Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie

Weather: 63 degrees, mostly sunny
What I’m listening to: There Will Be Time, Mumford & Sons

I’m in the process of moving out of the adorable log cabin in the woods with the green metal roof and caribou frequenting the driveway that has housed my family for the past year. Some of the kitchen items are packed away in boxes, some are still in the old place, and others are already unpacked in the new house. With my trusty kitchen tools and ingredients in disarray, somewhere between here and there, I am doing less true cooking and baking this week and more improvising and flying by the seat of my pants.

Although moving can be chaotic, especially for a person like me who loves predictability, there is also something lovely about purging, reorganizing, and creating a new space. Every kitchen I’ve ever had has its own rhythm, and in deciding where things will go – this spice in this cupboard, that utensil in that drawer, this pot on this shelf – I develop the steps to the cooking dance that will be unique to that home, specific to only that kitchen. It will take me a while to get it down and sometimes I will forget the steps, but eventually I will have the motions memorized and we will move together in unison, making beautiful food. Clank. Stir. Chop. Sizzle.

Fortunately, I had not yet packed my blender or pantry goods when time came to make this chocolate peanut butter banana smoothie for this morning’s breakfast. I added rolled oats to thicken the smoothie and make it more filling, which makes it ideal for a summer breakfast when you’re on the go. I grabbed a banana from the freezer. I had popped a whole bag of them in there weeks ago when I had been overzealous at the grocery store and bought too many bananas that over-ripened before I could use them all. It’s important that the banana is frozen otherwise your smoothie won’t be cold nor will it be as thick. I added peanut butter for protein, texture, and flavor. And cocoa powder because, well, who doesn’t love chocolate with peanut butter and banana?