Juicy Gossip: V38

Yesterday I posted a sweet juice recipe (2COP Juice), so today I give you a savory recipe. This is a favorite as well as Gazpacho Juice, which I will post soon.

I wish I could fully capture the bright, rich red color of this juice. It truly is a beautiful color. (I'm thinking I need to build a light box for photos...probably need to talk to one of my photographer friends for tips on taking great pics of food and juice.)

I wasn't sure what to call this one. This juice is so packed full of vitamins and anti-oxidants it's crazy! And it's such a beautiful red color. I thought of V-Red, but settled on V38 ('cause there's way more vitamins in it than V8). You may also want to try Carrot/Beet/Cucumber Juice. Click on the Juicy Gossip tab for more juicing and smoothie recipes.


Just a word of caution - it stains, so don't drip it on your shirt.


You know, when I juice I see the vibrant and intense colors that naturally come from the vegetable plants. It's easy to see why Native Americans used these colors for paint. Especially beets. The juice of the beet is such a luscious red color. I enjoy looking at all the colors of the juice lined up.

V38 Juice
3 Lg Beets
2 Med-Lg Carrots
2 Lg Tomatoes (or 4 small)
1 Jalapeno, cut in half and remove seeds
12 Radishes
1 Bunch Parsley (about 4 cups if it were roughly chopped and packed in measuring cup)


Juice and mix well. Makes a great dinner drink. Enjoy!


What veggie do you not like to eat that we could hide in juice?

Healthy Habits: Roasted Garlic & Tomatoes

If you haven't tried a tomato plant in your container garden because you don't know what to do with that many tomatoes, here ya go. If you have an opportunity to purchase a case inexpensively from a local Farmers Market or they go on sale at the grocery store...stock up! Roasting them is easy, and fresh roasted tomatoes add incredible flavor to everything. A case of tomatoes does not last very long if you take a few to make fun, personal caprese salad, a few for homemade stewed tomatoes, a sheet of roasted tomato halves with basil and mozzarella cheese, and a sheet of roasted tomatoes for homemade pasta sauce. Oh yeah, don't forget to hold out a few for a couple different homemade salsas.


How to roast tomatoes...

What you need:

Tomatoes

Olive Oil

Salt

Pepper

Technique:

Core the tomatoes with a paring knife

Set them on baking tray (it's ok if they're touching)

If any is so lopsided that it won't sit straight, cut a very thin slice off the bottom (I rarely have to do this)

Drizzle olive oil over the tomatoes (it's ok if it collects in the holes)

Sprinkle with salt and pepper

Place in 400 degree (F) oven for 30-45 min. (depending on size of tomatoes and intensity of your oven)

Tomatoes will be very soft, slightly wilted and slightly browned on top when done.

Now, you're ready to cook with roasted tomatoes. Check back for homemade pasta sauce with your roasted tomatoes.

Many savory recipes start with garlic and onions. Using roasted garlic adds the kick of flavor that you can't put your finger on. It is the difference in taste of a typical homemade recipe and the same thing from a gourmet restaurant. And if you like garlic bread, you will flip when you have it homemade with your own roasted garlic.

Roasted Garlic...
What you need:
Whole Garlic Heads
Oilve Oil
Aluminum Foil


Technique:
With a sharp knife, cut the top off each head of garlic, leaving it sitting on the root end.
Set the garlic on a piece of foil. (I usually roast 4-6 at a time)
Drizzle a little olive oil over the garlic.

Wrap foil up around garlic, pinching tightly at the top.
Put it in a 400* (F) oven for 30-45 minutes. (You can set it on the tray with tomatoes if you are doing them at the same time. 

This is what it looks like after roasting it...soft and smelling like garlic heaven!

Pick up a whole head. Grab it at the base and gently (but firmly) squeeze the cloves out.

Keep squeezing until you get all the garlic out. Oh, it smells so good!!

It is now ready to use.
For Homemade Garlic Bread, just mush this up with a fork and then spread with a knife on your french bread (over the butter you have spread on the bread first).
For cooking, just add it to your recipe just like you would raw garlic.
I typically roast 4-6 heads at a time, depending on what I plan to cook over the next week. If I use one head that day, I wrap the rest of them back into the foil and just keep it in the fridge to use each day.


What recipe have you tried that you just can't seem to get to taste the same as it does at the restaurant?

Healthy Habits: Homemade Stewed Tomatoes

Now, why would you stew tomatoes yourself when you can buy them quite inexpensively at any supermarket? One taste, and you'll see that there is just nothing like homemade. If you've got a big tomato harvest or picked up a basket at the farmers market or your local food co-op, you'll love this recipe.

I'll just apologize right now for not having a picture. I'm still trying to get in the habit of remembering to take pictures of everything I make (seems to be a difficult habit for me to form, but I'm trying). I had these stewed tomatoes cooked and stored away in the fridge before I even realized I had not taken a single picture. Instead, you get pictures of hearts and tomatoes (that I found on google images), because I like hearts and I like tomatoes. I console myself with knowing that if you like stewed tomatoes you already know what they look like.

These stewed tomatoes are made in a pressure cooker. Remember your mom's pressure cooker...an unstable pot that looked, and sounded, like it could blow at any second?! That was my memory and impression of a pressure cooker until a couple of years ago. I came across a bunch of recipes for a pressure cooker that all sounded really good. I wondered why anyone in this day and age would use one of those horrible pots. I remember watching the little steam valve jiggle around, looking like it was going to jump off the top of the pot, while the steam was spraying into the air, looking and sounding like a small steam engine. As a kid, it was kind of a scary contraption.

So I began to research pressure cookers. I was completely surprised to find out how much they have evolved in the last two decades. The latest generation of pressure cookers operate with a spring loaded valve (often hidden from view), do not release any steam vapor when in use, and often have two or more settings. With the use of current technology, pressure cookers have become lighter, quieter, safer and much easier to use. (There's even an electric pressure cooker available).

So...I bought one. Let me just say...Chicken Cacciatore in 20 minutes, (INCLUDING prep time) that tastes amazing, is AWESOME!! Now I'll have to make Chicken Cacciatore so I can take a picture and post that recipe. It alone made it worth the purchase.

But back to tomatoes. I am a HUGE fan of stewed tomatoes. I love heating up a can and eating it like a bowl of soup. I guess it kind of is soup, isn't it? But homemade anything always tastes so much better and doesn't have preservatives (or anything else my body doesn't need) in it. Especially when it only takes 5 minutes prep time and 5 minutes cook time.

So here's the fabulous Stewed Tomato Recipe...

What you need:

3 Cups Quartered Fresh Tomatoes

3/4 Cup Finely Chopped Celery

1/4 Cup Finely Chopped Onion

1 Tbsp Chopped Fresh Parsley or 1 tsp Dried Parsley Flakes

1/4 tsp Salt

1/4 tsp Black Pepper

Technique:

Spray a pressure cooker container with cooking spray. (Butter flavored cooking spray is good here). In prepared container, combine tomatoes, celery, and onion. Add parsley, salt and pepper. Mix well to combine. Place cover on cover and bring to LOW pressure over medium heat. Lower heat to stabilize pressure and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, wait for pressure to be released, remove cover, and stir.

Makes 4 (3/4 cup) servings.

32 calories per serving.

What kitchen tool do you own that has evolved a great deal since the time you first saw your mom use one?