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have i ever told you that one of my first jobs was a summer stint at a local juice shop?\u00c2\u00a0 it was a hop over my back fence and a few blocks to walk to work every morning.\u00c2\u00a0 this was no jamba juice–this was the real thing.\u00c2\u00a0 small, independent restaurant that (when i worked there) sold lots of fresh juice and smoothies as well as amazing muffins, sandwiches, salads, stuffed baked potatoes (i learned here that avocados make excellent baked potato toppings.\u00c2\u00a0 i also like the added crunch of alfalfa sprouts.\u00c2\u00a0 and, of course, plenty of cheese and sour cream.).\u00c2\u00a0 all the food there tasted amazing.\u00c2\u00a0 i still get cravings for some of her menu items.\u00c2\u00a0 (i designed the menu for her (yep, i enjoyed design and layout even back then) and kept a copy, so at least i have a list of all of the sandwich ingredients. even if i don’t make my own mayonnaise* i can still pile up one of her amazing veggie sandwiches.)\u00c2\u00a0 sadly, the place has since gone out of business, and even before it did, she reduced her menu drastically, so i’m my only option is to re-create her foods the best i can remember.\u00c2\u00a0 i think the muffins are a lost cause (i don’t have a convection oven) but the juices?\u00c2\u00a0 well, those are really quite simple to replicate and it’s what i made most often, so that’s what i did today.\u00c2\u00a0 grapefruit juice.\u00c2\u00a0 fresh from the fruit**.\u00c2\u00a0 honestly–can you drink the stuff that comes from a jar\/can\/box\/anything without a peel?\u00c2\u00a0 it tastes like stomach acid to me!\u00c2\u00a0 before i worked at the juice shop, i was blissfully ignorant that apple juice and orange juice taste nothing like the fruit they profess to come from.\u00c2\u00a0 the first time i drank fresh orange juice, i think i actually said, out loud, ‘wow!\u00c2\u00a0 this tastes like an orange!’\u00c2\u00a0 carrot juice (which i’d never tried before) was a revelation to me.\u00c2\u00a0 my favorite combo became orange\/carrot.\u00c2\u00a0 each (early) morning, when i went in to work, we made a big pitcher of orange juice, pineapple juice, and carrot juice and smaller containers of grapefruit juice and “veggie mix” (a random assortment of vegetables that were in the salad bin and weren’t nice enough for the salad plate, but made perfectly good juice.\u00c2\u00a0 making this juice every morning taught me that cucumbers and beets and lettuce make lovely juices while okra…. not so much.).\u00c2\u00a0 we didn’t make apple juice ahead of time because it turns brown so quickly.\u00c2\u00a0 we also pureed strawberries and sliced up lots of banana to freeze for smoothies.<\/p>\n
i really liked that job.\u00c2\u00a0 the only thing i didn’t like was the way my hands smelled after cleaning stuff with bleach water and i didn’t like sore feet, but really, if i ever have to work food service again, i hope it’s in a shop like that one.\u00c2\u00a0 lunch break was always amazing.<\/p>\n
here’s the recipe for a simple smoothie:<\/p>\n
fresh-squeezed orange or pineapple juice (just enough to go past the curve at the bottom of the blender)<\/p>\n
pureed strawberries (no sugar needed.\u00c2\u00a0 you can also just throw in chunks of fresh or frozen strawberries or substitute blueberries or raspberries)<\/p>\n
frozen bananas (key ingredient! this makes your smoothie cold and sweet and thick.\u00c2\u00a0 ripe (but not overripe) bananas taste best)<\/p>\n
add the frozen berries to the juice and puree until smooth.\u00c2\u00a0 add in a handful of the frozen banana slices and get the mixer going.\u00c2\u00a0 if the mixture gets stuck, pour in a little orange juice until it starts moving again.\u00c2\u00a0 when the top of the smoothie is spinning smoothly and there’s a small hole in the middle that goes down like a whirlpool, your smoothie is done!<\/p>\n
optional add-ins:\u00c2\u00a0 yogurt (makes it stay thick longer, adds the benefits of dairy and active live cultures), wheat germ or ground flaxseed (sneak in a little extra goodness), more fruit!
\nfeel free to play around with the juice\/fruit combo, as long as you include bananas.\u00c2\u00a0 i am such a smoothie snob now that i can’t stand the kind that have ice or sugar or (gasp!) come in a boxed mix.\u00c2\u00a0 i hope you enjoy this recipe.\u00c2\u00a0 hmmmm….\u00c2\u00a0 i may have to make one for myself tomorrow for breakfast….<\/p>\n
if anyone is interested, i can post the list of ingredients for her veggie sandwich.
\n*i did actually make mayonnaise once at the juice shop.\u00c2\u00a0 i think i made one successful batch, but i haven’t tried it since.<\/p>\n
**i have a bunch of grapefruits and oranges right now.\u00c2\u00a0 there was a fundraiser where some kids in my church were selling citrus.\u00c2\u00a0 i don’t remember anyone selling cases of citrus when i was a kid, but maybe it’s because i grew up further south?\u00c2\u00a0 where you can buy “texas ruby red” grapefruits in the grocery store.\u00c2\u00a0 any way you can get them, i love the way their bright flavors perk up the back end of winter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
have i ever told you that one of my first jobs was a summer stint at a local juice shop?\u00c2\u00a0 it was a hop over my back fence and a few blocks to walk to work every morning.\u00c2\u00a0 this was … Continue reading