Hot hot hot!!! If you immediately thought of the Cure song, you and I are obviously of the same era. I’m not here to wax nostalgic over great 80’s bands, though- just to share with you one of my favorite beverages for hot weather. It contains fresh, juicy Apples, crunchy Celery, ice and milk. Sounds good, doesn’t it? It is good- taste-wise, and for you.

If, like my mother, you’re lactose intolerant, feel free to substitute the regular milk with soy milk, rice milk, or no milk at all! That’s right, this still tastes awesome with just the Apples and Celery.

If, like my husband, you’re diabetic, go ahead and use Splenda or Stevia in place of the sugar. Or, again, none at all! When our apples are particularly sweet, my husband prefers his smoothie without any sweetener. He likes the tartness.

Apple Celery Smoothie

4 green apples, peeled and cored
4 stalks celery, peeled
4 tablespoons sugar
2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups ice
1 cup water

Chop apples and celery up into little pieces, and pulse to blend a few seconds in your blender. Add sugar, milk, ice, and water. Blend, blend, blend- and pour into tall glasses.

Serve with thick straws (or none, if you like milk moustaches)

One of the things my husband and I try to do every Lenten season is give up meat. Well, as much meat as possible. We love salads, of course, and a our fresh tomato and cheese sandwiches are particularly satisfying, but when we want something with a little more heft, we turn to potatoes. Baked potatoes.

My usual baked potato features a very generous amount of crispy bacon bits (the real stuff, mind you- none of that bottled capsicum “bacon”), but for Lent we do without. And you know what? The baked potatoes are still awesome. I’m convinced it’s the sour cream and chives- one of the best combinations in the world.

Baked Potatoes with Sour Cream & Chives
Serves 4, or 2 very hungry people

4 large russet potatoes
vegetable oil (Canola or Sunflower)
Kosher salt
For topping:
good butter, salted
sour cream
chives, chopped fine

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash potatoes well with a brush or scrubber under cold running water. Wipe gently with an absorbent cloth until dry.

Poke around 8 deep holes on each potato, using a good sturdy fork. I use a regular table fork. Coat lightly with vegetable oil, sprinkle with kosher salt, and put on a baking sheet. Bake around an hour to an hour and 15 minutes, or until the flesh beneath the skin feels soft.

Serve immediately with some good butter, sour cream and chives. If you like, wrap the potatoes in foil first- this helps prevent the skin from shriveling too much.

Ah, leeks. I love how affordable, yet deliciously luxurious, they are. That’s right, I said luxurious- and if you don’t agree, you will once you’ve tried this recipe for Melted Leeks. There’s something about cooking these green and white stalks this way that makes them unbelievably rich, and perfect for many applications: spoon them on top of some roast chicken, or just serve them as a side dish:

Melted Leeks

2 tablespoons olive oil
some butter
7 medium-sized leeks, sliced thin, white and light green parts only
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chicken stock
kosher salt, to taste
freshly-ground black pepper

In a saute pan over low-ish heat, melt about two to three tablespoons of butter. Add the leeks, and stir gently, around five minutes. Add the garlic, and cook around a minute more, until everything’s soft and your kitchen smells like heaven. Add chicken stock, raise heat, and bring to a boil. Then immediately lower heat to simmer… you want to reduce the liquid until it’s nearly evaporated, and the leeks have absorbed all of that flavor. Season with kosher salt and pepper, and a bit more butter if you’re feeling extra naughty.

I never understood the aversion to spinach that so many people have. Spinach has always been one of my favorite vegetables- perhaps my very favorite leafy green ever- and I’ve only ever looked upon a large bag of fresh spinach with much anticipation of deliciousness to come. I love how affordable and versatile it is as well: chop some up and throw it in a frittata, add it to your stir-fries, bake it in a souffle, sprinkle with lemon juice and seasoning for a salad- there’s so much to do with spinach.

But this, this simplest of ways to prepare the leafy green, is in my humble opinion the perfect way to enjoy spinach:

Perfect Spinach

Ingredients:
5 cups fresh spinach
4 cloves fresh garlic, sliced thinly*
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Prepare your spinach by removing any thick, hard stems. Discard these, or hand them to your family dogs in exchange for many puppy kisses. In a large saucepan, heat around 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Saute the garlic in this lightly, until just very lightly browned. Add the spinach, tossing it to make sure it’s properly coated with olive oil and garlic. Cover. Lower heat, and let this cook for around four to five minutes… after which time, you’ll wonder where all the spinach went. It’s wilted, and that’s fine- that’s what you want. Season with salt and pepper, and maybe a little more olive oil.

And that’s it. When I’m feeling veggie, I’ll have this for dinner with a nice hunk of bread, or maybe over some plain pasta with olive oil- but it’s great as a side dish to any meaty entree as well.

* Ever since I saw Mario Batali prepare his garlic by slicing it thinly, this has been my favorite way to cook with garlic. It cooks more evenly, and looks better than regularly-bruised garlic.

Tomatillos are related to tomatoes. They’re called tomate verde in Mexico (literally, green tomato) and- here’s where they differ enormously from tomatoes- they have husks. You know, like corn husks. Only not. For this reason, they’re also called husk tomatoes.

These babies have a sweet slash tart flavor, and are a bit fruity. They’re particularly awesome in sauces and salsas- you’ll be surprised at what a difference they make from using regular tomatoes- but are also wonderful just grilled or roasted, sprinkled with a few drops of extra virgin olive oil and some sea salt.

Finally, let me leave you with a quick recipe for delicious Tomatillo Salsa:

Crush two cloves of garlic with a teaspoon of kosher salt. To this, add a coarsely chopped yellow onion, some chopped serrano chiles to taste (if you want it mild, remove the seeds before chopping), and around four to six large tomatillos which have been roughly chopped. Mix in some chopped cilantro to taste, and cubes of avocado if you wish.