How to Make Pomegranate Juice

My mother-in-law is a pomegranate juicing expert. I watch her every day lovingly peeling, seeding and juicing pomegranates for an hour for her husband. She goes through so many pomegranates that the two trees on the property don't produce enough fruit for her. You may wonder why she doesn't just buy commercially prepared pomegranate juice, but once you try it at home you'll know the difference. The commercial varieties are prepared from concentrate, which definitely affects the flavor. My mother-in-law is actually so fanatical about the flavor of the pomegranates that she takes a knife to the grocery store, buys one, and makes sure it is sweet before buying more. Read on to learn her tips and secrets for preparing delicious fresh pomegranate juice.
Full Recipe...

Avocado Shake (Sinh To Bo)

Sinh tố bơ is a Vietnamese-style avocado milk shake. In Vietnamese, avocado is called trái bơ, which literally translates to "butter fruit". The name is quite appropriate for this drink, which is sinfully rich. I take heart, no pun intended, in the fact that avocados are so nutritious and are loaded with the healthy kind of fat.

Full Recipe...

Pumpkin Oatmeal Smoothie

Recently I made a pumpkin spice latte and it got me thinking about other drinks that I could make using this Fall flavor. The girls love smoothies, so it seemed like an obvious choice.

I combined some pumpkin purée with traditional pumpkin pie spices such as nutmeg and cinnamon to form the base of the smoothie. Maple syrup and brown sugar provide the sweetness, and oatmeal helps to thicken the drink and provide texture. No bananas here.

If you're looking for a healthy alternative to gorging on slices of pumpkin pie, this smoothie fits the bill.  It has the same flavor but with fewer calories and more nutrition. If that's not your goal, you could always throw in a scoop of ice cream and make a milkshake...

Full Recipe...

Pumpkin Spice Latte

What's the cure for a chilly Fall afternoon? A pumpkin spice latte. I decided to make some today because the girls have the week off from school and they really wanted to cook. They wanted to make a pumpkin pie, but I thought it would be fun to take our pumpkin pie recipe and turn it into a drink.

I've had pumpkin spice lattes in the past that really only have nutmeg and cinnamon. I made ours with real pumpkin purée, and I sweetened the latte with condensed milk, as I do for cà phê sữa nóng (Vietnamese-style coffee).

It was such a hit. I served the latte in tall glasses, and as quickly as I poured it, the girls drank it. Sunny actually took to drinking it directly from the saucepan!

There's definitely going to be a big pot of pumpkin spice latte on the table for Thanksgiving. If you try it, I bet it'll be on your table as well.

Full Recipe...

Fresh Ginger Apple Celery Carrot Juice

When I look back at my New Year's resolutions, you know, those lies we tell ourselves at the beginning of each year, I realize that I haven't made good on my resolution to use our juicer more. I think the only time I used it this year was to make plum juice for a tofu recipe.

My other resolution has gone pretty well. I started this food website on January 1st of this year as our way of keeping track of what we eat and helping the girls have easy access to my recipes when they want to make them on their own. I thought it would help me be more mindful of my family's diet and maybe lose weight. It seemed like a great way to add some discipline to my life.

There are fewer than 90 days left in 2009, so today I decided to break out the juicer and make us some juice. I recently bought a lot of carrots, celery and Fuji apples. All three are perfect for juicing. I combined them in the juicer, and I threw in a touch of ginger to give it a little zing. It tastes delicious and makes a great breakfast.

So clearly I'm not on my way to becoming the next Jack Lalanne, but at least I've made good on another resolution. Now if I could just figure out how to lose 5 pounds before our 5-year-anniversary trip to Cancun at the end of the month...

Full Recipe...