Juicy Gossip: Gazpacho

Sometimes I want sweet juice and sometimes I want savory juice. This Gazpacho Juice is one of my favorites because it actually tastes like Gazpacho Soup. It is definitely savory. I leave the seed in the jalapeno when I juice it. If you know that you have a HOT jalapeno you may want to remove the seeds before juicing it.

So here it is, quick and easy today, a great recipe. (And I'm quite excited to have figured out how to provide a link for a printable version down below!)

This juice has a great variety of veggies...

Here's a tip for cutting the lime....

Love when the jalapeno's come from the garden...

And here is the finished product...

Gazpacho Juice

2 Lg Tomatoes (or 4 small)

1 Lg Cucumber

1 Lime or Lemon

1 Jalapeno

1 Red Bell Pepper

Chunk of Purple Onion (about 1/4 of a small onion)

1 Small Bunch Cilantro

2 Stalks Celery

Tip: Feed the soft and wet things through your juicer first. They will mush and leave a lot of juice in the chamber. The crunchy veggies will come in behind them and pull all the juice through.

Printable Recipe

Juicy Gossip: Arizona Red Juice

Someone commented on the V38 Juice post and said, "It looks really good. I might try it, but I don't care for beets". What I didn't tell you is that I don't care for beets either! I can only think of two vegetables that I don't care for and they are eggplant and beets. It is probably, uh, highly likely, uh, definitely due to how they were prepared for us as kids. GROSS! I have learned that I do like eggplant parmesan, so I MAY be willing to try eggplant in some other recipe. Not sure I'm willing to go there yet. Okay, I'll go this far...if you can throw a killer eggplant recipe my way, I'll try it. I'll prepare it, eat it, blog about it, and credit you for converting me...(I'm such a positive thinker; already assuming that one of you will have a fabulous recipe that will change my attitude towards eggplant.)

On to beets...I don't "care for them" is a really nice way of saying I JUST DON'T LIKE THEM!! That being said, years ago after learning about the nutritional properties of beets, I tried juicing them, just on the off chance that the juice was better than eating the vegetable. It is fantastic juice! There are so many combinations to use it in that everyone can find one they really like. Some of my favorites are Carrot/Beet/Cucumber Juice, V38 Juice and this Arizona Red Juice. 

Did you know that beet juice beet juice increases blood flow to the brain? Beet roots contain high concentrations of nitrates, which are converted into nitrites by bacteria in the mouth. And nitrites help open blood vessels in the body, increasing blood flow and oxygen to places lacking in oxygen. This means that beets juice reduces the risk for blood clots. A new study suggests that this super vegetable may fight the progression of dementia, according to researchers from the Translational Science Center at Wake Forest University.

Beets are a unique source of phytonutrients called betalains. To you and me, this means that beets are rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds, and they aid in detoxification. Beets start losing betalains as soon as they are heated; the loss steadily increases as the cooking time is increased. For this reason, the greatest health benefit is derived from raw beet juice. There are also lab studies on human tumor cells that confirm that beets are a highly-likely candidate for risk reduction of many cancer types.


On to the juice. I call it Arizona Red because as I'm juicing, the vibrant and rich reds and oranges that come out remind me of Arizona sunrises and sunsets. When combined, they produce a rich red, reminiscent of sunset. This juice is beautiful in color, and sweet in taste.


Arizona Red Juice

3 Carrots
1 Sweet Potato
2 Red Beets (Lg)
1 Red Bell Pepper
1 Orange (peeled)
2 Apples (any sweet variety)


Don't be deceived by the first few  ingredients...this juice is sweet and smooth!
Note: Don't be alarmed if your urine and stools have a red tint. It is normal and expected when you drink beet juice.


Printable Recipe 



Is there a vegetable that you hate  don't care for? Would you be willing to try it in a juice recipe?

Homemade Pasta Sauce

Last week we talked about how to roast tomatoes and garlic. "What do I do with 16 roasted tomatoes?", you might ask yourself. Roasted tomatoes and garlic are the secret ingredients to my fabulous (yes, it really is!) Homemade Pasta Sauce (Try it, you won't want sauce out of a jar ever again). I will roast 15-16 tomatoes on a baking sheet and then use them all to make a huge pot of pasta sauce. It freezes well in any size container. At the beginning of the week I will move a container from the freezer to the fridge where it is ready to heat up to put over pasta or spaghetti squash for dinner any night of the week. 

I don't have a written recipe for my pasta sauce, so I'll just tell you how I do it and try to give you amounts. Like I said, I typically make a huge pot with 15-16 roasted tomatoes, so keep that in mind if you are making a smaller batch with only a few tomatoes.

Ingredients:
Olive Oil

1 Med-Large Onion (white or yellow), chopped

Garlic - 1 Whole Head, roasted (click here for technique)

15-16 Roasted Tomatoes (click here for technique)

1 Large Green Pepper (or red or orange), chopped

1 -2 Carrots, chopped

1-2 Stalks Celery, chopped

Handful Basil Leaves, chopped
1 Tbsp Oregano

Sea Salt, to taste

Black Pepper, to taste

Red Pepper Flakes

NOTE: Regarding the peppers, carrots & celery...if I have them, I use them. If I only have one of them, I use it. This recipe is not dependent on having all three. They add great nutrition and robustness to the sauce, but are not necessary for a great sauce. Also, everything can be chopped very roughly because it will be blended in the end.

ANOTHER NOTE: Because this sauce is homemade from fresh ingredients, it turns out more orange than red. We are so used to the red sauce we get from a jar or can (coloring added) that it may seem strange at first to see the light red or orange color of fresh homemade sauce. The flavor is so wonderful that you will soon forget that the color is different.

Technique:

Pour a couple tablespoons of olive oil into a large pan or pot and turn on medium high heat. Add chopped onion, pepper, carrots and celery. Saute for a few minutes until onions are clear. Add tomatoes (just pick them up whole off the tray and put them in the pot) and garlic (the whole roasted head, that you squeezed out). Add a couple of pinches each of sea salt and black pepper and 1 tsp of red pepper flakes. (add more as it cooks if you like a bigger kick).


With your wooden spoon, break up the tomatoes; they are soft and roasted and will smash easily. Add a handful of roughly chopped basil, (if using dried basil add about 1 Tbsp) and 1 Tbsp of oregano. Break everything up and mix together. Turn stove on low and simmer 15-30 minutes.


If I have time, I let it simmer longer...just makes for better flavor. When done simmering, turn off the stove and let it sit there. The flavors will continue to meld and intensify as the heat dissipates.


When it has cooled down, scoop it up into the blender. I don't really worry about exactly how much of everything gets into each batch I blend because I pour it into a giant bowl after blending. Continue to mix one blender full at a time until the pot is empty and the sauce is now completely blended and poured into the giant bowl. Then I can mix it up with my wooden spoon, making sure that the seasoning is fully mixed in. Once it's mixed up, I scoop it into containers for the freezer.


This pic is one that was in my freezer. My hard drive crashed and I lost a lot of pictures (Yeah, I know, I should have had them backed up!) so I am now short of pics for posts that I had planned. If I wait until I make another batch of homemade pasta sauce in order to get pictures of the pot, blender and bowl of sauce, it might be a while til you get this recipe. I promised the recipe, so will make do with the pics I have.


I absolutely love this pasta sauce and I'm confident you will too. Doug and I like it a little spicy, so I add more red pepper flakes. It is so good over spaghetti squash or angel hair pasta. Sprinkle some fresh parmesan or parmigiano reggiano on top for true Italian flavored homemade pasta sauce. Mangia!


What is your favorite thing to do with pasta sauce?