Good Morning Juice

I juice a lot this time of year.  Something about all the beautiful citrus available, and my need to have a healthy family.  They go hand in hand you know:)  Each morning as my children are just about to head out the door for the bus, they each get a big glass of Carrot Orange Juice.  I usually sneak an apple or two in as well, and I really try to up their carrot consumption.  Some of the kids love it, and others tolerate it, but they all drink it.

I'm turning into my mom actually.  As a kid she juiced all the time.  In fact I remember the skin on the palms of her hands being a lovely shade of orange most of my growing up years because of her carrot juice habit.  I believe my mom came by it naturally though.  Her parents were big juicers.  I used to  run over to my Grandma B's house on a summer morning, bust through their door without knocking, and walk into the kitchen to say hi, just as my grandma and grandpa were drinking down their Carrot Celery Juice.  My grandma told me the carrot helped the celery not taste too bitter and the celery helped the carrot not taste so sweet.  They drank a cup of this concoction everyday I'm sure.  If you walked through their door early enough in the morning, you could always have a sip if you wanted.

There's so much out there about juicing.  It's the "buzz" word right now.  But you know, it's tasty most of the time, and dang good for you so why not drink up.   Mary Poppins always said a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.  Well an apple or a pear makes kale go down too:)  I'll share a few of my favorite juices over the next few days and share what I like, and what I don't.  So to start here's the juice that James and I have almost every day.  Good Morning Juice.  Feel free to add what you have on hand.  I love it with some pineapple, and James doesn't particularly love the grapefruit in his, but beggars can't be choosers.  And remember, the recipe is a "guideline", not an exact recipe.  Mix it up, and see what you like.

Good Morning Juice

Ingredients

• 1 Grapefruit
• 3 Oranges
• 1 Pear
• 6-7 Carrots
• 1 Apple

Cooking Directions

1. Wash carrots, apples and pears. Peel oranges and grapefruit. I cut all my fruit into quarters to fit in my juicer, but depending on your juicer, you may not have to. This amount of fruit makes approx. 32 oz. of fresh juice.

Homemade Peppermint Marshmallows & Hot Chocolate

Here I am.  The longest day of the year, and actually a very exciting day if you think about it.  We're on the downhill slide to summer.   Yeah!  And I have sick children as well.  Seth lost his lunch on the bus ride home yesterday.  Poor child.  So we're home bound today, but I'm OK with that.  The shopping is complete, there is cooking to be done, and recipes to share.

I noticed the other day,  a friend who lives far far away, made these little babies this week.  Great minds must think alike:)  "Happy Peppermint Marshmallows Christine!"  So last week I gave a demonstration on making homemade marshmallows for a bunch of ladies at church.  They're always such a nice audience and so kind.  These marshmallows are always the perfect treat in the summer, but I don't always make them for Christmas. They do add a little extra special touch to the holidays though don't you think?

I ripped this recipe out of a Martha Stewart Living magazine probably 14 years ago.  I think we still lived in Pocatello and it took me a few years to dare try it.  I don't know what took me so long.  Something about the fact that I had no idea how a marshmallow was made.  It was a mystery and something you just bought in bags I thought. It's really an easy recipe, and quite impressive to make.  People think you're magic!  In years past I've tinted the peppermint marshmallows pink and dipped them halfway in chocolate.  Now that was yummy, but this year I did as Martha Stewart showed and marbled those babies.  My kids thought I was amazing and Martha Stewart herself.  The ladies enjoyed them at church, and we are still enjoying them with our hot chocolate every night as a family.

As a kid, my mom would make homemade hot chocolate for us, and I loved it.  It wasn't a powder you added to water, but hot milk with loads of cocoa in it, and just the right amount of sugar.  My kids love this hot chocolate now as well.  Something is just extra special when milk is warmed and there is a giant hot pot of steaming cocoa on the stove.

Make some marshmallows, and cocoa for this weekend.  Family and friends will think you're amazing, and it really isn't hard at all.  It's extra special and fun to have.  Enjoy!

Peppermint Marshmallows

courtesy of Martha Stewart

Vegetable oil, for brushing

4 envelopes unflavored gelatin (3 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 teaspoons)

3 cups granulated sugar

1 1/4 cups light corn syrup

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (or 2 t. peppermint extract)

1t. red food coloring

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions

Brush a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish with oil. Line with parchment, allowing a 2-inch overhang on the long sides. Brush parchment with oil; set aside.

Put granulated sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 3/4 cup water into a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Cook, without stirring, until mixture registers 238 degrees on a candy thermometer, about 9 minutes.

Meanwhile, put 3/4 cup cold water into the bowl of an electric mixer; sprinkle with gelatin. Let soften 5 minutes.

Attach bowl with gelatin to mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. With mixer on low speed, beat hot syrup into gelatin mixture. Gradually raise speed to high; beat until mixture is very stiff, about 12 minutes. Beat in vanilla. Pour into prepared dish, and smooth with an offset spatula.  Drop the red food coloring all over the marshmallow and use a toothpick or a kabob skewer to marbelize.  Not to hard.  Set aside, uncovered, until firm, about 3 hours. Better if overnight.

Sift 1 cup confectioners' sugar onto a work surface. Unmold marshmallow onto confectioners' sugar; remove parchment. Lightly brush a sharp knife with oil, then cut marshmallow into 2-inch squares. Sift remaining 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar into a small bowl, and roll each marshmallow in the sugar to coat. Marshmallows can be stored in an airtight container up to 3 days.

Homemade Hot Chocolate

courtesy of my muther:)

1 gallon milk or a combination of milk and cream or half and half.  It all tastes good!

2 c. sugar

1 c. cocoa powder

pinch salt

1/2 t. vanilla

Add all these ingredients together and bring the milk to a simmer.  Adjust the sugar and cocoa to your liking.  I also like to add 1/2 t. of cinnamon sometimes for a Mexican Hot chocolate.  Serve with homemade marshmallow, or big dollops of whipped cream.

Wassail

Was Thanksgiving not wonderful?  We just got back from the best long weekend with friends.  My kids were all in tears as we drove over the Golden Gate Bridge headed for home.   They loved being with their San Francisco "cousins".  For days there were six children snuggled on a huge leather couch watching all sorts of movies and loving being together.   We went for walks, and out to dinner.   We stayed up way to late every night talking and talking and laughing and laughing.  We ate leftovers to our hearts content.  The kids thought it was amazing that there were 10 people for dinner, but we had 7 pies.  Almost a whole pie per person.  It doesn't get any better than that.  Our holiday was small and intimate and absolutely delicious.  We learned some new fun traditions that I don't think we can stray from.  Our friends have a tradition of frying up sausages to eat along side the turkey.   Who doesn't love a good wienie.  For breakfast or anytime for that matter.  Seth was in heaven.  And a wonderful corn casserole will now grace my Thanksgiving table every year.

One of the special touches of the weekend was a big steaming pot of Wassail set out for anyone who needed a bit of holiday cheer.  Nothing says "Holidays!" quite like Wassail.  Warm apple and spices being sipped out of lovely little mugs, with Nat King Cole being played in the background.  Yum!  As a kid my mom would make Wassail a lot.  Every Christmas, but she would also make huge jugs full to take up skiing every Sat. morning to Snow Basin.  We would ski all morning and then head down to the car for hoagie sandwiches or Spam sandwiches, and steamy cups of "Grog" as my dad would call it.  We would all act like we were a bunch of drunk pirates drinking our Grog.  Fun as heck!

So as the holidays have started, Cheers to all, and enjoy your cup of Wassail too!  Here's to a great start to the most wonderful time of the year!

Christmas Wassail

10 whole cloves

11 whole allspice berries

3 cinnamon sticks

1 inch chunk of fresh ginger

1 quart water

1 c. sugar

Bring all these ingredients together and bring to a boil for 5 minutes.  Let cool slightly.

Now add:

2 quarts apple juice  (or 1 qt. apple juice and 1 qt. cranberry juice is real good!)

1 6 oz. can of lemonade concentrate

1 12 oz. can of orange juice concentrate

Stir together and heat through.  Enjoy!  I leave the spices in the mix, but you can strain them out if you don't want to dodge them while you're drinking.