil

To make simple syrup, mix 1/2 cup sugar with 1/2 cup water and microwave for 1 minute.   Store in fridge for summer cocktails.

Mix together simple syrup, lemon juice and vodka.  Muddle basil leaves in a glass, add crushed ice to the top of the glass, and pour lemon juice over the top of the ice and stir.

Raspberry Liqueur

I bought a book for 25 cents at a garage sale last summer called Cordials from Your Kitchen by Pattie Vargas and Rich Gulling, and in September, I made raspberry liqueur from rasps (as the British call them) that I bought at an apple orchard in Romeo when I was there for work. Here's my recipe, adapted from one in the book, that I made. It came out fantastic. Next summer, when you are looking for ways to preserve all those raspberries, this is a great one to try.

I was interested in figuring out what proof this liqueur was, so I did the math. Proof is just double the number of the percentage of alcohol in a beverage, i.e. 100 proof alcohol is 50% alcohol. Wine is generally about 12% alcohol, which is 24 proof. A typical mixed drink, such as a vodka and tonic, would be about 15% alcohol, which is 30 proof. I calculated the proof of this liqueur to be 34 proof, which 17% alcohol. So it's a bit stiffer drink than a typical mixed drink or wine, but it doesn't taste strong at all, so be careful! Drink it in small cordial glasses to pace yourself.


Raspberry Liqueur

Makes 4 wine bottles

4 pints fresh raspberries, washed

2 cups sugar
2 bottles of cheap white zinfandel wine, or any white wine will work, too
A fifth of the cheapest vodka you can find. Nowadays, I guess a 5th is called a 750 ml bottle. Don't waste your Grey Goose on this liqueur.
4 cups water

Crush berries and sugar in a bowl and let them macerate for about an hour. In a gallon sized container that has a lid (I have a big glass jar that I make picked eggs in that has a cork lid that I use for this) add berries and remaining ingredients. Cover and let stand in a cook, dark place, for a week. Shaking the container at least once a day.

After a week, use a fine mesh strainer to strain out the solids and discard them. Rinse out your gallon container and put the liqueur back in it and let it stand for another week. Then you have to filter the liqueur, read this post I found for a veritable epistle on all the ways you can filter liqueurs. I rack filtered mine, which is fancy talk for using a hose like you would use to drain an aquarium to clean it. I might do a second filtration the next time I make this as I ended up with a little bit of sludge in my bottles. I put my final product in some pretty wine bottles I had been saving, but you can put it in whatever you have - canning jars, liquor bottles, whatever catches your eye. I used old wine corks to close my bottles - I closed them lightly in case there was any gasses that might be generated, but there didn't seem to be any. Let it age in the bottle for at least a month.

Sunshine Farm and Garden

There's a great herb and dried flower farm in Wixom that I have visited and taken classes at called Sunshine Farm and Garden. They have a wonderful collection of herbs for your garden and also teach some great herbal craft classes. I've taken a few wreath making classes there and learned quite a bit. Many of their classes are free. It's located near Proud Lake Recreation area, which I haven't been to since I was a Girl Scout camper, and I need to remember to visit it when I go to buy herbs this year. I just got their 2008 catalog, and it features some recipes I am eager to try:

FLOWER PUNCH:
2 C water
2/3 C sugar
3 tablespoons fresh mint (cut up)
1 C orange juice
1/2 C lemon juice
2 C strong brewed regular tea
1 liter bottle club soda, chilled
1 large stem of lavender, or borage flowers
rose, calendula or pansy petals
Flower Ice Cubes or Ice Ring

Place water, sugar, mint and lavender or borage in a large stainless steel pan. Bring to boiling, Remove and let steep for 20 minutes. Strain through cheesecloth lined colander. Add orange juice, lemon juice and tea to flavored water, chill. Just before serving, add chilled club soda. Sprinkle punch with edible flowers and serve with ice cubes or ring. Makes about 3 qts or 16 servings.

LAVENDER COOKIES

2 eggs
3 c. flour
1 c. butter
2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 T. lavender flowers, crushed
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. grated lemon rind
Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, dry ingredients, and flavorings. Drop a teaspoon at a time on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake about 10 minutes at 350° . Makes 5 or 6 dozen

Fishbowls

When I was in college, we liked to frequent a bar in in Houghton called the Ambassador, and they served drinks in brandy snifters called "fishbowls". I have recipes for some of these drinks, which are favorites of Michigan Tech students for many years. Here they are:

Purple Rain
1 shot creme de almond
1 shot blue curacao
2 shots white rum
1/3 shot Rose's lime juice

Add enough Squirt to make 1 quart.

Scorpion
2 shots gin
1 shot creme de almond
1 shot white rum

Add 2/3 part orange and 1/3 part pineapple juice to make 1 quart.

Quaalude (my favorite)

1 shot each:

Southern Comfort
triple sec
vodka
creme de almond

Add 1 part orange juice and 1 part Sprite to make 1 quart