My husband and I decided to go on a weekday diet of smoothies for dinner. This is so we don't have to cook on hot summer nights, as well as lose some weight.
So far, since we packed the ice box three days ago with fresh fruit and special smoothie tofu, our dinners have been hot butterscotch sundaes the first night, and steak and corn-on-the-cob the second, with a midday snack of strawberry shortcake for me.
But there are extenuating circumstances. The first night, I'd just brought our ancient golden retriever home from the vet, who said Toby's days are numbered. So we had to take T. right out to his favorite summer place, the local frozen-custard stand. And once there, we had to patronize the nice stand-owners with more than the one child-size dish for our dog. And the two large hot-butterscotch sundaes had to be with extra nuts and whipped cream because - after all - they were standing in for dinner.
And the next night was fourth of July. American beef, fresh corn, and strawberry shortcake are patriotic. We don't set off fireworks, so we had to do something.
Meanwhile, what's the best way to keep bananas, nectarines, blueberries, and strawberries from rotting?
Smoothies for dessert? :)
Posted by: Amy | July 06, 2005 at 04:21 PM
Oh, I am sorry to hear about Toby. The soon-to-be loss of a longtime friend is hard to accept.
Give him lots of hugs for me.
Posted by: Cowtown Pattie | July 06, 2005 at 09:16 PM
Perhaps you could make up the smoothies in advance and stick them in the freezer. Then put a couple in the fridge in the morning to defrost. That sounds like a really good idea. I don't think my hubby would go for it though. With our garden we'd have to be eating zucchini and cilantro smoothies!
Posted by: Rayne of Terror | July 07, 2005 at 08:26 AM
Thanks for visiting my site - nice to hear from you again. So sorry to hear about your dog - we recently lost a cat to kidney failure and I know how it feels.
I find fruit like that ferments - it goes all fizzy if you make a smoothie and don't eat it quickly
Posted by: Tom C | July 07, 2005 at 02:00 PM
As for the fruits that you have mentioned, they are ALL freezable. For the nectarines, just peel them and remove the pit, then slice them into sixths or eighths. Slice the bananas into chunks of three or four. Any kind of berries can be frozen whole. Using frozen fruit is actually BETTER than using fresh fruit because it gives your smoothy a nicer consistency--it will be thick and will stay colder longer. Trust me--I spent two and a half years as a supervisor of a popular local Smoothie chain ;) The only caution I have--watch your blender blades if you freeze these large fruits often. They'll be dull in no time flat!
Posted by: Lisa | July 07, 2005 at 11:17 PM
Heh, heh, heh. Best-laid plans and all that. I have a similar problem keeping them :-)
Posted by: Ronni Bennett | July 08, 2005 at 04:37 AM