Purple Smoothie — The Color That Brought Iloilo Home

The middle of Simbang Gabi. Five mornings done. Four to go. Lourdes has not missed one. She is exhausted by Sunday afternoon. She naps in her chair. She is seventy-three and she is keeping the schedule of her younger self.

I am sleeping less. The 4:30 AM wakings on Mass days plus the regular shifts plus the kitchen are stacking up. Dr. Reeves noticed in our session. She said, "Grace. You are running hot." I said, "It is December." She said, "December is not an excuse." She made me promise to take an actual day off this week — no Mass, no shift. I promised. The promise was a lie. I confessed in the next session. Dr. Reeves laughed. She said, "Grace, you are incorrigible." I said, "I know. I am Filipino. We do not rest. We die." She said, "Don't die." I said, "I won't. I have a Christmas to cook through." We laughed.

I made puto bumbong on Sunday — the purple sticky rice steamed in bamboo tubes, served with butter and grated coconut and brown sugar. Puto bumbong is the Simbang Gabi food. Puto bumbong is what they sell outside the churches in the Philippines after the dawn Mass. Puto bumbong is what Lourdes has not had in forty-one years because Anchorage does not have a Filipino vendor outside the church at five AM. I bought the special purple rice from H Mart. I bought the bamboo steamer. I made the puto bumbong. I brought it to Lourdes after Mass on Tuesday morning. She took one bite. She closed her eyes. She did not speak for two minutes. She said, "It tastes like Iloilo." She said, "Anak, you have brought Iloilo to Anchorage." She cried. She rarely cries. The puto bumbong was the door. The door opened.

After Tuesday morning’s Mass, after Lourdes cried and called me anak and said the puto bumbong tasted like Iloilo, I wanted to hold onto that color — that deep, bruised purple of the sticky rice — in whatever way I could. I am not always able to source the special glutinous rice, and the bamboo steamer does not come out every day, but this purple smoothie gives me that same visual anchor on the mornings I need it: something vivid and grounding before a 4:30 AM waking, something that says the color matters, the intention matters, Lourdes matters.

Purple Smoothie

Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Total Time: 5 minutes | Servings: 2

Ingredients

• 1 cup frozen blueberries
• 1/2 cup frozen blackberries
• 1/2 cup frozen taro or ube (purple yam), if available — or substitute frozen acai
• 1 medium banana, frozen
• 3/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk
• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon honey, or to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger (optional)
• Pinch of fine sea salt

Instructions

1. Combine. Add the frozen blueberries, blackberries, ube or acai, and banana to a blender.
2. Add liquids. Pour in the coconut milk and add the Greek yogurt, honey, vanilla extract, ginger (if using), and salt.
3. Blend. Blend on high for 45—60 seconds until completely smooth and deeply purple throughout. Scrape down the sides if needed and blend again briefly.
4. Taste and adjust. Taste for sweetness and add a small drizzle more honey if you prefer. If the smoothie is too thick, add coconut milk one tablespoon at a time and blend again.
5. Serve immediately. Pour into two glasses. Serve right away for the best color and texture — this smoothie is brightest and coldest fresh from the blender.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 220 | Protein: 7g | Fat: 7g | Carbs: 35g | Fiber: 5g | Sodium: 85mg