peach pepper punch, csa week 13, and alaina turns four

hi friends! i hope you're all having a nice weekend. now that i'm able to upload photos again, i thought i'd do a little catch-up post.

first, we have what was going to be my entry into a juice contest. it's a peach pepper punch, made before i got to work canning peach pepper jam with peach, cucumber, chiogga beets and jalapeno. it didn't taste as pleasant as it looked, plus i couldn't upload the picture, so it wasn't entered into the contest. i did love the peachy-pink color it made.

as feared, muth's crop was affected by the heavy rains caused by hurricane irene, and they'll be closed for a few weeks to allow their crops to "catch-up". to make up for the loss, they brought in organic carrots, celery, and potatoes from other farms. it seemed unnecessary, as they still have so many things to offer, but it was very much appreciated.

muth family farm's organic csa week 13: acorn and butternut squash, sweet peppers, raspberries, sage, patty-pan squash, tomatoes, jalapenos, potatoes, eggplant, watermelon, fennel, green onions, carrots and celery.

so colorful!

pretty peppers

we celebrated my niece alaina's fourth birthday last weekend, and the little skooch held her ears again when we sang to her. we're no partridge family here, but we're not that bad! (or are we...)

alaina and daddy (my brother, craig)

ps - alaina's shirt says "all you need is love"=)

raw that and a bag of kale chips...

a title john came up with for a raw recipe book. funny guy.=)

this weekend has found us eating a lot of cooked food, so we've been drinking some raw nutrition.

since there are no fresh greens in the house, our juice above was topped with dehydrated kale powder and below, spirulina went into our smoothie.

this sweet smoothie consisted of two frozen bananas, an orange, a carrot, a few tablespoons chia seeds and just a teaspoon spirulina (someone doesn't care for the flavor so we're easing into it.)

shelled hemp seeds gave it a nice crunch as well as a dose of iron, calcium and essential fats.

speaking of raw, yesterday i received carmella's delightfully raw recipe book in the mail. this book has everything you need to know about raw foods, and then some!

we also purchased a package of sea spaghetti that carmi and don wanted to get off their hands. i've been so interested to try it; i'll let you know what we think!

adventures in juicing

a quick trip to a local produce outlet yielded lots of fruits and veggies for juicing.

since the produce wasn't organic, in it went for a 10-minute soap nut soak, which is said to remove 95% of surface pesticides. most of the bags were washed and reused, and the beet greens sauteed with button mushrooms made a delicious side.

for two juices, i chopped some parsley, 2 cucumbers, 2 carrots, 1 apple, 1 orange, 2 small beets and a knob of ginger.

everything all set to go

our hand-me-down jack lalanne power juicer pro does a fairly nice job considering it's a lower-end model (by a higher-end man, whom i poured some juice out for. rest in peace, mr. lalanne.)

half of the chopped produce made just under 16 ounces of juice. not too shabby!

unfortunately, the jack lalanne juicer doesn't make the most of the veggies, especially the leafy greens (which are the most important veggies to consume). for getting those greens in, raw salads, smoothies or sauteed green dishes are my best bet.

to be honest, i don't juice very often. it's kind of a hassle to get the juicer out and to clean up after. somehow i slop up the whole kitchen - why do you think i called it an adventure?!=) when it feels i haven't been eating too well (ahem, girl scout cookies), i like to clean my internal mess with some juicing. it just feels right. if i were to fall ill, i believe i would buy a better model and juice more often.

if you are looking to juice for healing, i recommend doing research and investing in a model that will masticate the heck out of those greens and make the most of your produce. my research says a large portion of our juice (and diets) should be green: kale, collard, lettuce, escarole, spinach, cabbage, bok choy, celery, fennel, chard and so on and so forth.=)

the juice pulp gets perfectly pulverized for the critters in the compost which will then produce rich soil to be used in our garden. there's no such thing as wasted produce when you compost, in my opinion.

when juicing organic goods, i like to save the pulp to make vegetable bouillon cubes or raw crackers.

 another sweet juice - minus beet, orange and ginger, plus lemon

for some greenage, a teaspoon of spirulina.

organic or not, fresh juices promote cellular cleansing and healing on many levels. just the act of juicing makes me feel happy and healthy. it also leaves the whole first floor smelling crisp and clean. cheers to raw fruits and veggies!

coming soon: adventures in sprouting...

snuggles and soups

some s's getting me through this sh*tty shivery season...=)

snuggling up with a nice read is what i love most in winter. there are plenty of blog posts to peruse, but it's not very comfy to curl up with my huge laptop. i've been compiling a list of worthy books to read, but it seems to have gone missing.

can you recommend a good novel? as long as my local library has it, i'm willing to check it out. i'm open to all genres and am particularly interested in reading about pioneer times, as well as simple living and living off the grid. please share some of your favorites!

until then i'll enjoy my new seed catalogs and dream of warmer days.=)

 onto some eats...

... lentil soup and raw pizza with steamed broccoli. YUM. i've yet to make a pot of soup or raw pizza i haven't enjoyed. as lentils are inexpensive, delicious, and full of protein, they often find their way into our savory soups. they really "beef" up our veggie soups nicely.=) i think i've sung enough praises for raw pizza.

during these dreary days, raw juices and smoothies are quick pick-me-ups full of nutritional benefits to support immune function. now that i'm able to make fresh juices, i've been preferring them over smoothies. however, it feels a bit wasteful to neglect the pulp. after some research, i found a way to use the fiber for veggie broth!

simply puree the pulp with whole tomato or tomato sauce and freeze in ice cube trays. (filtered water would also work.) add one or more to your next batch of soup for a boost of flavor and sustenance.

and there you have it... homemade veggie bouillon cubes!

jack be nimble, jack be quick...

jack juice me some carrot sticks!

we now have a juicer! a jack lalanne power juicer pro given to us by generous friends.

our first juice consisted of apple, cucumber, lemon and ginger, plus chard and carrots from the garden. t'was glorious. question: do you juice the carrot tops?

i'm in love.

♥