I got a juicer

And over the weekend it was immensely fun to start experimencing with it. I've been meaning to for a while. Among other things, since that lunch. Also, since good quality and natural juice is increasingly hard to come by and expensive... And, also, because this happened.

I bought the Breville multi-speed juicer. It's great, and I got a $100 rebate from a store promotion, making it a (near) no-brainer. Without the rebate it was $249, probably worth it in the long run if you use it a lot and keep it forever, but still not exactly cheap... It is easy to dissasemble and especially to clean -all the parts are dishwasher safe. I just rinse them and brush the metal filter to clean out the pulp beforehand. All the parts are tightly covered -the extractor itself, the pulp container, and the juice pitcher; we wondered why until we used it and were blown away by the sheer power of this thing. Seriously, without covers, it would send produce EVERYWHERE in the NEXT ROOM -possibly at your neighbours', too. The (large amount of) pulp can apparently be reused in some recipes (although I haven't checked that yet) and also as compost (which we haven't set up at the new house yet).

LP was an eager consultant, suggesting options I didn't think would fly with him, such as beetroot and spinach. Which, miraculously, don't really "taste" as such in the final product, more like provide a mild, not at all unpleasant earthiness to the concoction. Not to mention their antioxydants and all other health benefits. Not to mention color! A single beet is the culprit for this beautiful ruby hue.

 
The key is to balance green/bitter veggies with some sweetness, I think. And a little acidity is always welcome, too. So, here was our winning mix: a few apples (Fuji, Pink Lady and Granny Smith), a few Bartlett pears, one lime (whole), one lemon and one orange (peeled), one beet, and roughly two cups of spinach (half of a small plastic tub).

What did it taste like? Very fresh, not too sweet, beautifully complex. Surprinsingly, like lemon and lime, mostly. Like a straight, stiff drink of pure health. I got lots of fruit and veg to juice this week (including kale, watercress, etc.), and I can't wait to try some more. I have no idea if tomatoes juiced this way are any good, but we currently have about half a ton so we shall see.

Anyone interested to see what little F was up to during the 5 to 10 minutes we weren't paying attention to her because we were all focused on the juice? I thought so. No need to fear for the juicer exploding all over; 17-month olds can also provide that kind of entertainment, if need be. Today there's still yogurt everywhere, including on the walls, door, and floor.