Cocktail Smoothie

The smoothie craze seems to have ebbed, but I still like them from time to time (they're fast and cheap), especially when it's hot outside and we all know July is great for that. Actually the weather here is pretty pleasant right now, deceptively unlike the beginning of July and for the first 4th in years this area isn't under water restrictions.

The basic idea for this smoothie came from an Alton Brown recipe and is something I've been fiddling with for a few years. If you like your cocktails as you'd get them in cocktail hour, add a couple of ounces of rum (for a bit more sweetness) or vodka--you won't be able to tell it's there and neither will your guests--or leave it plain. Either way is good and the tofu adds a bit of protein. I tend to add 6 ounces, but if you're just starting to try tofu, you might be shy about using so much. You can't taste it, it just makes the drink creamy.

I usually buy frozen cranberry concentrate and add water to make my cranberry juice. It's easier to keep around a can of concentrate than to keep a 1/2 gallon of juice around. Because I do this, I usually do about a 1:1 ratio of concentrate to water, but it works just fine with normal-strength cranberry juice from a jug as well.

Don't leave out the salt--tofu also has a tendency to absorb a lot of flavor and you'll miss out on some of the fruity tang of this smoothie if you try to reduce the sodium. It's only a pinch.

Cocktail Smoothie

8 ounces troupical fruit cocktail in light syrup, frozen

1 teaspoon instant lemonade mix

6 ounces cranberry juice

4-6 ounces silken tofu

Pinch of kosher salt

2-3 ounces rum or vodka (optional)

Ice

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Serves 2-3, depending on how much smoothie you want!