Jus Alpukat (Indonesian Avocado Milkshake)

It's time again for the fun of the sweet adventures blog hop! This month's theme is possibly the best theme ever - desserts which use vegetables. Or rather, desserts that use foods which are traditionally considered savoury. I clarify this because, of course, things like tomatoes, cucumbers and avocados are actually fruits. 

The possibilities of this theme made me incredibly excited, however, I had to curb my enthusiasm slightly because I am desperately trying to bake less cakes and eat less desserts. Immediately a hoard of cupcake and brownie ideas sprung to mind - and maybe if I was a fatter person I would have gotten carried away with them. But I exercised a little self constraint and set to thinking of something a tad healthier. I decided I wanted to steer clear of vegetables that I would normally put in desserts - beetroot, sweet potato and pumpkin mainly. Carrot was definitely out - I've already posted carrot cake, carrot pudding and carrot jam!

I decided it would be tomato - a challenge! Discarding my initial idea of tomato basil cupcakes (I will make these one day though!), I set to it and made some Watermelon Tomato Ice Pops. Quite simple - fresh watermelon, fresh tomato, a dash of rum and a touch of sweetener. I thought surely I was onto a winner! Here is how they looked:

Sad news though, they tasted weird. Not awful. Just not that nice. I was very disappointed! I also have a policy on this blog that I don't post things which don't turn out - nobody wants a recipe which is average to bad right? So, out the window they went (not literally), though I'm sure the idea still has potential!

Luckily, I had a backup plan. In my archives ready to go was my creamy Indonesian Avocado Milkshake. Phew, avocado saves the day. You might already know this, but November is Indonesian Food Month on my blog. I put out the feelers on twitter at the start of the month to see if anybody had any suggestions as to which Indonesian dishes I should try and the answer came back - Avocado Milkshakes. I can't argue with that so I went out to buy myself some avocados and set to work. 

I wasn't sure how much I would like it, but I was pleasantly surprised. I'm not going to lie to you, the first sip I thought it was a bit weird but then I finished the glass and went back for more straight away. If you hate avocado, then this is not your shake. If you like avocado, then you really should try this! Avocado is naturally very sweet, and it's rich creaminess makes it perfect for milkshakes.

Ingredients

2 small ripe avocados

2 cups almond milk (or you can use other non dairy milk)

2 tbsp sweetener of your choice (you can use maple syrup, agave or just plain sugar)

2 cups ice

Chocolate sprinkles, for serving.

To Make

1. Scoop the flesh out of the avocados and put in a blender. Add the milk, sweetener and ice. Blend well.

2. Serve sprinkled with plenty of chocolate sprinkles.

Serves 2.

This month I'm featuring lots of amazing recipes from Indonesia!

Check out my other Indonesian recipe posts:

Gado Gado

Triple Threat Coconut Cake

Acar Kuning (Hot, Sour & Sweet Vegetables)

Lontong Paris 
Rujak (Spicy Fruit Salad)
Lawar Ayam (Coconut and Bean Salad)

Rendang Tofu