Ingredients:
1 large bunch Swiss chard, chopped
2 yellow onions, chopped
1 package prepared spicy Italian chicken sausage (or other Italian sausage)
1 tsp garlic powder or equivalent
1 tsp chicken bouillon
~2 cups milk or water (not any milk substitute)
Dash ground rosemary
Pinch dried thyme
Big pinch dried parsley
2 cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
Grated parmesan
Black or white pepper
Slice and fry the sausage in olive oil until golden. Remove to a plate.
Saute the onions until tender. Add the spices, milk, and 1 can of beans.
Puree with an immersion blender. (This step is optional).
Add remaining beans and chard. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring constantly, until chard is tender.
Put the sausage back in and serve with parmesan and pepper.
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Balsamic Bourbon Pan Sauce for Steak
We rarely eat steak, but Ariel's boss bought him some filet mignon recently. I didn't want to mess it up so I did some research and ended up just pan-searing the steaks and then offering this sauce on the side, along with bacon crumbles. Ariel liked it that way because then he could eat part of the steak plain (purist style) and the rest with sauce on it. This is a luxury sauce for sure, but it would be just as good brushed onto grill meats or served on hamburgers.
Ingredients:
3/4 cup bourbon
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tbsp Tamari or soy sauce
2 tbsp high quality barbecue sauce, ideally Jack Daniels brands, or extra thick Worcestershire sauce if you don't have any good barbecue sauce
2 tbsp cold butter (not margarine) cut into 4 pieces
First, cook the steaks in a heat-safe skillet. While they're cooking, whisk the sauce ingredients together.
When the steaks are done, remove to a plate and pour the sauce into the skillet. Stir to loosen any tasty brown bits stuck to the pan.
Bring to a boil and cook until thickened and all the alcohol is boiled off. Reduce heat to low and drop the butter in one piece at a time. Whisk each piece thoroughly into the sauce to form a suspension. This adds body and richness.
Serve in a small gravy boat or other serving thing with a pour spout.
Note: You can leave out the butter if you are serving a well-marbled steak. Just cook the sauce down a little longer so it's thick enough. The filet mignon is (according to the Internet) so lean that it is best to serve it with a sauce that has fat in it, ideally butter, to bring out the flavor. London broil would probably be the same, but you wouldn't need butter for, say, Delmonico.
Ingredients:
3/4 cup bourbon
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tbsp Tamari or soy sauce
2 tbsp high quality barbecue sauce, ideally Jack Daniels brands, or extra thick Worcestershire sauce if you don't have any good barbecue sauce
2 tbsp cold butter (not margarine) cut into 4 pieces
First, cook the steaks in a heat-safe skillet. While they're cooking, whisk the sauce ingredients together.
When the steaks are done, remove to a plate and pour the sauce into the skillet. Stir to loosen any tasty brown bits stuck to the pan.
Bring to a boil and cook until thickened and all the alcohol is boiled off. Reduce heat to low and drop the butter in one piece at a time. Whisk each piece thoroughly into the sauce to form a suspension. This adds body and richness.
Serve in a small gravy boat or other serving thing with a pour spout.
Note: You can leave out the butter if you are serving a well-marbled steak. Just cook the sauce down a little longer so it's thick enough. The filet mignon is (according to the Internet) so lean that it is best to serve it with a sauce that has fat in it, ideally butter, to bring out the flavor. London broil would probably be the same, but you wouldn't need butter for, say, Delmonico.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Black Bean Burgers with Eggs
An enhanced version of the recipe found in September 2012 edition of Cooking Light.
Ingredients:
To make the patties:
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 egg
1/4 cup flour
1 tbsp peanut oil or canola oil
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cumin
1/2 cup chopped scallions
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/4 cup panko
Finishing the patties:
4 eggs
1/4 cup panko
Peanut or canola oil
Cheddar cheese with chipotle (optional but delicious)
Combine the ingredients for the patties in a food processor and process until combined but still pretty chunky.
Pour enough oil into a nonstick pan to cover the bottom. Preheat over medium heat.
Divide the mixture into quarters. Place remaining panko on a plate. Scoop up a quarter of the bean mixture, plop it into the panko, and press it gently flat. Then scoop up the patty and carefully lay it on the hot pan. Repeat with remaining bean mixture to form 4 patties.
You will note that panko is applied to only one side. If the patty sticks to the spoon when you press it flat in the panko, DO NOT PANIC. This is actually quite convenient. Let it stay stuck to the spoon and use that as an easy way to transfer the patty to the frying pan. Use a soft spatula to scrape it off the spoon and directly onto the hot pan.
Fry for 4 minutes, turn, and fry for 3 more minutes, or until golden and crisp. Remove to drain on paper towels.
Pour excess oil and any burnt bits of panko out of the pan, and return to stove. Crack four eggs into the pan and cook until firm.
Top each patty with an egg. If you're using the cheese, put as much cheese as you like atop the egg - the hot egg melts it. Serve immediately.
Ingredients:
To make the patties:
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 egg
1/4 cup flour
1 tbsp peanut oil or canola oil
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cumin
1/2 cup chopped scallions
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/4 cup panko
Finishing the patties:
4 eggs
1/4 cup panko
Peanut or canola oil
Cheddar cheese with chipotle (optional but delicious)
Combine the ingredients for the patties in a food processor and process until combined but still pretty chunky.
Pour enough oil into a nonstick pan to cover the bottom. Preheat over medium heat.
Divide the mixture into quarters. Place remaining panko on a plate. Scoop up a quarter of the bean mixture, plop it into the panko, and press it gently flat. Then scoop up the patty and carefully lay it on the hot pan. Repeat with remaining bean mixture to form 4 patties.
You will note that panko is applied to only one side. If the patty sticks to the spoon when you press it flat in the panko, DO NOT PANIC. This is actually quite convenient. Let it stay stuck to the spoon and use that as an easy way to transfer the patty to the frying pan. Use a soft spatula to scrape it off the spoon and directly onto the hot pan.
Fry for 4 minutes, turn, and fry for 3 more minutes, or until golden and crisp. Remove to drain on paper towels.
Pour excess oil and any burnt bits of panko out of the pan, and return to stove. Crack four eggs into the pan and cook until firm.
Top each patty with an egg. If you're using the cheese, put as much cheese as you like atop the egg - the hot egg melts it. Serve immediately.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Shortcut Chicken Pot Pie
A long time ago I posted a recipe for chicken pot pie "better than store bought." I still like that recipe, but since then I have gotten lazier about making it and now I have a much faster and incidentally somewhat cheaper version that is still delicious enough to serve to company.
Ingredients:
Filling:
1 bag frozen peas and carrots
1/2 bag frozen pearl onions (NOT in sauce, just plain onions), or more to taste
Breast meat of 1 rotisserie chicken
1 cup water
1 cup milk
1/4 cup white flour
1 1/2 tsp chicken bouillon or equivalent broth mix
Topping:
1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup pastry or cake flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/3 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1 stick butter or stick margarine
2/3 cup milk
First, make the topping. Preheat the oven to 450. Also put a large pot of water on to boil.
In a mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients and stir. Chop the butter into small pieces and drop into the dry ingredients. Then, use a pastry cutter to cut in the butter until the pieces are no bigger than peas. Add the milk and stir gently until a dough forms. It will be stiff.
Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface. Knead carefully 8 times. Kneading a biscuit is not the same as kneading bread dough; each time you knead the dough, you will press it out flat to about an inch thick, then fold it in half. This creates the nice tender layers in the biscuit.
Roll the biscuit dough out into a shape that will fit into whatever container you're going to use for the pie. Basically, the topping is going to be one giant biscuit. You can use a pie plate or a rectangular Corningware, whatever you like that is about the right size. It doesn't have to be oven-safe.
Lay a sheet of tinfoil on a baking sheet that is safe to use at high heat. Most nonstick baking sheets are NOT SAFE at high heat. If all you have is nonstick sheets, then just use a double thickness of tinfoil.
Grease the tinfoil and then laay the giant biscuit on top. Carefully fold up the edges of the tinfoil to make about a 1/2 inch lip all the way around. This will catch any butter that melts out of the huge biscuit, so it doesn't drip onto your oven and smoke.
Bake the biscuit for 12 minutes or until golden. You will want to bake it a tiny bit longer than you usually bake biscuits to be sure it's cooked all the way through.
While the biscuit is cooking, make the filling. The water should be boiling now so just dump in the frozen veggies. Set a timer for 5 minutes and start working on the gravy.
For the gravy, whisk the flour directly into the cold milk until smooth. Then pour the milk mixture into a saucepan and add the water and bouillon and (optional) any herbs you want to add, such as a pinch of thyme, parsley, or sage. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat.
By now the veggies are probably done. When they are done cooking, dump them into a colander to strain out the water, then pour them into the pie plate (or other serving container that you're going to serve the pie in).
If you haven't already chopped the chicken, do it now, and then add the chicken pieces to the veggies.
Pour the gravy over the veggies and chicken, and stir gently.
By this time the biscuit is probably done baking. Carefully, using two large spatulas or pancake turners, lift the giant biscuit off the tinfoil and place on top of the gravy mixture.
Ta-daaa! Your chicken pie is done, and it is PERFECT. Eat it!
Variations:
You can use the whole chicken including dark meat if you like dark meat. I don't, so I feed the legs to Ariel (hubby). Or, you can cook your own chicken, but rotisserie is really really good so I don't recommend this unless you don't have access to rotisserie or it's too expensive.
You can use frozen mixed vegetables instead of peas and carrots, but you must pick out the green beans. They make the filling soggy.
You can also make drop biscuits instead of the giant biscuit if you don't want to bother rolling it out and kneading it.
You can save calories and carbs by making a half recipe of the biscuit topping. It will be thinner and bake in much less time, so check on it after 7 minutes.
Can't find frozen pearl onions? You can use frozen chopped onions instead of pearl onions. The pearl onions are nicer, but the regular chopped onions are fine if that's all you can get. Don't use the kind that comes in a sauce or your gravy will be too salty.
Don't have pastry flour? Substitute an additional 1/4 cup whole wheat flour plus 1/4 cup cornstarch.
Don't have whole wheat flour? Use 2 cups regular flour and leave out the pastry flour.
Don't have cream of tartar? Use an additional 1/2 tsp baking powder, although you should try the cream of tartar sometime. You might find you really like biscuits made with it.
Can't drink milk? Replace it with water. It will still be good. DO NOT use a milk substitute, because they will all make the gravy come out wrong. Lactaid milk is fine.
Ingredients:
Filling:
1 bag frozen peas and carrots
1/2 bag frozen pearl onions (NOT in sauce, just plain onions), or more to taste
Breast meat of 1 rotisserie chicken
1 cup water
1 cup milk
1/4 cup white flour
1 1/2 tsp chicken bouillon or equivalent broth mix
Topping:
1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup pastry or cake flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/3 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1 stick butter or stick margarine
2/3 cup milk
First, make the topping. Preheat the oven to 450. Also put a large pot of water on to boil.
In a mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients and stir. Chop the butter into small pieces and drop into the dry ingredients. Then, use a pastry cutter to cut in the butter until the pieces are no bigger than peas. Add the milk and stir gently until a dough forms. It will be stiff.
Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface. Knead carefully 8 times. Kneading a biscuit is not the same as kneading bread dough; each time you knead the dough, you will press it out flat to about an inch thick, then fold it in half. This creates the nice tender layers in the biscuit.
Roll the biscuit dough out into a shape that will fit into whatever container you're going to use for the pie. Basically, the topping is going to be one giant biscuit. You can use a pie plate or a rectangular Corningware, whatever you like that is about the right size. It doesn't have to be oven-safe.
Lay a sheet of tinfoil on a baking sheet that is safe to use at high heat. Most nonstick baking sheets are NOT SAFE at high heat. If all you have is nonstick sheets, then just use a double thickness of tinfoil.
Grease the tinfoil and then laay the giant biscuit on top. Carefully fold up the edges of the tinfoil to make about a 1/2 inch lip all the way around. This will catch any butter that melts out of the huge biscuit, so it doesn't drip onto your oven and smoke.
Bake the biscuit for 12 minutes or until golden. You will want to bake it a tiny bit longer than you usually bake biscuits to be sure it's cooked all the way through.
While the biscuit is cooking, make the filling. The water should be boiling now so just dump in the frozen veggies. Set a timer for 5 minutes and start working on the gravy.
For the gravy, whisk the flour directly into the cold milk until smooth. Then pour the milk mixture into a saucepan and add the water and bouillon and (optional) any herbs you want to add, such as a pinch of thyme, parsley, or sage. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat.
By now the veggies are probably done. When they are done cooking, dump them into a colander to strain out the water, then pour them into the pie plate (or other serving container that you're going to serve the pie in).
If you haven't already chopped the chicken, do it now, and then add the chicken pieces to the veggies.
Pour the gravy over the veggies and chicken, and stir gently.
By this time the biscuit is probably done baking. Carefully, using two large spatulas or pancake turners, lift the giant biscuit off the tinfoil and place on top of the gravy mixture.
Ta-daaa! Your chicken pie is done, and it is PERFECT. Eat it!
Variations:
You can use the whole chicken including dark meat if you like dark meat. I don't, so I feed the legs to Ariel (hubby). Or, you can cook your own chicken, but rotisserie is really really good so I don't recommend this unless you don't have access to rotisserie or it's too expensive.
You can use frozen mixed vegetables instead of peas and carrots, but you must pick out the green beans. They make the filling soggy.
You can also make drop biscuits instead of the giant biscuit if you don't want to bother rolling it out and kneading it.
You can save calories and carbs by making a half recipe of the biscuit topping. It will be thinner and bake in much less time, so check on it after 7 minutes.
Can't find frozen pearl onions? You can use frozen chopped onions instead of pearl onions. The pearl onions are nicer, but the regular chopped onions are fine if that's all you can get. Don't use the kind that comes in a sauce or your gravy will be too salty.
Don't have pastry flour? Substitute an additional 1/4 cup whole wheat flour plus 1/4 cup cornstarch.
Don't have whole wheat flour? Use 2 cups regular flour and leave out the pastry flour.
Don't have cream of tartar? Use an additional 1/2 tsp baking powder, although you should try the cream of tartar sometime. You might find you really like biscuits made with it.
Can't drink milk? Replace it with water. It will still be good. DO NOT use a milk substitute, because they will all make the gravy come out wrong. Lactaid milk is fine.
Traditional Flan
This isn't your chef's creme caramel.
The apple pie, and indeed the pie in general, is American. It's a colonist's interpretation of an old world dish, namely a tart, but made with the available ingredients and techniques. Pie crust is the commoner's pate sucree. Similarly, this is the flan of the people, created with the ingredients available in tropical places like Mexico and the Philippines. It is not healthy.
Ingredients:
1 can evaporated milk
1 can sweetened condensed milk
8* egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup sugar (organic is ok)
2 tbsp water
Preheat the oven to 325. Grease a pie plate or similar ceramic or glass oven safe container. Prepare the filling by heating the canned milks in a small pot to almost boiling. In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks and vanilla lightly.
When the milks are hot, pour into the eggs in a thin stream, whisking constantly. Set aside.
Make the caramel sauce by mixing together the sugar and water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook without stirring until the sugar turns golden-brown.
Immediately pour the caramelized sugar over the bottom of the greased pie plate. It will turn rock-hard as soon as it cools, so try to pour it all over the plate and not in a mound in the middle, although don't worry about getting it evenly spread. It will melt and spread out while cooking.
Pour the egg filling on top and bake gently for half an hour, or JUST until the center is set. If you see the edges begin to puff up, you're overcooking it and must take it out immediately. However, this flan is much more forgiving than regular custard, since the canned milk does not curdle.
Variation: Reduced sugar
To make a reduced sugar version, simply replace the can of condensed milk with an additional can of evaporated milk plus about 1 cup of Splenda or equivalent heat-safe sweetener. You must use real sugar for the caramel, though.
* About the egg yolks: This number of yolks is a guideline. Some families use a whole dozen!! It's possible to use as few as 5. Basically, 8 is just the compromise number, so use however many you like.
The apple pie, and indeed the pie in general, is American. It's a colonist's interpretation of an old world dish, namely a tart, but made with the available ingredients and techniques. Pie crust is the commoner's pate sucree. Similarly, this is the flan of the people, created with the ingredients available in tropical places like Mexico and the Philippines. It is not healthy.
Ingredients:
1 can evaporated milk
1 can sweetened condensed milk
8* egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup sugar (organic is ok)
2 tbsp water
Preheat the oven to 325. Grease a pie plate or similar ceramic or glass oven safe container. Prepare the filling by heating the canned milks in a small pot to almost boiling. In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks and vanilla lightly.
When the milks are hot, pour into the eggs in a thin stream, whisking constantly. Set aside.
Make the caramel sauce by mixing together the sugar and water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook without stirring until the sugar turns golden-brown.
Immediately pour the caramelized sugar over the bottom of the greased pie plate. It will turn rock-hard as soon as it cools, so try to pour it all over the plate and not in a mound in the middle, although don't worry about getting it evenly spread. It will melt and spread out while cooking.
Pour the egg filling on top and bake gently for half an hour, or JUST until the center is set. If you see the edges begin to puff up, you're overcooking it and must take it out immediately. However, this flan is much more forgiving than regular custard, since the canned milk does not curdle.
Variation: Reduced sugar
To make a reduced sugar version, simply replace the can of condensed milk with an additional can of evaporated milk plus about 1 cup of Splenda or equivalent heat-safe sweetener. You must use real sugar for the caramel, though.
* About the egg yolks: This number of yolks is a guideline. Some families use a whole dozen!! It's possible to use as few as 5. Basically, 8 is just the compromise number, so use however many you like.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Kahlua Chocolate Cupcakes
Our favorite cupcakes. Maybe. It's hard to choose.
3 tbsp instant coffee granules
2 tbsp boiling water
4 eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp Kahlua, divided
3 tbsp canola oil
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar (or equivalent Splenda plus 1/2 cup milk powder)
2/3 cup cocoa
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Frosting:
2 oz semisweet or dark chocolate, finely chopped
1 tbsp Kahlua
Milk
In a small bowl, dissolve coffee granules in water. In another larger bowl, beat the eggs, buttermilk, 1/2 cup Kahlua, oil, vanilla, and coffee mixture until blended thoroughly. Combine the dry ingredients and gradually combine the two mixtures. Beat thoroughly for fluffiness.
Pour into greased cupcake tins. Bake at 325 for 25 - 35 minutes until the cake springs back when gently touched. Cool for 10 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack. Cool for 15 minutes more, then brush with remaining Kahlua. Cool.
To make the frosting, combine the chocolate and Kahlua. Microwave for 10 seconds at a time until melted, stirring frequently. Add milk, a tiny bit at a time, until it reaches a spreading consistency. Remember that it will firm up as it cools. Spread over cupcakes.
3 tbsp instant coffee granules
2 tbsp boiling water
4 eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp Kahlua, divided
3 tbsp canola oil
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar (or equivalent Splenda plus 1/2 cup milk powder)
2/3 cup cocoa
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Frosting:
2 oz semisweet or dark chocolate, finely chopped
1 tbsp Kahlua
Milk
In a small bowl, dissolve coffee granules in water. In another larger bowl, beat the eggs, buttermilk, 1/2 cup Kahlua, oil, vanilla, and coffee mixture until blended thoroughly. Combine the dry ingredients and gradually combine the two mixtures. Beat thoroughly for fluffiness.
Pour into greased cupcake tins. Bake at 325 for 25 - 35 minutes until the cake springs back when gently touched. Cool for 10 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack. Cool for 15 minutes more, then brush with remaining Kahlua. Cool.
To make the frosting, combine the chocolate and Kahlua. Microwave for 10 seconds at a time until melted, stirring frequently. Add milk, a tiny bit at a time, until it reaches a spreading consistency. Remember that it will firm up as it cools. Spread over cupcakes.
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Avocado Bubble "Tea"
Bubble tea is a catch-all term for any drink that contains "bubbles", which are actually large, dark colored tapioca pearls. The Taiwanese word for these is Boba, and our use of Bubble is probably a corruption of this word. A shop selling bubble tea usually offers actual tea with bobas, but also usually offers smoothies with bobas, milk tea with bobas, and juice with bobas. The dark pearls are colored in a variety of ways, but the best ones are colored with purple potato and have a slightly sweet, molasses-y taste.
Making bubble tea at home has been a dream for a long time, since Ariel and I found a fantastic bubble tea shop in Seattle that uses real fruits for the smoothies instead of the more common flavored powders. It's called WOW, which stands for Wonder Of Worship, and is an Asian Christian hangout and board game den in addition to its bubble tea vending.
There's nothing like that within comfortable driving distance of us here in Stoneham. So, in case you're in the same boat, here's a bubble tea recipe. You can also just leave the bubbles out and have a smoothie.
Ingredients (per smoothie):
1 small ripe avocado
Milk, or milk alternative if dairy intolerant - I suggest coconut-almond milk
Sweetener to taste
3 drops vanilla extract, or more to taste
Ice cubes (optional)
Slice the avocado in half down to the pit. Twist the two halves apart and pop the pit out with a spoon; discard the pit. Hold each half in your hand and, using a blunt knife, slice the inner meat vertically and horizontally. Then scoop the meat out with a spoon. It will come out already nicely chopped.
Put the avocado meat into a small mixing bowl if you have an immersion blender, also known as a stick blender. If you don't have one, put it into the regular blender, and afterwards, go get an immersion blender ;) Add enough milk to just cover the avocado. You may need to add more later. Avocados are remarkably powerful thickeners.
Add a little sweetener. You can use any kind of sweetener, either natural or artificial. If you want to use natural, then I suggest half honey and half organic sugar. About a teaspoon of each to start with, you can always add more. Also add the vanilla.
Puree the mixture until smooth. You will be amazed at how velvety smooth the avocado makes it. Taste and add more sweetener if needed.
Next, either put in the fridge to chill, or add a few ice cubes and stir until it's at your desired temperature.
To make the bobas:
You will need to buy the right ones. Go online to Amazon and order the kind specially made for bubble tea. If you try to use regular tapioca, you will be disappointed! (Obviously, you will need to do this well in advance of making the smoothie!) Then, follow the directions to cook them. When they're done cooking, drain in a strainer, and put into a bowl of ice water to chill before adding them to your smoothie.
To drink a bubble tea, you will either need a jumbo bubble tea straw that is big enough to suck up the bobas, or you will need to use a spoon. Enjoy!
Making bubble tea at home has been a dream for a long time, since Ariel and I found a fantastic bubble tea shop in Seattle that uses real fruits for the smoothies instead of the more common flavored powders. It's called WOW, which stands for Wonder Of Worship, and is an Asian Christian hangout and board game den in addition to its bubble tea vending.
There's nothing like that within comfortable driving distance of us here in Stoneham. So, in case you're in the same boat, here's a bubble tea recipe. You can also just leave the bubbles out and have a smoothie.
Ingredients (per smoothie):
1 small ripe avocado
Milk, or milk alternative if dairy intolerant - I suggest coconut-almond milk
Sweetener to taste
3 drops vanilla extract, or more to taste
Ice cubes (optional)
Slice the avocado in half down to the pit. Twist the two halves apart and pop the pit out with a spoon; discard the pit. Hold each half in your hand and, using a blunt knife, slice the inner meat vertically and horizontally. Then scoop the meat out with a spoon. It will come out already nicely chopped.
Put the avocado meat into a small mixing bowl if you have an immersion blender, also known as a stick blender. If you don't have one, put it into the regular blender, and afterwards, go get an immersion blender ;) Add enough milk to just cover the avocado. You may need to add more later. Avocados are remarkably powerful thickeners.
Add a little sweetener. You can use any kind of sweetener, either natural or artificial. If you want to use natural, then I suggest half honey and half organic sugar. About a teaspoon of each to start with, you can always add more. Also add the vanilla.
Puree the mixture until smooth. You will be amazed at how velvety smooth the avocado makes it. Taste and add more sweetener if needed.
Next, either put in the fridge to chill, or add a few ice cubes and stir until it's at your desired temperature.
To make the bobas:
You will need to buy the right ones. Go online to Amazon and order the kind specially made for bubble tea. If you try to use regular tapioca, you will be disappointed! (Obviously, you will need to do this well in advance of making the smoothie!) Then, follow the directions to cook them. When they're done cooking, drain in a strainer, and put into a bowl of ice water to chill before adding them to your smoothie.
To drink a bubble tea, you will either need a jumbo bubble tea straw that is big enough to suck up the bobas, or you will need to use a spoon. Enjoy!
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