Fresh Carrot Juice

How is December treating you so far? It’s that time of the year!  Where it is OK to outdo ourselves cooking for family and friends. It’s a wonderful time. My little brother is all in.  The other day he sat next to me with a pen and a notebook in hands and suggested we plan for Christmas.  He had the perfect holiday in his head and he went on to tell me how the decoration should be, the kind of cards to send out (he has already made them complete with a list of people to send to), the kind of food that will be served and the games afterwards. I didn’t pay much attention to him because I happened to be reading a magazine.  Its only after he had left (after making me promise to brainstorm with him the next day) that I realized how enthusiastic, sincere and pure his intentions are. For him, it’s the season to celebrate.  Watching the innocence in him made me feel like a child again.  Somehow along the lines of growing, we stop dreaming and stop having imaginative lives because we are all on a mission to make a living. If only we could just stop for a moment and enjoy the little things that life has to offer.  So I was thinking it is time I stepped up my drink game because well you know, drinks will be needed.  Yes I am now inspired by my 9-year-old brother to make this holiday worth remembering.  Also, I promised to make drinks and dessert (among many other things) for his ‘dinner party’.  The amazing thing is that this juice is easy to whip up, does not need a long list of ingredients and is a crowd pleaser.

What you will need:

7 Large carrots

Juice of 2 Lemons

3 C. Pineapple juice

3 C. Cold water

Ice cubes

Sugar

Mint to garnish

Method

Wash the carrots well and dice them. Mix the lemon juice with the pineapple juice. In a blender, add the diced carrots, pineapple juice and blend till smooth. Using a fine mesh strainer, strain the juice. Place the carrot pulp back in the blender and add the water.  Blend again till smooth.  Strain the juice and mix it with the first juice. Add sugar according to your liking and still well.  Using a peeler, peel some carrot ribbons and insert them in the glasses. Fill glasses with ice cubes and pour the juice in. Garnish with fresh mint.

Very easy! The key here is to make the juice concentrate and use lots of ice cubes to balance out the sweetness.  Also it can be doubled (…and tripled) to accommodate the number of people you will be serving.  If you desire, keep the carrot pulp for stews. It works really well in thickening them.

Happy Holidays!

🙂

Sophie