BLACKBERRY SMOOTHIE: Bee Pollen Bliss for the Morning Blues

I just got a blender, and it's a whole new world! Mostly I've discovered how much I like smoothies. They make me so happy. Who knew?

As it turns out, my blender came into my life at the perfect time. I'm trying to kick the coffee habit, and I'm looking for some new morning pick-me-up's of the less addictive kind.

So far, the smoothie is doin' the trick! When hitting the snooze button, the thought of my smoothie comes to mind, helping me to hit snooze just 3 times instead of my usual 5.

My favorite combination these days is a real simple one, but I sure like it:

• 2 cups of frozen blackberries (usually a little less than half a bag)
• 1 & 1/2 bananas (or just 1 is fine too)
• a little shake or squeeze of sweetener (I've been using agave lately)
• about a half teaspoon of bee pollen (good for energy)

That's it. It's super thick, which gives it a kind of ice cream-y quality. It's true luxury in the form of a healthy morning drink.

And I have to say, it's absolutely addictive (in a good way)!

POMEGRANATES: Inspiration for a Fall Fanatic

One reason why fall is the best? Pomegranates! As long as they're in season, I try to eat one a day. They're my favorite right now. I just ate two of them, and they were perfect. I wish I had another one. Ah well, tomorrow then!

When first introduced to pomegranates, I was a little intimidated. They were so beautiful, so tasty, and maybe the most special fruit I had ever seen. Yet as a novice, the pomegranate also appeared to be a high-maintenance fruit. Thinking about splitting it open, the red juice dripping all over, and separating the billions of little seeds tucked into layers of pith, seemed like a lot to maneuver in order to eat some fruit. I just wasn't so sure. But I dove in anyhow, picked it up fast, and soon became a pomegranate-lifer and in turn, a fall enthusiast.

I'm all for the slow-and-steady, peel-n-eat method. Just plucking out seed by lil' seed, and eating them up along the way. When I'm in certain moods, this bit-by-eensy-bit way of eating pomegranates can be one of my main reasons for enjoying the fruit. When I was in the habit of working through my lunch break, I would be so grateful on the days that I remembered to bring a pomegranate with me. It meant that I would be forced to slow down and take some time for myself. And I savored every moment of time that it took to peel and eat the fruit. So mellow.

Then of course, there's the on-the-go pomegranate snack. This approach comes in handy for a gal or guy who's on the move. When going this route, I quickly cut up my pomegranate into fourths, put the pieces into a Tupperware container, and then chomp into each section as I would an apple. Delicious! As a disclaimer, this method has the potential of being a little messy. I've definitely sacrificed having red juice spots on my outfit for the day as the price for being able to eat my pomegranate in a jiff. But the way I see it, if it's not one of my favorite shirts, it's all good, as long as I make my bus on time.

I gotta say, the newest way I've learned to eat pomegranates is now my #1 go-to method - the soak-n-float style. Simply fill a medium-sized bowl halfway with water. Cut the pomegranate into fourths. Put the sections into the bowl of water. With your hands in the water, remove all of the seeds. The seeds sink to the bottom of the bowl, and the pith floats to the top. Just skim off the floating bits that you don't want to eat, and pour the bowl over a strainer to catch your prized seeds. The work is done fairly fast, and the water keeps your hands from getting stained. Sometimes I like to prepare a bunch of pomegranates at once this way. This leaves me with plenty of seeds to keep in the fridge for a couple of days, for throwing on salads, or just grabbing as a snack, saving me from doing the work every time I get the hankering for some pomegranates.

So bundle up, put on a scarf, and eat some pomegranates as you decide how you're going to carve your pumpkin this year. Happy fall!

BREAD PUDDING WITH FRESH FRUIT: Sweet Solution

I usually remember that I need to buy milk right after I've made my coffee, fifteen minutes before I need to leave for work. So it's on a regular basis that I get my milk at the 7-11 across the street from my apartment. But 7-11 only sells organic milk in the big containers. As I stand there in the fridge section, trying to hustle out of there, I always go over the same mini argument in my head: Do I buy the organic in the humongous container that I'm either going to have to use up somehow or waste, or buy the itty-bitty container of conventional milk that's the perfect size? I don't buy everything organic, but I really do try to with certain foods, and milk is one of them. So even though I pretty much only use milk in my coffee, the enormous organic carton wins out time and time again.

I've been wanting to figure out how to use up extra milk every week. I've been making pancakes, and those are good, but the truth is, I'm not always in a pancake mood. So I recently decided to try my hand at making bread pudding. The ingredients were pretty basic; I used the rest of my big ol' thing of milk, a bunch of fruit that was just about to go bad, extra cream and eggs I had leftover from a different baking project, and the sliced bread that I keep in my freezer. The final result... good stuff! Better than pancakes!

This was the first time that I made bread pudding. To make the recipe, I mostly went by look and feel. I glanced quick at a couple of cookbooks just to make sure that I was on the right track, but sometimes I just don't feel patient enough to completely read through a recipe.

One of the main things I picked up on is to make sure that there is a lot of milk for the bread to soak up, not just a little bit. Some of the books said to heat the milk up first and then soak the bread and blah blah blah, but I had stuff to do besides make bread pudding, and I didn't have time for all that. I was a little nervous that I would risk ruining ingredients, and then have to throw away food or eat food that I didn't like. But I made up my mind and decided that this bread pudding was going to work out and that was that.

Since the ingredients in this recipe were based on the this-and-thats in my fridge, it will most likely be somewhat different next time.

Ingredients (this time around):
(makes 1 full and hearty 9x11 dish)

• 4 cups milk
• 1/2 pint heavy cream
• 5 eggs
• 5 tablespoons butter
• 12 slices sourdough bread, defrosted
• 1 cup cherries
• 2 nectarines
• 5 apricots
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Putting Together the Puddin':

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Melt the butter and set aside to cool.
3. Cut the bread into about 1-inch squares.
4. Chop up the fruit.
5. In a really big bowl, mix the milk, cream, eggs, sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon together well.
6. Add the bread, fruit, and cooled butter into the bowl and stir.
7. Butter a 9x11 baking dish, and pour the bread pudding mixture into the dish.
8. Put the dish in a larger baking dish, filling the outer dish with hot water, coming up to about 1/2 of the height of the inner dish. I used a large aluminum baking pan that I could mold to be the size I needed it, and then I placed the whole production on a baking sheet for added support. (I think this step is important for cooking the eggs and milk in a thorough and gentle way, although I'm not certain that it's completely necessary.)
9. Pop it in the oven and bake. Check it after 45 minutes. It will probably bake for about an hour, or maybe a bit longer. Check for doneness by pricking the bread pudding with a sharp knife, and testing to see that it comes out clean, or nearly clean, with the center of the pudding still a little wobbly.

Mellow, simple, and humble food--to me, fresh fruit bread pudding is perfect-tasting. It is a great thing to have around the house, and it doesn't last long! It was nice to have it on hand, not only as a treat for myself, but to give away to friends.

Wonderful for snacking and entertaining, it's so good to know that bread pudding is only a few cups of extra milk away!