Weekend Juicing

I've never been a big juice drinker, not like the kids today who are guzzling all these store bought cartons of different punches and fruit combos.  Back in Pakistan (where I grew up) juice was a treat..   whenever you're out on the streets you could buy deliciously sweet and refreshing sugar cane juice, which I adored!

Two of my favourite juices in the world are sugar cane and carrot juice! My dad brought a juicer home one day and I remember my mother making carrot juice for us.  Vibrant orange, sweet, frothy thick and refreshing with a hint of earthiness, I drank every drop of the stuff!

In my teens I did some juicing, introducing beets, celery and ginger to my favourite orange drink for health benefits.  Lately (as in the last couple of years) I haven't done any juicing, and I don't know how good it is (other than a treat) because I've been reading about some controversial studies but after dusting off the hamilton beach juicer and on a gorgeous day like today it seemed like the perfect project!

I ran over to the supermarket, picked up a bunch of goodies and here you see them all set out onto my kitchen table, then the juicing began!


Some new ingredients that I tried today were Kale & Spinach, alone they were so strong but mixed into the rest of the juices like a cocktail it was really quite delectable!

I can't believe I drank 4 glasses of the stuff though, haha.

Incase you're wondering about the pumpkin seed oil, it's a product that was recommended to me by the shop owner while I spent yesterday morning at the St.Lawrence Market in downtown Toronto.  I got to taste a sample before buying, and it tastes AMAZING! Not for cooking but cold applications of just taken by the teaspoon before bed to replenish vitamin supply in the body.  If you're interested read up more under "Austrian Pumpkin seed oil" or "Styrian gold" and check out the photo sequence of my day yesterday as well here 

So if you've been inspired today to get back into juicing (like me) or try it for the first time then how about making an event out of it? Throw a juicing party and have an array of fresh fruit and veg so that your guests can choose fun combinations that you (or they) can run through the juicer and make fresh juice on the spot!

I think it totally makes the cleanup worth it!

Raisin Drink - عصير الزبيب

Here's a unique recipe for a raisin drink commonly made in Ramadan, I remember our relatives in Kurdistan showing my mother how to make this and they said it was very healthy to drink.

We use a specific raisin, it's almost black and looks almost dusty but it plumps up nicely once soaked and the process is very easy to prepare. I had a hard time finding these raisins in the west but came upon them at an Afghani store, you can try looking at middle eastern/arabic/persian stores and you may find it if you're interested in trying it.

It is not necessary to add any sugar to this drink, although some people do but I find it sweet enough and one can adjust more concentrated juice according to their taste or thin it out with some water.

I would suggest making a small amount because it does not keep or I'm afraid it would ferment so to prevent this I also boil some water in the kettle and sterilize all my equipment like blender, bowl, strainer, ladle and a container to keep it in the fridge.

Also you will need some water to add to the juice so I added boiled water to a pitcher and set it aside to cool down.

The night before I soaked the raisins after washing them well and pouring some boiling water over once and then rinsing well and soaking in clear water.

Pulse the raisins in the blender and add as much water as needed to easily blend them then put the mixture through a strainer.

Chill and serve!

Watermelon Juice

Simple, fresh and easy. What could be better?

Watermelon juice:

Take pieces of watermelon (I use the leftover bits that sit in the fridge for a few days)

Blend pieces in blender

Run the juice through a sieve and into your pitcher.

Pour.

Drink.

Repeat.