Rowe presents Simply Smoothies
Chef Erin Rowe wanted her audience to know that smoothies can be very healthy and still taste good.
“Simply Smoothies” was the second in a series of cooking demos at Riordan Hall.
Rowe, a Siloam Springs native who now lives in Bella Vista, just published her first book, “An Ozark Culinary History.” Although smoothies are not traditional Ozarks cuisine, the book was available at all her classes.
“Frozen fruit works well in smoothies,” she said as she added frozen strawberries to her blender. Canned and frozen fruit are usually picked at the peak of freshness and processed immediately, so the quality is very good, she said. Using frozen fruit can reduce the need to add ice, so the final product is richer.
She cautioned her audience to use plain yogurt. Her kiwi-strawberry smoothie is made with just the two fruits, some plain yogurt and a little bit of ice. You can add sugar, she said, and that might enhance the taste of strawberries, or just drink it without.
She developed her own recipe for a green smoothie and named it the Maui Green Smoothie in honor of the culinary school she attended in Hawaii. She uses spinach, mango, pineapple and banana.
Use a good chef’s knife to cut the pineapple, she said. The safest way to cut it is to start by chopping off the bottom and creating a flat surface. Curl your fingers slightly to keep them out of the way. Then use the knife to slice off the hard peel, and finally cut off the top. The top, she said, can be planted in a pot and will eventually produce a new pineapple.
Don’t be surprised if the spinach shrinks, she said as she added more half way through the blending process. The green smoothie can be an entire meal, she said.
Her last smoothie was more of a dessert. She used creamy peanut butter, a banana and some chocolate syrup. The syrup, she admitted, adds sugar to the dessert smoothie. The banana keeps it creamy.
Rowe’s next cooking class will feature soups and desserts. It will take place at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 17 at Riordan Hall. Register for the class at Riordan.
Her book features many traditional recipes from the Ozarks, some of which were never written down until she transcribed them. She has one of the winning recipes from the annual Squirrel Cook-Off, as well as the blackberry cobbler recipe from Monte Ne Chicken Inn. But she couldn’t convince the owner of Monte Ne Chicken to share his fried chicken recipe, she explained.
She will sign books sold at her demos, she said.