Cherry Chocolate Smoothie and Our Christmas Eve

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house
kids were playing like fools while I sat with my spouse
In one chair we were cozy,White Christmas was playing,
Bing crooning the title song, when I started surveying

When, what to my wandering eyes should appear?
Jeremy on his phone! so I started in his ear
"What are you reading on this Christmas Eve night?"
"about anal cancer" he said with delight

He's crazy, he's weird, he's odd, it is true
He said he was relaxing, what's a girl to do?
Try as I might, I focused on Bing
and tried to not listen when he'd yell random things

"Hmmm", and "interesting" he said while reading
But I put my foot down when he shouted "scrotum bleeding!"
You guys, please, I'm not making this stuff up
He really said that and...enough was enough

"We need a cell phone rule" I suddenly declared
Jeremy thinks I text more than him, but I wasn't scared
"No cell phones at dinner, or when spending family time"
Just the mere thought was supremely sublime

"Fine by me" Jeremy said with a hoof
He thinks he doesn't have a problem with phones, but here is the proof:





Never mind that there are no pictures of me
I have my moments too, of that I'd agree
I'd better stop now, you get the point
signing off now or I'll overwrite

Now wasn't that a fine tale about our Christmas Eve that had nothing to do with that, and everything to do with cell phones instead? It's all true too, except we still don't even have cell phone rules after all that.  Don't you agree that we should at least never use our phones when we're all out to dinner together? Jeremy will do his ho ho ho laugh and say that it will be a harder rule for me to follow than him since he thinks I have a texting problem. I beg to differ. I just like to text my sister between 5:30-6:30pm. But alas, I agree that texting is my main source of communication. I hate talking to other people. In general. Or at all. About anything. But I especially hate talking to people about nothing on the phone (cough- KEL!- cough). In person it's a completely different story (I'll chat your ear off) unless I don't know you very well, and then yeah, I pretty much hate talking to you in person too. I sound lovely don't I? I bet you're just jonesing to be my friend now. I promise these are just the things I think in my head but in real life I'm very polite and sweet and accommodating and people don't know unless I don't care if they know or I'm exhausted tired and can't even pretend. Then they know. And I'm pretty sure a handful of the Steamboat population thinks I'm weird because of this, but it's okay. Weirdness is a strong suit of mine.

Anyway, what this post has really been about the whole time is chocolate cherry smoothies. Didn't get that? Well now you will. Chocolate cherry smoothies or Black Forrest Blizzard, whatever you want to call it. It is deelish. If you like cherries, that is. My daughter loved this and my son hated it. That's probably how people will fall on the spectrum, chocolate and cherries is a sensitive matter.



For this drink, chocolate almond or soy milk provides the chocolate, two heaping cups of dark sweet cherries provides the cherry (duh, I know).  A frozen banana is added for sweetness and thickness, and a touch of Greek yogurt provides tang and protein. The recipe calls for almond extract to help brighten up the cherry flavor, but this is optional. I like it, but taste the smoothie before you add to see if it's something you'd be into. The original recipe called for 2 teaspoons of honey or agave to be added and I totally disagree. It would be way too sweet, especially if you were using sweetened chocolate almond milk to begin with (they are all sweetened unless you buy unsweetened).

Cherry Chocolate Smoothie
adapted from Cook Without a Book: Meatless Meals by Pam Anderson

makes 2 large smoothies (halve this recipe for two smaller smoothies)

2 heaping cups frozen, dark sweet cherries
1 frozen banana, cut into chunks
2 cups chocolate soy or almond milk (I used half sweetened and half unsweetened, but either will do)
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1/4-1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)

chocolate chips or shavings for garnish (optional)

Place all the ingredients, except for the chocolate chips for garnish, in a blender; process until creamy smooth. Divide between two glasses. Top each with chocolate chips or shavings if desired.