After my post on Mulberry Muffins few weeks ago, I had a few mulberries at hand and I had to work on them quickly. They seem to have a very short shelf life, so I had to whisk up some thing out of them before they would decay, only to end up in the thrash bin.
I generally end up making compotes & jams from fruits that don't last long. Especially, with fruits like strawberries, mulberries, figs, they seem to work fantastic. Chopped fruits are immersed in sugar and gently heated through till they thicken. I like to season them with vanilla or some spices at times. What's best is that they store well in the freezer for long. I get to use them at my disposal as per my whims and fancies. Just thaw them and they are competent enough to make great toppings on ice creams and panna cotta and provide various fruity dessert options to try.
With a good amount of mulberries at hand, they ended up in a compote again (and probably another few desserts following them ;) ) And if you have guests coming in at the drop of a hat, then they are a great rescue with smoothies like this one. I served them with my Classic Oatmeal Cookies.
The compote and the smoothie are simple, quick and easy. Here's what we need:
I love the elegant purple colors bursting from mulberries. They make it look tempting. I love using soy milk since it's thicker than regular milk. I am a HUGE fan of soy milk and soy products, so I always look for excuses to use them whenever I possibly can!
If you wish to avoid the compote, just ignore the water part in the compote and blend all the ingredients (mulberries, sugar, milk and vanilla) together. The mulberries too have water content in them. Adjust sugar as per your taste. The measurements don't really matter, since it's a choice of individual tastes.
It was strange and funny that when I started photographing this, I got deviated from my focus on the smoothie and ended up with several shots of my soft toy, Gundu (that's what we call him). It was so much fun that I got involved with shooting that guy and finally while sorting out the photographs for editing, I realized I had several shots of this guy and few with my smoothie! So don't be surprised if my Mulberry smoothie has been side lined and you end up seeing more snaps of my Gundu!!! :D I just found it so cute with the teddy pushing his nose up and drinking my smoothie or looking innocently at the camera and my classic oatmeal cookies! I couldn't take my eyes off the photographs! Hope you are not wondering what this thing is doing on a food blog! Aah, isn't he so cute?
I generally end up making compotes & jams from fruits that don't last long. Especially, with fruits like strawberries, mulberries, figs, they seem to work fantastic. Chopped fruits are immersed in sugar and gently heated through till they thicken. I like to season them with vanilla or some spices at times. What's best is that they store well in the freezer for long. I get to use them at my disposal as per my whims and fancies. Just thaw them and they are competent enough to make great toppings on ice creams and panna cotta and provide various fruity dessert options to try.
With a good amount of mulberries at hand, they ended up in a compote again (and probably another few desserts following them ;) ) And if you have guests coming in at the drop of a hat, then they are a great rescue with smoothies like this one. I served them with my Classic Oatmeal Cookies.
The compote and the smoothie are simple, quick and easy. Here's what we need:
Mulberry Smoothie
For the compote:
15-20 large mulberries
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Bruise the mulberries gently using a the back of a fork so that the juices are released. Put the mulberries, sugar and water in a pan and heat them on gentle flame till the syrup thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon. Remove and add in the vanilla essence. Allow to cool and transfer to a clean container. You may freezer this for up to a month.
For the smoothie:
1 tbsp mulberry compote
1 cup chilled soy milk
1 tbsp crushed ice
Blend mulberry compote and the chilled soy milk till they are homogeneous. The compote has vanilla and sugar, so no flavors have been added here. Transfer to a serving glass and top with crushed ice. Serve chilled.
I love the elegant purple colors bursting from mulberries. They make it look tempting. I love using soy milk since it's thicker than regular milk. I am a HUGE fan of soy milk and soy products, so I always look for excuses to use them whenever I possibly can!
If you wish to avoid the compote, just ignore the water part in the compote and blend all the ingredients (mulberries, sugar, milk and vanilla) together. The mulberries too have water content in them. Adjust sugar as per your taste. The measurements don't really matter, since it's a choice of individual tastes.
It was strange and funny that when I started photographing this, I got deviated from my focus on the smoothie and ended up with several shots of my soft toy, Gundu (that's what we call him). It was so much fun that I got involved with shooting that guy and finally while sorting out the photographs for editing, I realized I had several shots of this guy and few with my smoothie! So don't be surprised if my Mulberry smoothie has been side lined and you end up seeing more snaps of my Gundu!!! :D I just found it so cute with the teddy pushing his nose up and drinking my smoothie or looking innocently at the camera and my classic oatmeal cookies! I couldn't take my eyes off the photographs! Hope you are not wondering what this thing is doing on a food blog! Aah, isn't he so cute?
Wowwww.. very very very cute clicks dear.. I love that soft toy. :) And ofcourse the smoothie looks really yummmmm..
ReplyDeleteWow!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteSmoothie looks gr8 along with the toy dear!!!
Awesome clicks :-)
Smoothie looks yum, quiet different from the usual...and very tempting clicks as usual mallika,have a great weekend,take care
ReplyDeleteThanks Nithya, Aruna and Sushma for those wonderful comments. You guys have a fabulous weekend too!
ReplyDeleteWow that look superb! Very lively and tempting pictures!
ReplyDeleteyum yum !! lovely clicks..luved gundu :)
ReplyDeleteaww that is such a cute pic!
ReplyDeletei love the colour of the smoothie too :)
great post!
Thanks Parita and sonu, glad u guys loved the pictures.
ReplyDeleteHey Bigarade, I too love the color of that smoothie!
Wow such cute pics...beautiful MD....smoothie looks yummy
ReplyDeletelovely Pics with a perfect color combination !! Smoothie Looks Gr8 !!
ReplyDeleteHello there...it was so great of you to have visited on my ice-cream post. This was the best way for me to have this opportunity to discover yours.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit...I browsed very quickly for now...I'm kind of rushing today...but promise to be back to get those oatmeal cookies ;o)
If you have a chance...I'll be posting a very interesting story tomorrow.
A pleasure to make your acquaintance.
Flavourful wishes, Claudia
I still haven't found mulberries yet and with every post of yours I want them more and more! These smoothies look dleicious!
ReplyDeletehugs to Gundu. he looks so cute and guess after drinking this yummy smoothie he has become so happy. can see a smile on his face at the last pic.
ReplyDeletesmoothie looks yum..wonderful recipe n lovely clicks...thanks for sharing this...have a nice weekend!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHa ha cute picture of sweet soft toy drinking the smoothie.. I really adored the picture and showed to my son.. he really loved it a lot. So cute and offcourse the healthy smoothie is really yummy!!!
ReplyDeleteLovely picture..as usual..smoothie is very healthy..will try to make it soon..
ReplyDeleteHaha! Very nice photo, love the idea Teddy bear having a gala time. Drink looks refreshing and healthy too, good one MD.
ReplyDeleteHey Mallika.. really nice idea freezing the preserved version of fruits. Thanks. Gundu seems to love his smoothies! :)
ReplyDeleteMallika,
ReplyDeleteGundu is adorable, nice click, i don't get mulberries here. I don't know the taste. It looks really good.
Cookies and the smoothie sound like an awesome combo Mallika!! Me just waiting to come over to gorge on all,OK, some of these sinful goodies u keep posting here.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful, artistic picture :). Looks beautiful !!!
ReplyDeleteMD mulberry smoothie looks very delicious.Nice presentation.I will be on the look for the mulberries.
ReplyDeleteI wish I were that teddy bear sipping away the yummy smoothie! :D
ReplyDeleteI love mulberries and I will remember your recipe when I get a hold of some in Lebanon this summer. Great smoothie!
ReplyDeleteHahaha, I love your 'Gundu' and yeah, like Deepti, I too wish I were Gundu, so I could treated to all your goodies and have pics taken too :) The first picture in the post, is the best if you asked me. Really adorable! And I must say the smoothie looks very comforting :)
ReplyDeleteFabulous pictures..Mulberry smoothie looks yum! Love the color..
ReplyDeleteBeautiful picture MD...Ur gundu is real cute...tat guy is real lucky ya :)
ReplyDeletelove the photos.... :)
ReplyDeleteAwesome and beautiful smoothie, fabulous!
ReplyDeletewowww...how did u get this idea..looks like an Ad' pic..very perfect snap...and the smoothie..what to say...yummy..
ReplyDeletehttp://cookingwithdipika.blogspot.com/
Fantastic presentation.....looks so cute
ReplyDeleteloved the presentation....so cute!
ReplyDeleteGreat clicks.. love the smoothie too..
ReplyDeleteSmoothie looks so refreshing with cute Gundu!!
ReplyDeleteAwesome clicks..looks absolutely amazing..yummy yumm!!
ReplyDeleteyeah the Gundu got to taste but not me ;)
ReplyDelete