Buttermilk and Avocado Smoothie

Do you have a horror story about getting your wisdom teeth removed? I just got my two top widsom teeth extracted, as they say, and I was really not looking forward to it, obviously. I'm one of those people who for some strange reason won't listen to sound advice about getting their teeth removed. As a teenager and twenty-something I was told time and time again to get my wisdom teeth removed. Ever the conspiracy theorist, I would refuse, thinking the dentist was requesting my first-born. "You will never get my wisdom teeth," I hissed. Well, years later, now that my forty-year-old teeth are nice and fused to my jaw, I actually had to get them out because they were hurting. So, I'll spare you the details of mine, it went rather quickly, and my recovery has been quick. If you want to share your pain, please go ahead in the comments, by all means!

I got my teeth removed on Thursday. I had to fast ALL day, which is tantamount to torture for me. Particularly because I spend my days with a 2 1/2 year old who grazes on snacks around the clock. Then I was in a Vicodin funk because as much as I like to be anesthetized, that stuff makes my stomach turn so much that it's not worth it. Of course, one of the things you turn to during these times are smoothies. (No straws! Watch out for seeds and rice! Dry socket lurks!) I'd been meaning to branch out to buttermilk smoothies for a while now, and here was my chance.

Buttermilk is something I now have on hand all the time, as it's about the easiest cultured milk product you can make, even easier than crème fraîche. And maybe a little better for you and just as helpful. I bake with buttermilk all the time. I'm so glad that Annette at Sustainable Eats turned me on to it. Another fan of buttermilk is Kate from Hip Girls Guide to Homemaking (who, I just noticed, is having a Baking Illustrated book giveaway right now, btw!). She knows that baking with buttermilk is a wondrous thing. Like buttermilk cake, for example!

There was a nice, ripe avocado on hand, and I thought: avocado smoothie! The syrup I used was from making candied citrus, so it was a mix of oranges and lemons. What was so surprising to me was how whipped buttermilk became after a minute in the blender. It was so lush and creamy, it was almost like pudding, but still drinkable. I'm pondering the pudding idea--maybe I'll add a banana to thicken it. But I do know I'll have another buttermilk smoothie! I had never thought of drinking buttermilk, even though many folks do it. Now I'm a believer.

1/2 avocado
1 cup cultured buttermilk
2-3 tablespoons of lemon syrup (a nice substitute would be agave nectar or honey)

Put it in a blender and whoosh. It's time for dinner!

Smoothie plus garden catalog = winter heaven.

Super Rice Bowl

This is about as close as I get to a post on super bowl anything.

I love sushi, but I don't have it often. And when I do, I have a vegetarian option. What I really crave, aside from the silky beautifulness of high-quality raw fish, is rice and seaweed and ginger and soy. When I get a fix of that, I tend to not miss the fish anymore. And I try to not get all in-your-face political over here, but if people don't stop eating fish, we will not have any more. Period.

So. I recently was given a brand new rice cooker, which I was like wha? Whatever will I do with that? After a great discussion on my Facebook page about it, I gave it a go. And I like it. I mean, I didn't think rice could get any easier, but it did. And easier clean up too. I'll make a few cups of rice in the beginning of the week. I'll heat up a cup of rice for lunch, and add to that a half of a perfectly ripe avocado, seaweed, pickled ginger and a few shakes of soy sauce. You can put anything on it of course: some edamame, an egg, greens, pickles, vegetables chopped in matchsticks, sesame seeds.

The pickled ginger from The Ginger People is addicting, for the record. Steve asked me why I didn't make some of my own, and it's really because I love this stuff so much. I bought a case of it. And the seaweed is Yama Moto Yama seaweed snack chips. I snip them with my kitchen scissors right onto my rice.

I'm sure I'm being very basic here with the add-ons. If you have a great idea, let me know in the comments, would you? This way of eating has been a great way to avoid the lure of grilled cheese sandwiches, so I don't want to tire of it!