A Hint of Spice

Are you Confused with the Title.....thinking what is A-O? Well why worry when I am here.A-O is a abbreviation for Anti Oxidants and what are berries full of if not Anti Oxidants? Therefore the title is so apt-A glass full of antioxidants which is Delighful.
This is such a simple beverage to make and it gives you an instant kick of freshness and energy with a lot of flavor.

Ingredients
3-4 servings
1/2 cup Blueberries
1 cup Strawberries
1 Banana
1 and 1/2 cups Milk
1/2 cup Vanilla or Strawberry Yogurt
1 tblsp Vanilla or Strawberry Icecream(optional...if you wan't the smoothie more richer and creamier)
Few Ice cubes (to make the smoothie more frosty and thicker)

Directions
1.Chop all the fruits roughly and with 1/2 cup of milk blend it to a paste.
2.Once you get the fruit puree ,add the rest of the ingredients including the ice cubes and give it a swirl.
'njoy!!!

                        Although its not officialy summer yet,its really hot here in Charlotte.Some people may say the heat is nothing compared to Indian Summers ,but believe me you really need something to cool yourself.We prefer Shakes,Smoothies and Lemonade any day over carbonated drinks.You have so many options for Shakes etc......that if you have all the ingredients,you don't have to repeat any for a week(unless you have a favorite).
     The Banana Milkshake is such a simple recipe,but really yummy and you can have so many variations.This is one way to sneak milk and fruits at the same time into kids.If you have a young(or old) picky eater,believe me you can sneak so many calories in these shakes and no one is wiser.If you are watching calories,again you have variations you can follow.
3 tsps sugar
1 tsp Vanilla Essence
Blender
Tall Glasses

DIRECTIONS
1.Place the Banana pieces,2-3 tblsp of milk,sugar and Vanilla essence in the blender.Cover and blend the shake until smooth and there are no banana pieces left.
2.Add the remaining milk and ice cubes and blend it once more for a minute,till the Shake has uniform consistency and is smooth.
3.Pour the Shake into glasses and serve.
'njoy!!!

With Ice Cream

INGREDIENTS
1 Banana
1 Cup Milk
3 Scoops Vanilla Icecream
1 Tsp Sugar
4-5 ice cubes
Blender
Tall Glasses

DIRECTIONS
1.Place the Banana Pieces,1-2 tblsp Milk,Sugar and Ice cream in the Blender.(You can increase or decrease the amount of Icecream to change the consistency of Shake and according to your Taste.)
2.Blend for 45 seconds until the shake is smooth.
3.Add the ice cubes and remaining milk and blend till it has uniform consistency.
4.Serve Chilled.
'njoy!!

VARIATIONS
1.For a Picky Eater or an Underweight Person:-Along with Icecream,you can add 1 tblsp of whipping cream for every glass of milkshake.Also instead of sugar you can add 1 tblsp of honey.There are times when dietician's suggest protein powder or whey powder being added to our meals.This is the best way to mask the taste of these powders.One more way to make it a fattening milkshake is to use Whole milk instead of 2% milk or 1% Milk.All these tips ,I am giving from personal experience.My son was underweight and his dietician had given me all these tips for him to gain weight.
2.Plain Yogurt and Lemon Juice add an extra tang to the Milkshake.For this variation,replace 1/4 cup of milk with 2-3 tblsp of plain yogurt.
3.Instead of Plain yogurt you can also add Vanilla Yogurt.
4.Give the shake tropical twist with Pineapple,Mangoes and Coconut.Just add the fruit pieces with Banana pieces and for coconut you can add 1-1 1/2 tblsp coconut cream.Add the coconut cream at last and then just blend for 30-40 seconds.It's important not to blend the coconut cream for more time otherwise,the coconut cream will start leaving oil.That's ickky taste.
5.You can also add strawberries to give it a classical strawberry-banana taste.             

When you hear or read the word "Bread",the image that pops up is a loaf of bread...for me it is sandwich bread.Banana bread is a bread that contains mashed yellow Bananas.The difference in the baking technique of a Banana bread and any other loaf of bread is that in Banana Bread the leavening agent is Baking Soda instead of Yeast.
             There are many versions of Banana Bread available.Some us sour cream,some use eggs,some don't.Some recipes use brown sugar and egg whites.I tried many recipes but none came up to par.Then last summer my sister-in-law baked her special Banana Bread and ....you had to see it to believe it.My DH was fighting everyone else for every single slice.It was so moist & ......(wait guys my mouth is watering).I baked a batch of this wonderful banana bread ,as a "Thank You" gift for the wonderful staff at Tanvir's pediatrician's and it was an instant hit.
   In case you are wondering what does "Hap's" mean.....that's my sister-in-laws  sweet small name.She is known to everyone as Harpreet.The credit of this recipe goes to her.

3 Ripe Bananas (the riper, the moister the bread!)
2 Eggs
1.5 cups Flour
1 tsp of Flour(for Walnuts)
4 oz. Butter (room temperature)
1/2 cup Chopped Walnuts
1.5 cups Sugar
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract (optional)
Pinch of Salt
1/4 tsp Cinnamon powder
Additional Butter for baking dish

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 degree Faranheit.
1.Sift flour,cinnamon powder and baking soda together and reserve.
2.Roughly chop the walnuts and roll them in 1 tsp of flour.This ensures that the walnuts don't sink to the bottom when you mix them in the batter.

3. In another bowl, stir sugar, eggs, vanilla, and butter until they are mixed well.
4..Incorporate flour, and stir until smooth.
5.Mush bananas with a fork and stir into batter.
6.Then add nuts and stir well.(Reserve few walnuts for sprinkling on top)
7. Butter two loaf pans (or other baking dish if you don't have a loaf pan) and pour in batter.
8.Sprinkle the reserved walnuts on the top of the batter.
9.Bake for about 55 minutes.Start checking the bread for doneness after 45 minutes.This is becuase the baking time varies from one oven to another.The banana bread is baked when the tip of a knife or toothpick comes out clean and dry.
10.Let cool off for about ten minutes and then remove from baking dish. You can serve this warm or room temperature.
'njoy!!!

This was my Entry for the cooking event Fruits,hosted by the orkut community IHM.


TIPS:-
1.The same batter can be used to make choclate chip banana bread.Just mix Choclate chips instead of walnuts.
2.The same batter can be used to make banana muffins.Send those as treats to your kids school or as Food gifts.
3.Prepared Banana bread freezes well,(if by any chance you have any left,which I seriously doubt).So when you are next making a loaf, just make some more, pack it tight and freeze it. Afterwards you can use it anytime you decide. It makes a great hostess present to take along when you're invited to somebody’s house.