frozen key lime yogurt•pie

I almost hate to admit this, but I still have a suitcase in my bedroom with a few things in it from our trip to Florida in December.  Maybe it's just that I don't need those things in the mountains in January.  Lord knows we're not wearing shorts.  Or swimsuits, for that matter-- I've sworn off taking the kids swimming at the rec center after a mortifying incident a couple months ago when Oliver's swim diaper leaked and they had to shut down the entire pool.
Or, maybe I leave the suitcase there because it makes me think of sunny, warm Florida every time I see it there, gathering dust on the bedroom floor.
There's a chance that half-empty suitcase inspired this pie.

Shortly after we returned home, Owen came home from preschool with this:

In the event that you're not an expert at interpreting abstract preschool art, in the drawing is an airplane (the cross at the bottom) flying from our house (bottom left) to Grandma and Papa's house (to the right), the beach with sand and water (top leftish), and the pool (far right).  Now it's obvious, right?  

This picture really is a good summary of what the kids do (and look forward to) in Florida, but I have some different favorites.  The beach and pool are definitely nice, but I really enjoy the down-time spent with family, the almost daily bike rides to Starbuck's during nap time, and, of course, the Key lime pie.

I've gone on a trip to Florida with my family every winter of my life, and for as long as I can remember, Key lime pie-tasting has been a big part of our trips.  We all have our favorite variations-- my mom likes the traditional crust and I prefer graham cracker-- but, we all like it tart.  The best variation I've had, though, is one Brock and I came across in Key West.  At any number of places along Duval Street, you can buy a piece of frozen key lime pie on a stick that's been coated in dark chocolate.  It's as good as it sounds-- we ate a lot of those on that trip...

In homage to that Key West specialty, as well as the suitcase sitting on my bedroom floor, I bring you my Frozen Key Lime Yogurt Pie.  This version is healthier than most, as it's made with honey and greek yogurt.  It's also much easier to make than most, with no baking or cooking involved.

Now that I've got some Key lime pie in the freezer, maybe I can go unpack that suitcase.

Eh, we'll see...

the veggies (or, non-veggies, as the case may be):

• 1/2 cup margarine (or butter), melted
• 10 whole graham cracker sheets
• 1 1/2 cups plain greek yogurt
• 1/3 cup Key lime juice
• 3/4 cup honey
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

the love:

1. While your margarine is melting, use a food processor to process the graham crackers into fine crumbs.*
2. Add the melted margarine to the crumbs and pulse the food processor until they're combined.
3. Firmly press the buttery crumbs into the bottom of a pie plate and up the sides.  Store the crust in the freezer until you're ready to fill it.
4. Give your processor pitcher a quick rinse, shake out any excess water, and reassemble.  We'll use it to make the filling, too: add the yogurt, juice, honey and vanilla and process until smooth.**
5. Pour the filling into the crust and freeze until solid, about three or four hours.
6. Once the filling is frozen, melt the chocolate in a double boiler or microwave.***
7. Use a small spoon (or pastry bag?) to drizzle chocolate in thin threads onto the pie. Be careful not to get too thick of globs (like some of the thicker spots on my pie), as they're hard to cut through and eat once frozen.****
8. Put the pie in the freezer another 10 minutes or so until the chocolate is solid, or until you're ready slice it and eat it.

notes:

*Low-tech method: crush the crackers in a baggie, then stir together the crumbs and margarine right in the pie plate.

**Low-tech method: whisk filling ingredients together in a bowl.

***I use a bowl that fits tightly over a small saucepan of hot water: heat the water to a simmer first, then remove from heat and place the bowl on top, making sure the water isn't high enough to touch the bowl.  Stir constantly until the chocolate is melted.  In the microwave, heat just a few seconds at a time, stirring between heating.

****When I first made this pie, I melted a full cup of chocolate chips and found that was way too much chocolate.  If, like me, you end up with chocolate left over, scramble to find something to dip in it (graham crackers, pieces of cereal, your husband's toothbrush), then place the random objects on parchment and harden in the fridge after dipping.

(Sorry, Mo.  Chocolate's not good for doggies...)

smoothies•verdes

Owen's always pretending to be a spy these days.  According to him, a spy is someone who goes on a secret mission.  There are two types of spies, depending on the intent of their mission: good and bad.  I'm pretty sure he learned this from watching Cars 2.  
I've gone on my own secret mission lately: to sneak more green vegetables into my kids (and myself and Brock).  While my kids might beg to differ if they ever found out, I consider this a good mission so I'm calling myself a good spy.  This smoothie recipe is the result of my good spy efforts.  
My cover was almost blown the other day when I was making these and Owen saw the contents of the blender pitcher just before I fired up the blender. 
"That's not lettuce in there, is it Mom?" asked Owen.  "I don't like lettuce."    
"Lettuce!?" I laughed nervously, "That's just the stuff that makes it green.  Don't be ridiculous -- lettuce in a smoothie?!"
Hmm...  Lettuce-- I hadn't thought of that...
Anyway, Owen seemed satisfied by my answer and I managed to avert that disaster. And, I was so excited to see both of my kids happily slurping down their smoothies.  Brock and I liked it too-- it was fruity, slushy and sweet, but not crazy sweet, like some smoothies.  And I couldn't taste the greens!  Woo hoo!  Get out the "Mission Accomplished" banner and the flight suit-- I was ready to declare it a success...
Until I made them the next time and Oliver didn't want any.  Drat!  At least the rest of us were still excited about them.  But for Oliver, I had to go super-stealth: I dumped it in an opaque sippy cup with a little extra juice and called it juice.  And, voila-- he happily slurped it down and my mission was again accomplished.  Whew-- that could have been embarrassing, with the banner and flight suit and all...

the veggies:*

• 2 cups lightly packed spinach**
• 2 cups lightly packed torn kale, stems and tough center veins removed
• 1/2 avocado, scooped from the peel
• 1 cup plain or vanilla Greek yogurt
• 3 cups frozen mangoes and/or peaches***
• 2 cups apple juice

the love:

1. Combine all the ingredients in a blender until smooth, pulsing to break up any larger frozen fruit chunks.

tips:

*If someone's on to you and you need to go super-stealth, you could try my method above (mix with extra juice and serve in an opaque cup) or you could hide the green-ness of this with the bold color and flavor of berries.  Let's call them Smoothies Rojos: Substitute the mango and peaches with strawberries and raspberries, and the apple juice for cranberry-raspberry juice.  You could also use vanilla or strawberry yogurt instead of plain to sweeten it a little more.
**I like to buy the big 16 oz clamshell packages of pre-washed baby spinach for this-- it's super-convenient (just throw it in the blender), and much cheaper per ounce than the smaller clamshells.
***A combination of both fruits is nice-- it seems to have a more complex flavor that covers up the greens a little better.