Go This Way and That

Lassis are not only one of my favorite drinks, I actually count them as small meals. Traditionally made with yogurt, water, salt, and spices, fruit lassis are much the same, but with fruit added instead of salt. The best are mango lassis, made with the small yellow mangoes from Mexico, but in late summer, the local cling stone fruit and fresh berries are too bright and beautiful to pass up.

All I do is put half a cup of fruit, 1/2 cup of plain yogurt or kefir, and 1 cup water into a blender and grind it up. But adjust the ratio depending on how watery your fruit is or how creamy you want your lassi. And remember, if you use fatty yogurt, you'll get the most decadent flavour.

Delicious Combinations: blackberry-strawberry; blueberry-purple plum; mango-melon; mango-nectarine; cherry-almond (fresh cherries with a touch of almond extract).

Sometimes I also throw in an extra little something just to shake the flavor up a bit. My favorites are coconut milk; young coconut water; ground coriander; ground cumin; cinnamon; nutmeg; buckwheat honey; a touch of maple syrup; ground flax seeds.