From the pantry: dried plum smoothie
This is one of those times I feel the urge to say “work with me, people.” Today is another installment of cooking from the pantry with my friend Danielle, and I’m about to use one of my favorite pantry staples in an unconventional way. It’s breakfast, and I think that eating cereal from the cupboard is not really embracing the challenge, do you?
I rediscovered my love of smoothies not too long ago, working on a project for Quaker, a brand dear to my heart ever since I worked with them way back in the 1990s. I made a ginger pear oat smoothie, and loved the fresh pungent flavor of the ginger, which required a little a lot more time in the blender to make it smooth and silky because of the fibrous nature of the little rhysome.
So extra blender time got me thinking about other flavors I love, and I decided to try a dried plum smoothie. Dried plums got such a bad rap as prunes that they changed their name. Not quite like going into the culinary witness protection program, but still. It never made much sense to me — when I go to France I order almost anything named aux pruneaux and my wish is that Americans take a fresh taste of prunes and enjoy the bold sweetness.
So while I wouldn’t normally think of prunes, er, dried plums, as a smoothie ingredient, it turned out rather well. Thanks, Danielle, for encouraging me to bust out of my boundaries.
Dried plum smoothie
Makes three cups, enough for a generous breakfast for two
1 cup milk
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/3 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup dried plums
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
6 ice cubes
Whirl everything a blender for about five minutes until smooth and creamy.
Recipe and photo compliments of Janine MacLachlan, www.RusticKitichen.com. All rights reserved.
Previously on “from the pantry”
Improv pasta with almonds, peas and white beans
Tags: smoothie oatmeal prunes