What's in a Name? That Which We Call a Recipe...

I like to name my recipes. Like a newborn or a family pet, a recipe’s name should have something with meaning, something with importance. Sometimes all it takes to name a recipe is to say what it is, like “Blueberry Oat Bagels” or “Panna Cotta”. But for the most part, it takes a lot of creativity and even more thought, such as: “Sweet Pea Pucker Smoothie”; “All Dressed Up Quinoa Salad”; “Little Bitty Popover Bites”; and finally, this recipe… “Agent Orange Smoothie.”

Now, you’re probably thinking: “does she mean the cocktail or the pesticide (definitely not), the comic book character or the Tori Amos song?” If you thought Tori, you thought correctly.

There are some songs that pop into my head on their own accord, and besides the Rites of Passage by the Indigo Girls, Tori Amos’s Boys for Pele is one of my favorite albums. Her song “Agent Orange” transports me to Miami, where tropical foods are plentiful and suntans equally so. I imagine Agent Orange to be a Miami Vice kind of detective, with an orange as a head, whose favorite highball drink is organic carrot juice and vodka, and is a sucker for the ladies. Or maybe he is a redhead investigator in San Francisco who falls in love with a tourist that insists on calling his beloved city “Frisco”. There is no way to tell what the lovely Ms. Amos meant, but that’s the beauty of her music. It’s all about the stories you find in her lyrics.

So listen to her album, skip to track no. 14, and take a sip of this orange-less orange drink simply made for a year of eternal summer and clear blue skies.

"Agent Orange" by Tori Amos (1996)

Gotta tell you what I heard

From agent orange

Mister suntan

Mister happy man

Mister I know the girls on all the world tours

Mister agent, yeah

He's my favorite

And they don't understand

He's got palm oil pants

Yes, he's down and there and everywhere

He's getting in too deep in this

Underwater city where she swims and swims

Agent Orange Smoothie

140 g Frozen Mango chunks
1 Frozen banana
420 ml Carrot juice
200 g Whole milk yogurt (or canned coconut milk for a vegan delight)

Place the ingredients in a blender until thoroughly combined.
Pour into 2 glasses and serve cold.

Makes 2 servings.