Making a smoothie for me is honing the art of my intuitive voice. The smoothies I make develop as each ingredient “comes to me,” to speak in such language. Good smoothies are the ones where I listen to my intuitive voice. The horrible ones — and, mercy, I have had some of those — are the ones where I think my way to the result. So, without further ado (and, yes, I had to look up the spelling of “ado”), here is today’s smoothie —
- 1/2 c soaked almonds and hazlenuts (couldn’t get my eyes off of them)
- 1 Tbsp sorghum syrup
- 1 banana
- A couple shakes of cinnamon
- A super-small pinch of nutmeg (because a little nutmeg goes a long way)
- A pinch of salt
- Ice, because the coldness of smoothies makes them more drink-like and less gloop-like
- Water, to spread the taste out over a larger area
I pureed the ingredients in my beloved Vitamix and … voilà: A banana – sorghum syrup – almond smoothie!
Here’s what I like about it: the sorghum syrup (which is really sweet) finds a landing place with the banana. (I find bananas rather bland and too banana-y. I don’t really like bananas except in smoothies.) The soaked almonds and hazelnuts add depth, richness and fat, as nuts do. The cinnamon is layered with the nutmeg for a slightly complex flavor that neither overpowers nor underwhelms. And the salt, of course, punches the flavors. It makes flavors a bit more sophisticated, I think. Overall, it’s somehow almost a milky flavor-texture without having any actual dairy ingredients.
