Blueberry Smoothie

Its May and summer still feels quiet far away. The weather department is predicting this month to be the coldest May in 100 years. I can see why. Usually, the trees start shooting young leaves by mid April. There are no signs of the young leaves till date - atleast on most of the trees.

We've had 2 weeks of beautiful sunshine in March. I hope that's not the end of winter for this year. I agree the days are getting longer - which is the only sign of Spring / Summer. But with the temperatures still in single digits on most days, I just don’t see any sign of Summer.

I love Summer for various reasons; the weather being the main reason - quiet obvious isn't it? One of the other reasons is that we get different kind of berries. I love the berries for their "tanginess". I remember getting Strawberries in Hyderabad used to be so tough. It was almost treated like a delicacy.

When I came to UK, I was amazed at the different kind of berries available. I tried out all the varieties and liked all of them. Overtime, I stuck to Strawberries and Blueberries. I bought a box of Blueberries from Costco about 10 days back and left it in the fridge. I was too busy with so many other things (which definitely didn’t involve the blog as you can see), I didn't eat them.

Yesterday, I decided its time to use them up before they spoil. So I made this Blueberry Smoothie which was really yummy. It gets done in a jiffy and its soooo tasty. I am sure you can add other fruits to make it more healthy – but because my aim was to finish the blueberries, I didn't add any other fruits.

Serves: 2

Ingredients
2 cups Blueberries - washed
250 ml Curd - beaten
2 tbsp Honey – to taste
Water / Milk for consistency

Method

1. Take all the ingredients except water / milk in a blender and blend to a creamy consistency.
2. Add water / milk and blend to get the desired consistency
3. Pour into glasses and serve immediately.

This goes to the following events:
Srivalli's Kids Delight guest hosted by Nupur
Radhika's Lets Cook #15 - Fruits
Sumee's Bon Vivant #4 – Fruits
Chandrani's Spotlight – Fruits
 

Spiced Hot Chocolate

Winter's definitely here. Today was a cold & frosty wintery day. It was bright at the same time and V was like "Look Mummy... Sun is out". Little does he understand that Sun doesn't necessarily mean warm. And there's no point in explaining it to him.

Given a choice, we would've stayed at home the whole day. But it was a very close friend's b'day so we went to visit her. Its been sometime since we went to her place so we were just sitting and chatting. V was busy with their cat. :).

He tried to get the cat to move but it wouldn't budge. Finally when it did get up, V ran away and climbed the sofa. That's the proof he's my son - I am petrified of pets as well. I don't hate animals - definitely no. Just scared.

Back at home, I wanted to drink something hot and spicy after the cold outing. I made this Spiced Hot Chocolate and P and me absolutely loved it. I am sure this is going be a regular in our house during these winter months.

Serves: 1

Ingredients
200 ml Milk
3 tsp Drinking Chocolate Powder
1/4 tsp Cinnamon Powder
1/4 tsp Red Chilli Powder
Sugar to Taste

Method

1. Mix all the ingredients in a microwave safe mug / cup.
2. Microwave high for 1 and 1/2 minutes.
3. Mix well and enjoy.

Note 1: My MW is 1000W and this time is just right for me. Adjust the time according to your microwave.
Note 2: The Cinnamon Powder didn't dissolve completely. If I try a variation, I'll post it here.

This goes to the following events:

Kalyani's Magic Mingle #1 - Chillies and Cinnamon
 

Srivalli's Chocolate Mela

Srav's Cooking Concepts #6 - Chocolate Fest