green smoothie

while we all hold on

(for dear life, sometimes)

to who we are,

i think it's fair to say we become products

of our environment. for me, that means a lot

of things - like lately, my (slight)

obsession with green smoothies.

i had never heard of green smoothies -

much less imagined myself drinking, craving

and researching twists on them - before about

a year and a half ago. one of my coworkers brought

in a smoothie everyday, filled with lots of visible

kale. other people started drinking them. a lot

of people started talking about them. and i kept

thinking, one day, i'll get up the nerve to make one.

i kept it in my head for over a year.

people still drank them, but they didn't talk about

them quite as much. then, in april, i switched jobs

and boom: green smoothies. in my face. all the time.

again. ok, i will make them.

but, i didn't.

until one day, in the middle of may,

i realized that i had almost all of the ingredients

in the house for this one, the smoothie i'm

most commonly faced with. i prepped everything

the night before - i chopped kale, measured spinach,

diced strawberries and sliced dates, even sprinkling

some flax seed in for good measure. the next morning,

i blended the whole thing with a ripe banana and

coconut water, the only acceptable beverage in the house,

and blended. the results were faintly flecked, but overall,

smooth. the mixture, like everyone said,

tasted like bananas. it was pretty good.

for the next few weeks, we set up shop every night.

after dinner, larry would try to clean the kitchen,

and i, as i am apt to do -

stemming kale, hulling strawberries - would

recreate a mess next to him.

the next morning, when larry got up for work,

he would pour a couple cups of coconut milk

(which we found we liked better than the coconut

water when not using a crazy ripe banana) into

the container, add a banana and blend for 2 minutes

before dividing amongst our shiny new smoothie cups.

(mine's the orange!)

his would leave with him. mine would go in the fridge,

ready and waiting for me to fly downstairs, always one

minute later than my 7:20 deadline, and grab it out

of the fridge. it was great - i loved my breakfast,

i felt good about my breakfast and larry was into it, too.

but, then, as i am also apt to do, i got bored.

i wanted to try new things.

so i played around - trying almond milk,

blueberries, mixed berries, no kale, no spinach,

adding ice cubes and more.

i learned this: mixed berries have never been my thing.

but, also, this: i love green smoothies. love 'em.

there aren't many i haven't liked.

but, there's one that has stood out as my favorite.

the one that i wish i could drink every day.

but, i don't because, for many reasons,

it's more of a special

occasion green smoothie.

i can't believe i just wrote that.

this one

doesn't have kale or bananas.

it sometimes uses dates, sometimes agave.

when they're in the house, i add blueberries.

lately, i've been tossing in cubes of melon.

here's what it always features:

baby spinach

an apple or a pear

a couple splashes of almond milk

ice cubes

and a generous half of an avocado.

i haven't been able to decide if i like

apples better than pears. i'm sad that i

discovered the delicious addition of melon

so close to the end of melon season. i'm

very happy that i realized i only need a small

amount of almond milk - just enough to blend

the mess into a cohesive frosty drink - to make

me happy. but, i've made one decision, that i haven't

wavered from since beginning.

i don't measure.

i can't.

early in the morning,

when i need to leave for work and i've

sacrificed my hair time for smoothie time,

the last thing i want to deal with

are measuring cups. honestly,

it annoys me that i have to deal with

a knife and a cutting board. and, by now, i've

gotten pretty good at making a smoothie

that tastes pretty much the same every day.

so, here's what i do. approximately.

i start by placing a huge handful of

baby spinach in the container.

this fills up about half the blender.

then, i large chop an unpeeled apple* or pear,

using all of a small piece of fruit,

or three-quarters of a large piece.

that goes into the blender, too,

pressing down on the spinach.

then, i add about ten cubes of melon,

or a small handful of blueberries.

i spoon in a generous half of ripe avocado**

(and, by this i mean, that when i "halve" the fruit,

i make sure to cut a bigger section for the smoothie)

then, i drizzle in a squeeze or two of agave

(or three chopped pitted dates).

i add two or three splashes of almond milk,

just enough so that i can see about 1/3-inch

of milk on the bottom of the blender.

and, then, before setting the blender to puree,

i top everything with two small

handfuls of large ice cubes.

usually it takes a good 20-30 seconds for

the mixture to start blending. if things don't start

to take shape at that point, i turn the blender off and shake

the container a couple times. if that still doesn't

help everything mix together, i add a little bit

more almond milk. and once everything is combining,

i let the blender run for at least a minute or two, or until

everything is cohesive and smooth.

on the rare days that i've gotten it together

to make my smoothie before i start getting ready,

i've learned that, surprisingly, this mixture

keeps - covered and in the fridge - for at least

a couple hours.

and that's it.

it's green.

it's satisfying.

it makes people ask questions.

(what are you drinking? why are you drinking that?

spinach? avocado? did you lose a bet?)

but, mostly. it makes me immensely happy.***

*you may notice that the apple i used on the day i took pictures was a granny smith. they looked really shiny and beautiful in the store, but i don't recommend using them. they make the smoothies more tart that i like and it would take quite a bit of sweetener to balance it all out.

**don't get me wrong. a fair half of an avocado makes a really good smoothie. but, using a little more than half ensures that the entire thing tastes faintly of avocado. and in my opinion, what's the point of using a good, but expensive and fatty fruit if you're not going to be able to taste it?

***on friday, i made three smoothies - one for me and one for each of my sisters - as a road trip "treat" to drink on the way to our grandmother's house. they drank theirs, but i'm not sure they'd be able to say that these smoothies made them immensely happy. one of my sisters said it took her three sips to realize she liked it, but she came around. i do think they'd say they like them just fine.

snapshot: polenta and spinach soup

i've known for almost two weeks that

that i would have today off.

the whole time, i've thought about

three things:

1) peace

2) no alarm

3) cooking (and taking pictures)

in the daylight.

see, i need some peace (and quiet)

right now. i need a day of waking up

naturally without that horrible beeping

starting at 5 in the morning. and, you

already know, i need a kitchen that lets

in good light. or alternatively, i need to

be home in the middle of the day to take

pictures with natural light.

and, i knew exactly which recipe i had

my eye on: lidia bastianich's

rustic spinach and cornmeal soup

featured in last month's bon appetit.

luckily, i fell asleep to a storm

and woke up - blissfully at 8:30 - to crazy

wind. it was a soup day.

first, i changed the recipe.

instead of tossing raw garlic into the pot

with butter, i sauteed

4 cloves finely chopped garlic

in 1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter over medium heat

until it was lightly golden, stirring most of the time.

while that was happening,

i brought 6 cups low-sodium chicken stock to a simmer.

when both of those were good and ready,

i pulled out a larger pot and stirred together

3/4 cups polenta with 3 tablespoons

all-purpose flour. i ladled in a cup of the

warm broth and whisked like crazy. next,

i added in the garlic,

2 more tablespoons of butter and

a sprinkling of kosher salt.

then, the mixture

seized up and i considered stopping.

see, i'm pretty tired lately.

although up until that point, everything

had been going along swimmingly, that was

almost enough for me to throw in the towel.

but, i didn't. i came to my senses.

i really didn't want to throw it out -

there were four cloves of gorgeously sauteed garlic

in there for goodness sake.

instead, i ladled in more and more stock,

whisking and whisking all the while until it

thinned out. when most of the liquid was in,

i brought the mixture to a gentle simmer and

continued to stir occasionally for the

next 25 minutes. at one point,

it got a little thick and i was glad to have

that extra stock to drizzle in. when the soup

was nicely thickened, but the cornmeal still

had a bit of texture, i added 6 ounces cleaned

baby spinach and 1/4 cup grated pecorino

romano cheese. i seasoned it well with salt

and cracked black pepper and

simmered the soup for just a

couple minutes more, until the spinach

was wilted.

and then, i spooned myself a bowl of this

soup that was somewhat a porridge,

somewhat very soft and runny polenta,

and in my head, the perfect soup for

the perfect quiet day.

*the key to this soup is seasoning. salt and pepper it to your heart's content, tasting along the way. i added the pecorino romano, and sprinkled a bit on top, because that's what i always do with polenta - i'm glad i did. still, even though, i am always about big flavor, this recipe is all about simple comfort. i would imagine that the soup would get a great boost from a squeeze of lemon, blue cheese crumbles or a bit of chipotle in adobo.

one last thing: make sure that you have extra stock on hand for leftovers - the polenta continues to soak up the liquid, thickening as it cools. reheated with a bit of stock would do wonders for the soup-like consistency.

something to count on

i've said before that there are

few recipes that i repeat.

while some plates that come

out of our kitchen are delicious

and worth an encore performance,

there are just too many things

out there for a dish to be

made multiple times.

and with that in mind,

the meals that i do make

with some regularity,

would probably be surprising.

they're most likely not the most

gorgeous

or the most amazing,

but they offer some things

even better:

comfort, security

and a sure bet.

and that's how these

stuffed mushrooms came to be

and why they keep coming back.

one day, years ago,

when i was bored with every

possible dinner idea,

i challenged myself to think

about what foods i not only

enjoy, but actually crave.

and, if i'm being fair, i think

i was also trying to remember

what was in the fridge.

i had a bag of spinach

in the cooler

and sweet potatoes

on the counter.

a strong believer that spinach

should usually be paired with

garlic, the cloves were a given.

with more thought, i decided

that golden sauteed onions

would add sweetness to

the greens.

by the time i had landed on

dicing and roasting the sweet potatoes,

i thought i had a

solid

hearty

easily pairable

side dish.

it was a start. so i headed to

the store to find its main meal match,

hoping for inspiration.

i didn't make it through produce

before spotting large portobello mushrooms,

and realizing that earlier in the day

i had unknowingly created a filling.

and now? i had stumbled upon its vessel.

the first time i made them,

i was cognizant of the fact

that i clearly was not making

these the simplest way possible.

dicing the sweet potatoes

before roasting them,

steaming the spinach,

squeezing it dry,

adding in chopped garlic,

sauteeing the onions,

stirring everything together

with some grated parm

and then stuffing everything

into the large scraped mushroom.

but it was good.

really good. hot and full of flavor

and very fulfilling for being,

well, a vegetable full of vegetables.

and so, through the years, i've

stuck to the method,

sometimes sprinkling some

feta over top before baking

and serving the caps with

with brown rice

or a big salad.

and i know this sounds sort of

dainty or maybe not like something

that a person who loves food would

want to eat, but i will stand by

these mushrooms.

and i think larry will, too.

i haven't made them since blair

came over in the fall,

when i had the wacky idea

to make a couple different kinds

of stuffed vegetables. not in the kitschy

type of way, but more in the hey,

these would probably all taste really

good together - like a veggie tasting plate -

sort of way. blair, larry and i ate

them together. blair, telling larry,

he was lucky - a compliment that meant

so much, i didn't know where to put it.

recently, i saw beautiful, perfectly

round, deep mushrooms in the store -

screaming to be stuffed.

i placed the sweet potatoes into

the oven and started cooking the onions.

larry walked in, and seeing the spinach

and mushrooms on the counter, actually said,

oh! that's exciting, we haven't had these in a while.

my first thought was that it was slightly sad,

a testament to what he is served around here,

that a veggie-stuffed mushroom made him happy.

my second thought was, that, he's right.

they are good.

i think i was distracted,

thinking about it the bizarreness of it all,

but i looked

at the browned onions and garlic

and thought, why do i spend the

extra time dirtying an extra pot to

steam the spinach?

so i tossed it into the onions,

topped it with a lid

and let the greens steam.

a few minutes later,

they were perfectly wilted

and it was so much easier to stir into

the onions. i sprinkled in grated parm,

very proud of myself for eliminating

a step (and quite befuddled as to why

i had never experienced this moment

of brilliance before), and then i saw it:

all the water seeping into

the bottom of the pot.

that's why i don't do this.

the spinach must be drained,

squeezed of all excess liquid or

it will certainly make the whole thing

a wet, soggy mess.

but now the cheese was in

and the onions and - oh,

get over it, i yelled at myself.

i threw a colander in the sink,

poured in the spinach mixture

and pressed.

i was really bummed,

knowing that i was losing

the cheese (the last of what we

had in the house), that no doubt,

i would lose a few onions

and absolutely some garlic.

but once i put the now significantly

dryer spinach mixture back in the

pot and added the sweet potatoes,

i noticed that the filling was not

so much worse for the wear and

in fact, everything was incorporating

much better than usual.

i'm torn about whether this is the right

method, but it worked.

we were out of feta this time,

so we went without cheese on top,

but to be honest,

it wasn't missed.

the onions and sweet potato

still added deep caramelized touches,

the spinach a subtle bitterness

and the parm,

a great creaminess working

to unite all the ingredients.

for us, this mushroom is dinner.

easy,

no worries,

no recipe,

always reliable,

dinner.

but for you,

if you cannot imagine

this acting as a solid meal,

i think it would make an

excellent side dish.

or - and i've never tried this,

but i've often thought about

it - stuffed into cremini mushrooms,

a yummy vegetarian option

for a cocktail party.

or i suppose,

the spinach and sweet potato

mixture could

morph back into

its intended non-filling form:

a hearty side dish.

spinach and sweet potato stuffed portobellas

the more i think about it, the more i realize that although the method doesn't make a whole lot of sense, i think that next time i would make them the same way that i did during the "mistake." i just liked the way that all of the ingredients mixed together. if it's too impractical for you, simply saute the onions and the garlic. steam the spinach separately and when cool enough to handle, squeeze dry, then stir into the onions. also, make sure that you season well with salt and pepper. when you're dealing with simple ingredients like this, the seasoning makes a huge difference. i've made this both ways many times - with peeled sweet potatoes and without - and i've decided i like it both ways, so i'll leave it up to your personal preference.

and one last t thing, i've never used mushrooms that were so round and deep before. usually, i just buy two, large, equally sized shrooms, and often, they lay quite flat. so don't worry if that's all you find.

1 large sweet potato

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 medium sweet onion, peeled and finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped

1 bag (6 ounces) spinach

2 tablespoons grated parm

2 large portobella mushrooms, caps wiped clean with a damp paper towel and stems carefully removed

kosher salt

cracked black pepper

heat oven to 425˚f. peel potato if desired. dice potatoes into evenly-sized pieces. spread out on a foil lined baking sheet, coated with cooking spray. coat potatoes with cooking spray or mist with olive oil. season with salt and pepper. roast 20-25 minutes, or until golden and tender, flipping once. reduce the oven temperature to 350˚f.

meanwhile, in skillet or medium saucepot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. add onions and cook 10 minutes, or until golden brown, stirring often and lowering the flame if they start to burn or brown too quickly. stir in chopped garlic and cook 1 minute. add spinach; cover and steam 2 minutes. remove lid; stir together. stir in cheese. pour spinach mixture into a strainer and let drain, pressing a bit to release excess liquid. return to pot; add roasted sweet potatoes and stir to combine.

meanwhile (yes, there are a bunch of meanwhiles in this recipe), use spoon to gently remove gills from the mushrooms. it will be a bit messy, but worth it. the gills, when left in, not only produce excess moisture, which can make everything runny (thereby negating the fact that you just dirtied your strainer to drain the spinach), but also add bitterness. season the mushrooms with kosher salt and pepper. place mushrooms on foil-lined baking sheet (if the one that you used for the sweet potatoes is in decent shape, there's no reason not to re-use it).

divide filling evenly among mushroom caps. sprinkle with feta or extra parm, if desired. bake mushrooms 25 minutes, or until the filling is hot and the mushrooms are tender.