peanut butter banana smoothie

• 2 bananas
• 1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1 scoop frozen vanilla yogurt
• milk

Place everything but milk in blender and begin to pulse. Slowly add milk and continue pulsing until you have a thick smoothie consistency.

The dish: I met Kim the Friday night before a Saturday St. Patrick's day. We hit it off pretty well and wanted to hang out again, but both had plans for the next day; she was going to a math conference and I was going to New York to drink green beer (telling?). We made plans to meet Sunday for lunch. In the beginning of a relationship when you know so little about someone, where they pick to eat can be pretty telling. I wasn't sure what to expect but was shocked when I met her out and she asked "do you like sandwiches". Turns out she wanted to take advantage of some unseasonably warm March weather and grab a quick lunch and go for a hike. The first sandwich shop we went to was closed on Sundays, so we ventured to the next. We wound up at Rocket Wraps (get a website people!!), where we had some kind of rolled up sandwich and smoothies. To this day, whenever Kim can find a reason to go there, she returns and she always has a peanut butter banana smoothie. We had some bananas that needed to be used and a new appliance to play with, so we came to the mutual conclusion that we should try to duplicate Rocket Wrap's concoction. I liked it, but really don't have the intimate knowledge of the real thing that Kim does, but she loved it. It was a perfect treat on a warm day and sharing the smoothie in our red kitchen brought back good memories of enjoying one together when we barely knew one another on that sunny day in March.

mushroom pate

• portobello mushrooms
• fresh basil
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream

Saute mushrooms in a little olive oil over a medium flame until tender. Place cooked mushrooms and basil in food processor, pulse while pouring in heavy cream. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with basil and serve on crackers or crusty bread.

The dish: Before you say anything, I know pate has an accent on it, but I'll be damned if I can find one on my keyboard. I've mastered such things in my word processor, but when I cut and paste from there to here, the result is something of a cross between hieroglyphics and Mandarin Chinese. Just know that when I'm typing this I'm saying pate correctly in my head, even if winds up looking like it would rhyme with rate. Regardless, this was a tasty and easy way to use up a few nice mushrooms, as well as play with my relatively new food processor. I should have hit the pulse button once or twice more as this was a little chunky for pa-tay, but it was delicious no less.

basic hummus

• 2 cans garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 tablespoons tahini (sesame paste)
• cumin
• adobo
• fresh cilantro
• juice of one lemon
• pita chips

Place all ingredients but pita chips in food processor, pulse until smooth. Serve with pita chips.

The dish: There are times when I see some truth in the old saying "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree", and then there are other times I think that my family's tree must be planted at the top of a large hill in an area that's prone to heavy winds. I was thinking this over just recently when my parents joined Kim and I for a weekend away in Wilkes-Barre PA to see The Royal Scam, the best Steely Dan tribute band out there. I invited the rents figuring that my dad would love to go as he went to King's College in Wilkes-Barre and has been a fan of Steely Dan for longer than I've been alive. My mom is not a fan of SD and for that reason alone I felt the hill next to the orchard grow steeper and the winds strengthen. Kim and I decided to make a pit stop in Scranton to look at fireworks (we didn't by any silly, that would be illegal) and have lunch at one of the last surviving Ground Round restaurants remotely within driving distance. The Ground Round holds lots of happy memories for us and we were so taken with nostalgia that I asked our waitress if we could purchase the ramekin our spinach dip came in as a memento. She happily brought us out our little dish wrapped up and ready for travel, a gift from everyone at the Scranton Ground Round. Later that night at the River Street Jazz Cafe (an awesome place to see a show with great music, food and staff), we all agreed that the plate that held our delicious hummus was unique. I must have gotten wrapped up in Steely's melodies after that, because next thing I knew our waitress was bringing out our dish wrapped up and ready to travel back to New York. Turns out my mom asked the same question I had a few hours earlier and the good folks at the jazz cafe were happy to see their plate go to a good home. Playing with my new food processor, hummus seemed like an obvious thing to make and what better way to photograph it then using the dish and the ramekin that suggests my family tree might just live in a flat orchard with only a gentle breeze.

strawberry banana smoothie

• 2 bananas
• 1 lb of strawberries, stems removed
• 1/2 cup fat free vanilla flavored yogurt
• 1/2 cup skim milk

Peel bananas and cut in half, place in blender. Add strawberries and yogurt, begin to blend. Add in milk as machine is on until desired consistency is reached. Serve cold.

The dish: 2009 has been a crazy year. Way back in December I got an awesome Christmas gift; a Cuisinart Duet blender and food processor. I'm ashamed to say that up until recently it was sitting in its original box just begging me to break it out. I finally got around to playing with it (it had instructions on how to remove it from the box) and I'm loving it. Expect to see a few more recipes that pour out of its glass blender jar or get chopped in its processor. I think I might be a little late in hopping on the whole smoothie craze, but I'm going to make them all summer and maybe even pour a little spirits in one or two.