Whiteley Creek Homestead

I couldn't begin tell you where my blog hopping began. I don't have a clue. It wasn't a search for smoothies or a drinking straw pennant, but when I spied both on Lesley's Homemade Grits blog, it stopped me in my tracks. Inserted into her "only slightly adapted" version of a pumpkin smoothie that she had gleaned from Angela's Oh She Glows blog… that I am now sharing with my very slight adaptation… was a straw topper that was so dang cute, well I just had to make one. Besides garnering a new recipe and a straw topper, my blog hopping sidetrip turned up a what a small world it is… we are so connected to each other moment. Upon camping out a while on Lesley's blog, I discovered that she had stayed in Serenbe, an idyllic community 35 miles southwest of Atlanta, with her family on Monday, October 17, 2011. We missed crossing paths by three weeks, as Dick and I arrived in Serenbe three weeks later on Monday, November 7, 2011 to stay for two nights. I so enjoyed revisiting Serenbe through her photos. I will share mine in tomorrow's post.

Pumpkin Harvest Smoothie

Yield: one 2-cup serving

1 cup milk (almond, rice, cow, goat… whatever)

¼ cup oatmeal (I omitted. It’s just me. I opted for a bowl of cooked oatmeal.)

1 tbsp chia seeds

½ cup pureed pumpkin

1 tbsp blackstrap molasses*

1 frozen banana

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp ginger

pinch nutmeg

ice, if desired

Soak the oats, milk, and chia seeds for at least an hour or overnight. This aids digestion and creates a smoother consistency. If omitting the oats, five minutes is sufficient to soak the chia seeds. Place all ingredients into a blender and whirl until all ingredients are incorporated. Add ice, if desired.  (As a garnish, I sprinkled raw pumpkin seeds, and candied ginger cut into thin matchsticks on top.) *Blackstrap molasses are a good source of iron, calcium, copper, manganese, potassium, and magnesium.