Adzuki Bean Smoothies


Everyone seems to be coming back from trips to Japan lately ... skiing holidays in Hokkaido, visits to friends in Tokyo ... and it's making me wish I was heading there. For mochi. Sushi. Cherry blossoms. People who never make you feel like a stranger.

I lived in Japan 10 years ago ... only for 3 months, but I actually had an apartment in a village on the train line from Kyoto. I had a gym membership, woven bamboo flooring and a futon bed.
I soaked in hot onsen baths with little old ladies and drank profuse amounts of green tea. I learned how to make my own bagels, out of desperation, and in a convection microwave. I took long bike rides through tea fields and forests and marvelled at how you can step out of urban Japan into rice paddies within a few seconds. I spent $5 on one glorious pear once. I furnished my apartment from the things other people were throwing out ... nice things ... (things that really shouldn't have been thrown out). I took the train to Nara and explored the temples, drank from a fountain for longevity, ate fish-shaped pancakes stuffed with custard, just wandered.

Japan taught me some key lessons about food. Simplicity, beauty, freshness. That grocery shopping in Japanese can make for some - er - interesting surprises. And also that adzuki beans make for great desserts.

Or, in this case, smoothies.
Happy daydreaming!
Amanda xx

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Adzuki Smoothie
serves 2

The time
5 minutes

The ingredients
2 large frozen bananas (or 3 small) - peeled and chopped
1 dried fig
1/2 cup canned adzuki beans
2 cups milk*

*I bet coconut milk would be lovely, too!

The process
Blend!

The cost
My organic smoothie cost me $1.25-ish per person. Full of protein and happiness.

Comments

  1. What a beautiful experience you have shared. I would never have thought to use adzuki beans in this way. Thanks heaps for sharing.... Hope you are well and the wedding plans are coming along x

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  2. HI! I just wrote a post about you as my blog love, you can see it here- http://mynameispepper.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/blog-love-easy-peasy-organic.html
    thanks for rocking my blog world!
    Pepper x

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  3. How lovely. Sounds as if 3 months in Japan provided you with a lifetime of experience and memories. Once again, I had to look up an ingredient (adzuki beans). So, you see how educational your blog is! Thank you.

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  4. so beautiful! Hope you are well and the wedding plans are coming along x

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  5. oh how beautiful. I always crave japanese when i need something fresh and simple. YUM.

    ReplyDelete

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Thanks for commenting! Amandaxx