Faith Gorsky of An Edible Mosaic and Alyssa Brantley of Everyday Maven have struck gold again releasing a third installment of artisanal smoothie recipes in their newest e-cookbook Blend Artisanal Smoothies for Food Lovers, Holiday Volume 1. This latest edition takes the best aspects of Blend: The Basics & Blend: Artisanal Smoothies for Food Lover’s, Summer Vol 1 but with a focus on the warm, cozy, and comfortable flavors of fall and winter. With flavors like Honey Plum Spice, Peppermint Mocha, and Spiced Fall Fig you can’t help but think about gold and auburn leaves crunching under your feet, chestnuts roasting on an open fire, and building snowmen in the back yard. At least these are the memories such flavors will incite if you live in the Northeast like I do.
As soon as I downloaded Holiday Volume 1 it was like deja vu as I took in the breathtaking full color photos taken by Faith. Her photography skills continue to amaze me as she knows how to perfectly capture the nuisances, shades, and tones of the ingredients that make up each smoothie recipe. Like a kid in a candy store my eyes widened with the flick of each e-page as I salivated over which recipe I’d recreate first.
Each smoothie looks absolutely divine. I immediately challenged myself to make every recipe in this Volume just as I did this past summer.
Fortunately it’s a challenge that won’t be too hard to fulfill since Holiday Volume 1 has only 10 smoothie recipes to choose from. Although brief in length these smoothies are not run of the mill. Faith and Alyssa took great care to craft truly artisanal smoothies using whole, clean, and real ingredients. Caramel, butterscotch, chia seeds, ginger, flaxseed, toasted pecan, and honey are just a few of the ingredients that make up many of these recipes.
These flavor combinations are built from the ground up so to speak with each ingredient complementing the one that came before it.. Some of the extracts may be hard to find locally in some areas but with sites like Amazon and Vitacost any ingredient you can’t find in your local grocery is only a mouse click away. But don’t worry these recipes are still simple and easy to follow. Even more so if you follow the tidbits and suggestions found in Blend: The Basics
So far I’ve recreated two smoothies found in Holiday Volume 1. Apple Pie allowed me to enjoy the flavors of a dutch apple pie without the guilt or calories of the real thing. Best of all I got to have my pie for breakfast. That’s right. Apple pie for breakfast is ok as long as it’s served like this.
Likewise when I whipped up the Gingerbread Coffee I pretended I was in one of those fancy and expensive coffee shops right in the comfort of my kitchen. They even include a recipe for Whipped Coconut Cream. Who says you have to be a kid to play make believe?
I could go on. But there is no need. If I haven’t sold you on this e-cookbook thus far then I suppose no review will. I’ve been a fan of both of these ladies as well as their respective food blogs for quite some time. Their attention to detail and left field yet simple and classic approach to smoothie making is truly remarkable. This review comes honest straight from my heart just like the recipes contained within this e-book.
So what are you waiting for? Click here or the book cover photo above and purchase a copy for yourself and a friend or two. Have a smoothie making party! Take my 1 a day smoothie making challenge! With only 10 recipes it will only take you 10 days. Then you can start all over again. Better yet you can buy Summer Volume 1 and make all of those smoothies as well.
Whatever you do purchase this e-cookbook. I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Rating 4.5/5
