By March. The azaleas outside my apartment are budding already, ahead of schedule it feels like, the tips of the branches showing the first blush of color. I have been checking on them every morning with the focused attention of someone monitoring something important. They are the first reliable sign that the season is changing, more reliable than the calendar, more honest.
DeAnna and I went to the Thai restaurant in Montgomery on Thursday evening and it was everything her coworker had said it would be. We ordered too much, which is the correct strategy at a new restaurant when you are two people who have been eating widely and want to try everything. We had a papaya salad and a red curry and a pad see ew and a whole crispy fish that came out dramatic and perfect and DeAnna took a photograph of it. We stayed two hours and talked about our jobs and cooking and what it means to know how to feed yourself well, which is a thing neither of us was taught directly but both of us have figured out in our own ways.
The red curry was the revelation of the evening: the depth of the curry paste and the coconut milk and the bright Thai basil at the end. I have already ordered a Thai cooking book online and I have a bag of galangal and lemongrass sitting in my refrigerator right now. DeAnna texted me this morning and said are you already trying to replicate it and I said yes and she said of course you are.
Sunday at Gloria's I made the smothered chicken and the butter beans and told her about the Thai restaurant. She said she has never tried Thai food. I said next month, maybe, if I get the curry right. She said she would try it once. I am going to hold her to that.
I still have the galangal and lemongrass sitting in my refrigerator, waiting for me to feel confident enough to attempt the red curry—but in the meantime, I needed something that let me play with those same bright, tropical flavors without committing to a whole pot of curry paste. This mango ginger smoothie is exactly that: a low-stakes way to get acquainted with the bold, warming edge of ginger, which is the flavor that runs underneath everything I loved about that Thursday night dinner. DeAnna would probably tell me I’m overcomplicating a smoothie by thinking about it this hard, and she would not be wrong.
Mango Ginger Smoothies
Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Total Time: 5 minutes | Servings: 2
Ingredients
- 2 cups frozen mango chunks
- 1 cup full-fat coconut milk
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped (or 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger)
- 1 tablespoon honey or pure maple syrup, plus more to taste
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (about 1 lime)
- 1/2 cup ice cubes
- Pinch of ground turmeric (optional, for color and depth)
- Toasted coconut flakes and a thin lime wheel, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Combine ingredients. Add the frozen mango, coconut milk, Greek yogurt, ginger, honey, and lime juice to a high-powered blender. Add the ice and the pinch of turmeric if using.
- Blend until smooth. Blend on high for 45—60 seconds, stopping once to scrape down the sides if needed, until the mixture is completely smooth and creamy with no ginger chunks remaining.
- Taste and adjust. Taste the smoothie and adjust sweetness with a little more honey or brightness with a squeeze of extra lime juice. If the smoothie is too thick, add coconut milk a tablespoon at a time and blend briefly.
- Serve immediately. Pour into two tall glasses. Top with toasted coconut flakes and a lime wheel if desired. Serve right away for the best texture.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 290 | Protein: 6g | Fat: 14g | Carbs: 38g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 35mg