Google Green Smoothie

In my office, I'm the one who is usually made fun of for walking into a meeting with a "healthy" green smoothie. "What is THAT?" And while this smoothie is green, it's so refreshing that it could win over even the most reluctant smoothie drinker. The green color comes mostly from the mint, which is one of my favorite flavors and is great here.

This is another recipe from Food 2.0: Secrets from the Chef Who Fed Google. It's a simple recipe for a smoothie that is refreshing in warm weather or cold. It's good now, because it includes apple cider, which is easily available. But it reminds me of my favorite lemonade from local Vietnamese restaurant, Tam Deli. I order the lemonade there so often the owner knows to start making it when we walk in the door. After many orders and a wee bit of cajoling, I've managed to pry out of her that her secret is whole lemons, limes and a secret ingredient...cucumber. It's made fresh and is very frothy, mild and tremendously refreshing. I've experimented with making my own version at home and will share that recipe later.

The cucumber and lemon in this smoothie remind of that lemonade and I like it just as much. Once you have the ingredients, making it is a snap.

Notes: If you use a Japanese or thin-skinned hothouse cucumber, you don't need to remove the peel. But if you're using a traditional, thicker-skinned cuke, you'll want to peel it and remove the seeds. While the recipe serves two nicely, if my hubby isn't around, I'll gulp it all down my own self.

Google Green Smoothie

1 hothouse cucumber, cut into chunks
15-20 large, fresh mint leaves
1 cup apple cider
1/2 cup lemon sorbet
8 ice cubes

Place all ingredients except ice in a blender or the canister of an immersion blender. Blend until smooth. Add ice cubes and blend again until smooth and all ice is incorporated. Serve immediately.

Serves 2.

Adapted from Food 2.0: Secrets from the Chef Who Fed Google.