Grandma’s Wheat Grass Cocktail

  » By Keith Prickett

June 30th, 2008 - Posted in Drink | Leave a comment (0)

We took a trip to Grandma and Tom’s cabin this weekend and had such a relaxing time.  I often think that my inspiration for cooking [and eating] comes from Grandma’s great food!  Every Christmas and Summer when I was a child my family would go over the river and through the woods to Grandma’s house.  Every morning there would be hearty oatmeal, fluffy pancakes, or homemade muffins baking in the oven.  We’d always sit around the table and have dinner as a family.  Grandma always (and still does) serves salad, bread, entree and at least two sides with every meal.  Needless to say I would have my fair share.  The food is always delicious and cooked with the experience only Grandma can serve up.

I’m going to write about ribs Tom (Grandma’s husband) cooked a little later but I wanted to share first about the wheat crass cocktail Grandma whipped up for me one day.  I saw a pile of wheat-grass growing (along with the rest of the HUGE garden they  have) and asked what it was for.  Grandma proceeded to show me, with great delight I tried the concotion and enjoyed the grassy flavor.  Pure wheat-grass juice was a bit too strong, but when she added apples, carrots and cucumber it brightened it up.  I’ll admit it looks a little radioactive but, I’ll assure you, it’s healthy!  Here’s what she did:

Ingredients:

• Juicer (She said you really needed a special one made for wheat-grass.)
• Two or three large handfuls of freshly cut wheat-grass
• 1/2 apple, sliced
• 1 whole carrot, sliced
• 1/2 cucumber, sliced

Directions:

1. Add all ingredients to the juicer according to manufacturer’s instructions, pour into your cup, stir and ENJOY!

I hope you enjoy it!

(Sugar-Free*) Applesauce!

  » By Keith Prickett

October 17th, 2007 - Posted in Dessert, Dinner, Snacks | Leave/read a comment (3)

I love applesauce. I can only remember my Mom making it once, but my Grandma’s applesauce was the MOST delicious applesauce you have ever had! I loved the sweet and juicy apple chunks that she had, it didn’t remind me of the store bought kind — and that was a great thing! A year ago, during apple season, I decided I was going to try my own. I could not believe how simple it was to make, not to mention how delicious it was. My mother-in-law let me borrow an apple/potato peeler (a handy little machine) and I was off to work. It turned out great and I made quite a few batches over the months.

Once apple season ended (no more cheap apples) I sort of forgot about it, UNTIL NOW! Cheap apples are back. I got some fresh apples for 65 cents a pound at a fruit stand nearby this weekend so I could make applesauce. Sometimes I find “baking apples” (the bruised and beaten ones) over at Hazelnut Hill for 25 cents a pound during the season (I also can’t resist their chocolate covered hazelnuts!). For my next batch I hope to get over there and buy some cheaper apples.

Now, I don’t remember exactly what kind of apples I bought (shame on me) but you can just ask the clerk which apples might be best for applesauce (gala, granny smith all work though) . Here’s my recipe:

• 6-8 apples
• 1 tablespoon of cinnamon (more or less to your taste)
• Zest of 1 Lemon
• Juice of 1 Lemon

1. You can do one of two things to get started: Peel the apples, or leave the peels on. (If you leave the peals on, later you will HAVE to put them through a food processor. I don’t recommend it, unless you like the peels and don’t want larger apple chunks. I forgot that detail today and left the peels on for fun.)
2. Next, cut the apples into quarters, then trim out the core and seeds.
3. Then place the apples in a pot and turn the stove on to medium-low.
4. Place the lemon zest and juice in the pot and mix it in.
5. Cover the pot and let it sit, come back and stir every 10 minutes or so. You’ll start to notice it turning more and more into applesauce after 20-30 minutes. You can be the judge based on thickness and number of apple-pieces to tell when its done.
6. Now, add the cinnamon or, if you’re not a fan, leave it out or use less.
7. If you don’t like my sugar free version, feel free to add sugar here too. I don’t think I need it after all the pumpkin cupcakes!
8. This step is optional, but if you want to (or if you left the skins on) here you can process the pan. Since I left the skins on mine this time I pulsed mine a few times just to get the skins to bite-sized pieces.

That’s it! I just finished eating (and loving) a warm bowl of applesauce and am looking forward to my next batch already!

In the mean time, I have a lot of books to read. I went to the library today and checked out a bunch of books on food and cooking.

* These probably have a ton of natural sugar from the apples.