Tuesday, March 18, 2008

An Oldie But a Goodie: Juice it Up


This was one of my first posts. People really seemed to like it. I was thinking today about how I have been kind of a bad blogger. I've been spending more time coddling my polaroid blog, and in the process have left you with nothing but a drink of the week and complaints of the flu. I promise to be better. Imagine how great it will be after Paris. Oh the stories I will tell. I'll be discovering all of the French foods I love and Andrew will be adding to his list of foods he hates. But wait, that is still over a month away. I better get cracking. For now, enjoy this gem . . . and I am still waiting for an amazing juice recipe. I would do anything to dust the cobwebs of the juicer that I just had to have, used once, and packed away. Help!

Friday, January 11, 2008
juice it up

one of my many christmas presents to myself was a juicer. proof positive that i was becoming a foodie even before i started this blog. don't people that juice seem superior? they do, don't they? i just wanted to be one of them. i bought this amazing cookbook last year that was recommended to me by a real foodie, a gourmet even, named val. the book is called "the food i love" and it is by an australian chef named neil perry. this book is gorgeous. the photography is amazing, the recipes range from simple to exotic (that is if you consider squid ink paella exotic) and it all starts with a page on juicing. no actual recipes (if you stick with this story, you will find that was a problem), just this, "my wife sam and i usually start the day with a fresh juice." they already sound superior, don't they? i can just imagine them in their amazing kitchen with all of their good kitchen stuff like $900 espresso machines, sub zero fridge packed with fresh organic produce, and a counter top with a hole cut out of it so you can swipe in your cut vegetables sending them down a chute and into a compost bin so you can pack your fridge with more fresh organic produce from your own amazing garden that you have in your gorgeous backyard. i digress. mr. perry continues, " it makes you feel healthy on the inside, for the very simple reason that it is so good for you. . . we vary the fruit and vegetables to reflect the season," plus they probably have to see what is growing in their compost rich soil filled sustainable garden i'm sure, "and that always keeps us looking for the next combination." i wish my husband and i did stuff like "look for the next combination" of fruits and vegetables for our morning juice. we don't. he is not a fan of juice, especially not pulpy juice. actually he has a long list of food aversions, but i'll save that for another time. so, you can kind of see the allure, can't you? the new year was coming. i wanted to be healthy, thin, happy, glamorous . . . juicing was definitely the answer.

carrot, beetroot (aka beets), apple, orange and ginger. that was the first of their favorite blends. I don’t have a vegetable garden, so i myself over to whole foods and threw down about 15 bucks for the ingredients minus the oranges, because we do, at least, have the most fruitful orange tree known to man right in our back yard (ha!!). I come home, carefully prep all of the ingredients and then unpack the juicer. this thing looks scary, and as it should. i mean it is going to take a carrot and pulverize it, and turn it into juice for superior people. i kind of felt like i should have some supervision, someone to call 911 when my hair gets caught in the juicer and half of my face is torn off, but no one was home, so i just went for it. i turned the motor on and was both frightened and impressed by its power. now here's the problem. how much of each ingredient do i put in? why can't their “favorite combinations” include quantities? i'll just work it out. i cut an enormous carrot in half and popped it down the feeding tube thing . . . Wow! I swear this thing is not a juicer, but instead some sort of molecular reassembler, cause it went from carrot to juice much quicker than one would think. working my way through the color wheel, i opted next for the orange, but when i read that i had to peel the thing first i omitted it. It would take too long; I didn’t have that kind of time. I wanted fresh juice and I wanted it now. i promptly moved to the beets, three of them, and isn’t the color of beet juice so beautiful? it would make the most amazing lipstick color. then a couple of apples, and then, what i think may have been my fatal flaw, a 3-inch piece of ginger. So there it was, my very first pitcher full of superior people juice. it did look healthy and beautiful and delicious, but you know when you go and get a facial and they hit you with steam, and exfoliate you and squeeze out the badness and then slather you in sweet smelling moisturizer and you feel so good, and you know, you just know that your skin must be glowing, you must look young, and all dewy and then you get that first glance in the mirror and instead your face looks like it has been run over by a truck carrying thousands of angry bees that escaped and then stung you after the truck ran you over . . . that's what this juice tasted like. just like that. So much build up, and then utter disgust. Disgusting, really, really disgusting. I tried to talk myself through it. Come on, jen, you spent a lot of money on this juicer. This is so healthy, so beautiful; this is what superior people drink in the morning. DRINK IT! So I did. I drank it. A little itty-bitty bit of it, then I put the rest of it in the fridge assuring myself that it would taste better once it was really cold.

4 days later I poured the juice down the drain. So if anyone has any good juicing recipes, I’m all ears.

36 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oldies but goodies are fun (especially when you haven't seen it before :) And Congrats on becoming a blog of note!

Anonymous said...

I too will be grateful to enjoy the amazing juice recipe.

But if I may ask, can you tell me reasons why you are in love with Juices....

Thanks

I love you blog
Vicky
http://info77.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

Hi! I just sort of stumbled across your blog, and I must say I love your writing style.

I don't have any good juice recipes for you (sorry), but I have a Paris recommendation! If you go to see La Grand Arc de la Defence (and you should), see if there is a little Italian restaurant in the square there. I don't remember what it was called, but it had the best Italian food I've ever eaten. Also, be sure to get a Cafe au Lait while you are there.

High Power Rocketry said...

: )

Anonymous said...

yeh i agree

Kiki said...

I do 5 green juice.
It doesn't taste good but I feel SO good after I drink it that it's ok that it smells like grass.
I use any 5 of these things,
- Celery (organic if I can since, of all the veggies, it soaks up the most pesticides from the ground.
- Cucumber (peeled if it's not organic)
- Broccoli
- Several types of lettuce, butter, iceberg, romaine
- Kale
- Chard
- Collard Greens
- Sprouts, any sprouts, they're very good.
- Beet tops

If you like it sweet you could go low on the Kale and add a carrot.
I LOVE it, I can;t tell you how many times I have had a splittingheadache, juiced up, and before I drank the glass full the headache (or various other ache) was gone with a capital G!
Check out the blog Crazy Sexy Cancer for more info on Juicing.

What's Cookin'? said...

Congratulations on becoming a blog of note. Any combinaton of fruits are delicious- chilled. Drink them right away though or they loose some nutritional value. As for vegatables, use carrots as your base and add apple for sweetness and only a small amount of strong veggies like spinach, beets or parsley etc. Again drink right away.
Now for another point and I hesitate to tell you this because you already have the juicer. But, when you juice, you miss much of the fiber that our bodies need- 25-35 grams a day. Juicing is tasty, but nothing can beat the whole fruit for total health. I have had many juicer in my life and I finally went back to my stand-by, the blender. If I could afford it, I would use the Vita-Mixer. It works especially well with vegetables.
Anyway, enjoy your juicer anyway just don't rely on it for all you heathy needs. (O:

The Early Bird said...

bhavI like French food,fruit and vegetable very much.
Thank you for nice blog.
Catch you later.

Gembug said...

i like apple and lime, but i hate cleaning my juicer afterwards!

Anonymous said...

We love our juicer! Plus our recipe is very simple. Just a couple of carrots with an apple. Plus, you can add a cucumber and a tomato. Add a little salt and pepper so it will be a V8.

Do not mix fleshy fruits like oranges and grapefruits, with vegetables.

Some greens tend to be bitter, so stay away from them. Or just use a little bit if you want a bite.

Just keep it simple! carrots and apples. It is good and very healthy!

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Brett said...

Love the blog, congratulation on being the blog of note, no juice recipe, sorry i'm a coffee man in the morning, fruits just not natural. In Paris try to get to the top of the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur.

Paskil said...

Juice is delicious. I am in the process of trying to make the morning switch from my coffee fueled start into a healthier, yogurt/juice breakfast. Sadly it is tough. I am not an early riser. :(

Love the blog.

http://help-me-pay-for-school.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

cool

Ana said...

Hi jen, if you liked Paris you should go to Barcelona. Ferran Adrià, one of the most important cookers of Europe, is catalan and we have lovely and gourmet places around the coast. Our wines are excelent and our mediterranian food is the best. Believe me, i'm a foodie too. You won't regret.
Kisses

Rís said...

great piece... I used to drink juices alot before I got lazy. It seemed to me that a blender worked better than any of those other complicated machines- just add a bit of water to the mix!

Everymatter said...

congrats on being selected in blogs of note

ness said...

hi, it's my first time reading your blog and i have to say it's really great. stumbled on it through the "blogs of note" section, i'm glad i clicked. i have one drink recipe you might want to try, it sounds gross but i swear it's not. it's called "morir sonando", it's a caribbean style drink that involves mixing orange juice with some milk and vanilla extract. i guess you could say it's like drinking a creamsicle. granted that may not sound appetizing but i don't think you'd regret trying it. congrats once again on becoming a blog of note from a fellow brooklynite.

Anonymous said...

Buy Nigel Slater's 'Thirst' - fab juicing recipe book - gives you good ideas for then going off to make your own concoctions!

taste memory said...

love your photos - beautiful!

I make/drink carrot juice - juicy big carrots all you need...also a juice made of apples, a chunk of fresh ginger & a whole lemon is nice too.

Avid foodie here too...feel free to visit my ramblings

Congrats on blogs of note!

Cheryl Arkison said...

I used to work at a juice bar. I own a juicer - I never make juice. But I can give you two big tips. One, it is easy to use either carrots or apples/pears as a base and add other flavours. And two, go easy on strong tastes, like ginger or bitter greens.

I was never a fan of carrot or beet juice, so my favourite combos were apple/cucumber (a couple of juicy green apples and a 4 inch hunk of a cucumber) and pear ginger (a couple of pears and just a half inch hunk of ginger for some heat).

Good luck with the cleaning!

Anonymous said...

hahaha, very nice, cool blog


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"I'm not complaining, I'm just explaining" said...

I found that strawberry, banana and pomegranate is a FANTASTIC combination!!!

Great first thing in the morning, and lot better than grabbing Pop-Tarts and Mountain Dew!!!

Anyone know of some good supplements to add???

Anonymous said...

hey i love your blog and i think juice is super great too. my boyfriend has a juicer and he makes a mean juice from time to time (it is a massive effort to clean the thing though). my favorites are
1. apples and plums
2. cucumber / pineapple / little bit of lemon

Anonymous said...

Betchabygollywow! What an enviable walk of life. All those foodies and goodies to be "burdened" with.

O how I wish the beautiful people in my country will be in the kind of life you live. No bomb threats. No fear of abductions. And away from the madding crowd of terrorists.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Matthew S. Urdan said...

Hi there! Your blog was listed on my blogger dashboard page as the ten most recently visited blogs, and the word "foodie" caught my attention.

Since you're really into great food and great recipes, I think you'd also be interested in FohBoh, (http://www.fohboh.com/?i=28chblcn8r176) the online networking site for the International Restauarnt Industry--but it's not just for restaurant people. It's got great information and interaction with restaurant professionals, executive chefs, videos of culinary techniques and recipe preparation, a vibrant wine community with internationally renowned somelliers and people like you and me just interested in food and drink. The site is worth checking out, and I think you'd find a great deal of value there for both yourself and your blog.

Have an awesome Wednesday night!

Matt Urdan
Meltwater. Torrents. Meanderings. Delta.

Anonymous said...

Great Blog. Keep posting

Cerebrum said...

Hi Jen! I found your blog a week or so ago, read that post on your juice-experience and was so close to posting some suggestions for you, but then shyness got the best of me - and I didn't want to go all food-ga-ga on you right then and there either, seeing I wasn't sure you really wanted suggestions! Now that you've cried JUICE-SUGGESTIONS! twice, I guess I better get over myself, so here are some combos I really like:
Pineapple, orange and lime (for a 300 ml. glass, use 1/3 medium pineapple, half and orange, half a lime)
Watermelon and strawberries (half of each makes for a nice blend)
Apple and orange
Orange and carrot
Pomegranate and apple
- and umm... those are the ones I remember just now. They're simple, but good.
Adore your photos and posts!

Special Design Diamond Ring said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
breathing in the dreaming world said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
breathing in the dreaming world said...

Love your blog!

My daily juice usually consists of:
1 head of romaine lettuce
1 red delicious apple, or nectarine
4 leaves of spinach

You may also add a tomato, and/or a half a cucumber for flavor.

The taste is nice, not too sweet, goes down easily and you'll feel Great afterwards.

This is healthier than the all fruit drinks, which taste good, which can actually be unhealthy, being far too much sugar for the body. I've also read that it's OK if the veggies are not organic since the pesticides remain in the pulp. Organic is probably best, but not always available and expensive.

You also might enjoy the book, "Raw Food Real World", from the gorgeous Sarma Melngailis & Matthew Kenney . Amazing recipes from her restaurant, 'Pure Food and Wine' (one of my favorites in NY!), including some juice recipes, with pretty pictures.
Here's a link:
http://oneluckyduck.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=25

If you keep at the fresh juicing daily for 2 weeks, the clean up will become easy over time (at least no different from other cooking), your skin will glow, and you'll have tons more energy.

Molly said...

I'm always a fan of pomegranate, orange, and lemon juice.

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last hippie chic said...

Hi- just came upon your blog and the juicer bit drew me in! I want to buy a juicer, but after reading through all these comments- I am not sure if I still want to?! Maybe I am really just a smoothie person at heart. I take organic blueberries, strawberries, a smaller amount of blackberries and red rasberries, some Santa Cruz white grape juice (don't use Trader Joes org wh grp- totally nasty), a Wallaby yogurt- nonfat rasberry or blueberry,2 tbsp Udo's dha 3-6-9blend (flax oil) and you are good to go! It taste the best and keeps me feeling good. The best smoothie place is near Swamis in San Diego- called Surf Dog's coffee shck- egt the Aloha Rush- has cocnut in it- I don;t even like coconut, but it is heaven. Also, in Corona Del Mar, there is this awesome health food store one block after See's on the right- they make the best juicer drinks ever- always incredible! They are what got me thinking I need a juicer.... We are living in GA now, so I can't hop over to get some recipes, BUT if you are ever in OC- check them out- you won't be bummed that you did.

bella. said...

i use the juicer every day. but cleaning it is a pain in the ass. i usually make a combination of pineapple, passion fruit and mango. or cucumber and mint. or apple, mint and ginger. or grapefruit and strawberry.