Subtle House's Cookbook

Prepackage frozen ingredients

Place a 4-cup container on the scale and tare it, with measurements in ounces. Add:

1 whole banana or 5 oz banana pieces
A couple of pieces of pear
Enough frozen berries to make a total of 18 ounces (should mostly fill the container)
1.5 ounces of chocolate chips

This makes enough for a double smoothie batch.

Make smoothies

Fill the blender to the 3-cup line with soy milk. (Make sure the actual level of the milk reaches the line, not just the top of the foam.)
Add 2 scoops protein powder.
Add 1 container of frozen fruit.

Blend on medium-low speed until all frozen ingredients have been at least partly blended; then gradually increase the speed to maximum and flip the turbo switch. At first there will be periods where the lower half of the smoothie churns while the upper half stays still, a central vortex will form and gradually suck in the upper half, and then the vortex will disappear and the upper half will stay still again. Continue blending on turbo until the vortex is constantly present, which means the smoothie has fully amalgamated.

Flip the turbo switch down, turn the speed to zero, and turn the blender off. Pour the smoothies into two large Starbucks cups and add straws and lids. If one is being saved for later, put it in the fridge (not freezer). Wash the blender immediately.

Ingredients

4.5 cups water
1 lb almond meal

Equipment

Vitamix or equivalent high-speed blender
Clean glass jar(s) that will hold 8 cups in total

Steps

1) Prep. Set up the blender base on a very stable surface. Fill the blender jar with water to the 4.5 cup line. Put it on the base. Pour in the almond meal. Make sure the lid fits snugly.

2) Blend. Blend on the highest setting for 4 to 5 minutes or until the mixture is no longer gritty. If the blender shows no sign of moving ("walking") and the lid shows no sign of coming off, you can walk away for a couple of minutes at a time. Note that the long blending time will eventually make the almond cream quite hot; handle with care. Do not overblend or the cream will thicken into whipped cream.

3) Store. Pour the cream into jars. Let it cool, then put lids on the jars. Label the lids and store the jars in the fridge (keeps for 1 week) or freezer (keeps indefinitely). If freezing, make sure there's some space between the jar and the lid for the cream to expand as it freezes. Pint jars are best for freezing so that you'll only thaw the amount you need for whatever you're making.

4) Use. This cream can be substituted for heavy cream in most savory recipes, such as pasta sauces and baked goods. Sweet recipes are hit-or-miss; it might be good for caramels, it might not work at all for whipped cream or ice cream. You can simmer it to thicken it, or add water to thin it. (You're more likely to need to thin it. It's very thick.) If it's gritty, strain it, but ideally it's not.