Why do I crave fresh juice? Geocaching here we come!

My poor Sage juicer has been sat unused for a few months, today though, I craved fresh fruit/veg juice for my breakfast.I decided to follow my craving and grabbed the following organic veg and fruit that came in my Riverford order before Christmas:-

Ingredients

2 small apples
1 small pear
1-inch fresh root ginger
2 sticks celery
1/2 cucumber
2 small carrots

I've got a great centrifugal juicer, so it extracts most of the juice and leaves very little waste. It produced a pint of juice, slightly sweet but very hydrating, full of vitamins and minerals to give me a boost and prevent any bugs.

I've also treated myself to the Liver Rescue hardback book by the Medical Medium. I've been following him on Instagram and started reading the free introduction on my Kindle app, it was advertised as "Medical Medium Liver Rescue: Answers to Eczema, Psoriasis, Diabetes, Strep, Acne, Gout, Bloating, Gallstones, Adrenal Stress, Fatigue, Fatty Liver, Weight Issues, SIBO & Autoimmune Disease". This makes so much sense that our Liver's are the hidden organ that we don't care for, but impacts on every other organ in our body, so I'm going to start seeing if it makes a difference.

When you want to get outdoors and see the countryside, it's important to have the right footware, so I bought some Karrimor hiking boots. We have decided to start getting out in the fresh air and going geocaching again. A great way and excuse to have fun in the outdoors, see great scenery and find hidden treasure. If you are looking at ways to get the family outdoors, it's worth investigating and you don't need a proper GPS, but a phone with the app will work well (just remember to take a charger to run in the car to keep the battery topped up). Another trick, mark the location where you leave the car before you start off on a trek, you may need to navigate back later.

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Sunset juice

To increase vitality, reduce stress and build the immune system, we are increasing the amount of fresh organic vegetables and fruit in our diet. Last year I bought a brilliant juicer that removes all of the juice and the residue is really dry, it was a Sage juicer.

Our Riverford order this week was a Juicing Box and also a Large Veg Box for the 3 of us, we probably won't get through all of the veg, but it stores really well, so I'll top up next week. Our order arrives on a Thursday.

Juicing box

Box contents
Carrots UK
Beetroot UK
Curly kale UK
Fennel IT
Cucumber ES
Ginger PE
Turmeric PE
Apples UK
Pears UK
Blood oranges IT
Grapefruit IT

So out came the juicer and I decided a Vitamin A & C boost would help fight off the bugs and a cold that seems to be brewing.

I tried to think what I could call this juice and decided on Sunset Juice as the colour was amazing.

Ingredients

1 apple (pull stalk out)
1 large carrot
1 orange (I cut the peel and pith off)
1 thumb sized chunk of fresh ginger

Method

Scrub all the veg (no need to peel if organic).
I started with the carrot, then the apple, then orange followed by the ginger.

The resulting juice is amazing and so refreshing.

The benefit of this juicer is it takes the whole fruit, you don't need to chop it into smaller chunks. You can't beat fresh juice, maximum nutrients with such amazing flavour.

Large veg box (original)

Box contents
Potatoes UK
Onions UK
Carrots UK
Celeriac NL
Cauliflower UK
Swiss chard IT
Oca FR
Chestnut mushrooms UK
Red pepper ES
Vine tomatoes ES
I also added some avocado's, red onions and shallots to my order.


So far we've eaten a rainbow on Thursday, 6 veg with our evening meal, in a roasting tray I popped chunks of parsnip, carrots, red onions, beetroot and potatoes all tossed in 1 tbsp or olive oil, then some swiss chard braised in a pan. We roasted up some skinless chicken thighs in a roasting bag, this traps in the moisture and creates succulent chicken.
We are making our Turkey chilli tonight and will use some red onions, tomatoes, avocado to make salsa and guacamole as accompaniments.

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Marrow and Date Chutney

Hot vinegar - wow it clears the sinuses

Oh 'tis the season of mellow fruitfulness and I always get the preserving bug at this time of year. Every time I've walked into the kitchen this week, half a marrow stares at me, egging me to cook it. I know that there are another 4 growing in the garden, so I'd better do something useful with it.
Options, stuff it, but that's just one meal, or turn it into a chutney, that can be enjoyed for the rest of the year.
After researching on the web, I've taken the best bits, plus the ingredients I have in the cupboard and created my own recipe. Providing you have the correct proportions of vinegar to sugar, and cook it enough, the chutney will work.

Ingredients

1.25kg marrow, cut into 1cm dice
2 red tomatoes, chopped
2 onions, chopped
1 cooking apple, chopped
250g chopped dates
500ml organic cider vinegar
2 tsp ground allspice
2 tsp ground ginger
200g brown sugar
2 tbsp Maldon salt
ground black pepper

Method

Put all of the vegetables, dates and vinegar into a preserving pan, bring to the boil and then turn to a simmer and let it bubble gently for 30 minutes until the marrow has softened. Add the sugar, spices, salt and pepper and then stir until sugar dissolves, bubble gently until thick. It is it the right consistency when you can see the base of the pan for a few seconds when drawing a spoon through.
Transfer into sterilized jars, seal, label. Leave for a month to mature (if you can resist). The chutney should keep for 9 months.

There is nothing like the smell of chutney cooking, it is very pungent, clears the sinuses, but is well worth it.

My family can smell the chutney cooking before they get near the front door, but it's the indicator that it must be autumn.

This makes great Christmas presents.

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