Summer Smoothie

Something about strawberries just makes me think of summer. And apparently America, because that bowl of strawberries up there...eating them felt like the most patriotic thing I did all day on the Fourth of July (although, I did check out the Annapolis fireworks).

By themselves, strawberries are juicy, sweet, and pretty much the best fruit on the planet, besides maybe mangos. Okay, they're in a tie. But nothing beats fresh strawberries in the summer. Just by themselves. Or in a smoothie...so refreshing on a hot day.

I don't normally post my food here...and that's not because I don't love food...believe me, I do. But I'm not creative in the kitchen. I think we all have our areas where we feel comfortable to let loose and can envision and produce a fabulous end result. All I envision when I walk into a kitchen to prepare a meal is the mountain of dishes that will take up residence in my sink (where to such mountains come from???) just as the meal is ready to eat. The more creativity required, the bigger the mountain, so I usually don't get too creative.

Except when it comes to smoothies. They speak to me. And on hot summer days, mmmm....there's nothing better. Last week, as I was making my yummy breakfast smoothie, I didn't have enough almond milk to make a full drink. I had already added all of the fruit, and it was not blending correctly because the liquid/solid ratio was not right. I didn't know what to do...until I opened the fridge and saw the holy grail of smoothie ingredients glowing and shooting sparkles at me.

Pineapple juice.

I added a dash, just enough to bring my tasty treat back to equilibrium. The blender whirred and when it finished, I put the cup to my mouth and...tasted heaven in a glass.

I won't be selfish and keep this all to myself, so if you would like to give it a go, here is the recipe:

• almond milk
• strawberries (i use frozen because 1 - no ice is required and 2 - they last a lot longer)
• banana
• pineapple juice (i know we haven't talked about my obsession with Trader Joe's, so I'll just leave it at THIS IS THE BEST PINEAPPLE JUICE, LIKE, EVER)

I don't believe in measurements (which would explain a lot about my cooking and the end result - although I promise that you pretty much can't screw up this smoothie), so just follow these instructions.

1. Fill the glass about half full with the almond milk.
2. Cut up a banana into chunks, add to glass. Add frozen strawberries until there are one or three that aren't covered by the almond milk.
3. Add pineapple juice until all of the fruit is underwater.
4. Blend until smooth-ish. I love my immersion blender - makes it soooo easy and perfect for 1-2 servings. And saves my sink from lots of dishes.
5. Drink it up!

Happy weekend everybody :o)