Saturday, April 20, 2013

Green Juice and Broth

 In case you're curious...Here's what my green juice and vegetable broth look like...at least the one jar of broth that I didn't freeze and shatter. I'm always surprised at how the juice separates some to the top and some to the bottom.  So I shookem!
That looks nicer, right?
Since I'm juicing regularly, I'm ending up with quite a bit of pulp and therefore quite a lot of broth.  I'm using it for everything from cooking rice and potatoes to throwing in mixed frozen vegetables for soups.
I feel very virtuous. Ha ha.
You have no idea how easy it is though and how lazy I am. the juicing is the time consuming part with all the washing of the veggies. The soup part is easy - thanks to Crock pot liners and a colander.
In case you're wondering - the green of choice is Parsley. I love the flavor of it but that actual chewing...not so much. It is super good in juice though!

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Freezing in glass jars - tips and tricks

If you do something...ahem...dumb like me and try to freeze fluids in glass jars, I have a tip for you.
Once you open the freezer and notice that the jars are cracked, remove them and put them in a paper bag to defrost them.  The liquid will leak out and the glass will stay in the bag for easy disposal. If the bag is clean, you might be able to put the whole thing in a bowl and save the liquid...if not leave it in the sink and there won't be a big mess.
I get smarter every day.
How did I learn this lesson? Well, I've started making green juice ala Kris Carr and feeling bad about all the pulp going out in the trash. Then it occurred to me...I could save some of the pulp for vegetable broth.
So last time I juiced a bunch of parsley, celery, carrots, cucumbers and apples - I saved the first 3 and put them in my crock pot with some onions, garlic and herbs and ended up with a wonderful vegetable broth.
I simply strained it out through a colander to catch the pulp.
Too bad I didn't freeze it in plastic...