We love our rice cookers.  There is so much you can do with them!  Aside from just cooking up the perfect batch of rice, you could steam potatoes, shrimp, crab legs, vegetables.  You could make soups, sauces and stews.  Your imagination is your limits.  Here are some of our favorite recipes.  Give them a try…tell us what you think!

RICE COOKER JAMBALAYA

1 1/2 c. uncooked rice
1 lb. shrimp or crawfish
1 stick butter, melted
1 lg. onion
1 c. bell pepper
3 ribs celery
2 tsp. Cajun Seasoning
2 cans beef broth
2 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. garlic powder
1-2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. Accent

Combine all ingredients in the rice cooker and cook on regular cycle.

SLOW COOKER SWEET AND SOUR PORK  

2-3 pounds cubed pork
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup rice wine or cider vinegar
1 large onion, sliced
2 tomatoes, cut into slices
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons water or apple juice
1 1/2-inch square cube ginger, freshly grated
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 green peppers, cored and cut into quarters

Spray crock-pot liner with olive oil spray. Combine soy sauce, water, and cornstarch with brown sugar. Put washed and dried pork into crock-pot and stir in remaining ingredients except green pepper and tomatoes.

Cook on low for 8 hours. Stir in green pepper and tomatoes.

Cook on high for an additional 10 minutes.

Serve on a bed of rice.

Variations: To make Polynesian pork, eliminate tomatoes and stir in cubes of pineapple and cashews during the final hour.

SHRIMP PILAF  

1 med. onion, chopped
1 chopped bell pepper
1 1/2 c. rice (rice cooker measuring cup)
1 can (4 oz.) mushrooms & liquid
1 can beef broth
1/4 lb. butter
Salt & pepper
1 lb. shrimp

Combine everything together and pour into rice cooker and turn cooker on. When done, the cooker will go off.

SPICY BLACK BEANS AND RICE  

Black beans are high in protein, magnesium, manganese, folate, potassium, calcium and iron. They are economical and can be purchased in bulk and stored in airtight containers for at least one year.

1 lb dry black beans
1/4 cup olive oil
2 onions, chopped
1 shallot, minced (optional)
2 bell peppers (red or green), chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 packet Goya Sazon (seasoning)
1/4 cup white wine (or wine vinegar)
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste)
1 teaspoon Frank's Hot Sauce

Pick over beans to remove imperfect beans and any foreign matter. Rinse well in cold running water.

In a pan, bring beans to a boil in 6-8 cups water. Boil over high heat for 3-4 minutes, then cover and set aside for an hour. Alternatively, boiling can be omitted if beans are soaked overnight.

Drain and rinse beans. In a large saucepan, soak beans in 8 cups fresh water. (This time, do not drain.)

In a skillet, sauté onion and pepper over medium heat until onions are tender and translucent. Add garlic and oregano when onions begin to color (about 5 minutes). Do not allow garlic to brown. Add remaining ingredients; mix well.

Stir mixture into beans in saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low.

Simmer until beans are tender. Serve over steamed white rice while still hot.

Can be prepared in a Crock-Pot. Just soak beans overnight and put everything into the Crock-Pot in the morning. Set on low and cook for 8 hours, or until beans are tender.

If you own a small (2.5-4 quart) pressure cooker, these can be prepared in less than thirty minutes. Sauté onions then add pre-soaked beans to pressure cooker; cover with water or broth and remaining ingredients. Cover and cook at 10 lbs pressure for 20 minutes. Turn off heat and allow sitting 10 minutes, then reducing pressure; seasoning to taste and serving.

Can be frozen in smaller portions for up to 6 months. If preparing larger quantities just for freezing, omit the seasonings and add them in while reheating, instead.

ORIENTAL HOT POT  

1 lb raw shrimp, peeled and divided
2 chicken breasts, skinned, boned, and sliced very thin, across grain
1/2 lb beef sirloin sliced very thin, across grain
1/2 head Chinese cabbage or 1
lettuce heart, coarsely cubed
1 cup cubed egg plant or
15-ounce can (2/3 cup) water chestnuts, drained and thinly sliced
1 1/2 cup halved fresh mushrooms
4 cup small spinach leaves (stems removed)
14 oz cans (5 1/4 cups) chicken broth
3 chicken bouillon cubes
1 tablespoon mono sodium glutamate
1/2 tablespoon grated ginger root or
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Midnight supper, perhaps for New Year's Eve or after the show, can be an exotic affair, even when you're in a hurry!

The foods are sliced ahead, the sauces made, then all stored in the refrigerator.

When guests are hungry, the hostess simply heats the broth and sets out the makings.

Genghis Khan hot pot is another name for this Chinese specialty. Or maybe you've seen it on restaurant menus as volcano soup.

We present at table, an honest-to-goodness Mongolian cooker with a charcoal chimney in the center, but you can put to good use any chafing dish or electric skillet.

What's cooking?

Everything on the tray is raw, of course; chunks of eggplant, crosscut strips of sirloin, halved mushrooms, thin slices of chicken breast, squares of Chinese cabbage, shucked shrimp, fresh spinach.

The broth is chicken bouillon that boasts a faint overtone of ginger in classic far-east style.

Individual bowls of fluffy rice are served at the same time as Hot Pot.

The "How-To".

Pick out a few choice morsels at a time, and drop them from chopsticks, bamboo tongs, or a fork into the lazily bubbling broth.

In a few minutes, fish them out to dip into zesty sauces on your plate, like peanut or red Sauce, Chinese mustard or ginger soy. Traditionalists will poach eggs in the broth when it has taken on subtle flavor from the foods that have simmered in it.

At the very last, the hostess may ladle the broth as a soup.

Delicious!

Dessert? Skip it, or serve a fruit bowl and candied ginger with coffee or tea.

Etiquette: Use one set of chopsticks for cooking and fishing out tidbits from Hot Pot, and use a second set for eating.

If only one set is provided for each guest, simply reverse your chopsticks (large ends down) when you cook or help yourself to food.

Oriental Hot Pot, Chinese Mustard, Ginger Soy, Peanut Sauce, Red Sauce, Hot cooked rice.

Shortly before cooking time arrange the meats and vegetables on large tray or platter; use a bowl for spinach.

Set out dunking sauces. Provide bamboo tongs, chopsticks or long-handled forks as cooking tools for guests.

Heat chicken broth in electric skillet or chafing dish or Mongolian cooker.

Add bouillon cubes to hot broth and stir to dissolve; add MSG (optional) and fresh ginger.

Heat to simmering.

For cooking, have broth barely bubbling.

Each guest picks up desired foods with chopsticks, and drops them into the bubbling broth.

When his morsels are cooked, he lifts them out and dips into the sauces on his plate. Serve accompanied by hot steamed rice and chow mien noodles.

Makes 4 servings.

Recipes from www.cooks.com

Watermelon Mini Cake Delights

 

By Joshua Schmidt

The holiest day of the Jewish year is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement; a day spent in prayer, penance and among other things, fasting.  How grueling it was to me as a child.  Of course I rarely made it through and the few times I did I would break fast (no not “breakfast” spellcheck) with something like a cheeseburger and a milkshake.  Nowadays it’s become popular for people feeling a bit guilty about their sinful diet to do a little atoning of their own with a variety of juice fasts.  Maybe my ancient ancestors were on to something. 

Anyway, this fasting is a risky business and really not necessary for those with a healthy diet already.  Nonetheless, the benefits are compelling.  In addition to getting rid of toxins built up throughout the system from a poor diet it can decrease congestive symptoms; eliminate food allergies and sensitivities; reduces the burden on the digestive system, allowing it to heal; release pesticides, drugs, and other chemicals from stored fat, which can then be eliminated; enhance mental, physical, and spiritual well-being; increase energy and mental clarity; promote glowing skin; prevent chronic diseases caused by poor diet and lifestyle; and clear mucus discharge.

A juice fast is just what it says; a short-term intake of raw vegetable and fruit juice and water ONLY.  This is done because juice is an incredible source of vitamins and antioxidants.  Fasts typically last for one to three days but some people go longer.  I wouldn’t recommend that without some type of medical supervision and monitoring to ensure that nutrient deficiencies don't result. 

So here’s a basic outline of a fast although many variations are possible.  Do your research and find one that’s right for you.  It’s suggested to fast during the warmer months with Spring being the best time of the year for juice fasting.  For seven or more days before the fast, alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, sugar, dairy, wheat, animal meat, fish, and eggs should be reduced or eliminated from the diet.   During this time eat mainly organic fruits, vegetables, and beans.  During the fast between 32 and 64 ounces of juice is recommended and should be sipped throughout the day.  Typical fruits and vegetables include celery, carrot, kale, cabbage, apple, pineapple, cranberry, spinach, beet, and greens. Citrus fruits are often avoided.  In addition to the juice roughly 6 glasses of room temperature or warm filtered water is recommended.  GO ORGANIC!  And if you absolutely, positively cannot, peel the skin off the fruits and vegetables or wash them with a non-toxic produce cleaner like the Cuisine Clean. Fresh juice is a must so the best alternative to juicing at home with a centrifugal and masticating juicer is to buy it from the health food store.  Be sure not to skimp on the wheatgrass, green vegetables and sprouts because they contain the chlorophyll, which is especially beneficial during a juice fast.  These must be juiced in a masticating juicer.  Be sure to combine both fruits and vegetables as they each have their own unique benefits and finally, when you break the fast, return to solid foods gradually.

Certain fruits and vegetables and their parts should not be juiced, like the pits of peaches, apricots, cherries, and other fruits, apple seeds, citrus peels, carrot and rhubarb tops, tough skins (such as kiwi, pineapple, mangoes), and bananas and avocados.  Some people can’t handle complete abstinence from solid food so it’s ok if you eat one meal a day in addition to the juice. 

Pay attention to your body while you fast.  Keep an eye on your weight, symptoms and degree of congestion, tongue coating, degree of hunger, and energy level. If energy level drops for more than one day, if weight becomes too low, or if any symptoms become particularly intense, just break the fast for God’s sake.  This isn’t a punishment after all.  Please note that a certain amount of tongue coating is normal.  It may become thicker or have a more pronounced color (yellow, white, grey) as the body eliminates toxins.   

Certain people should not do this.  Pregnant or nursing women or children shouldn't try a juice fast.  As well, people with diabetes, low blood sugar, eating disorders, kidney disease, liver disease, malnutrition, addictions, underweight, anemia, impaired immune function, infection, nutritional deficiency, low blood pressure, ulcerative colitis, cancer, terminal illness, epilepsy, or other chronic conditions shouldn't try a juice fast or should do so only under strict medical supervision.  People shouldn't try a juice fast before or after surgical procedures.  Remember, a juice fast can reduce blood proteins and change the way prescription drugs react in the body so people taking prescription medications should consult a health professional skilled in detoxification before trying a juice fast, and should never discontinue or reduce their medications on their own.

Be well,

JuicyJosh

www.877myjuicer.com

I’m not sure…  but whether it’s a creative block or the early onset of Alzheimer’s is pretty clear; at least to me it is.  Now what was I talking about?  Oh, eating healthy and keeping the brain sharp as a tack. 

Now the brain is no mere mechanical organ, nor is it simply a storage unit for the countless memories of a lifetime.  It is the combination of these things and but it also contains an enormous capacity for perception, empathy, reasoning, analyses and so much more.  In some ways it could be said that “you” reside there. And without going far into a spiritual discussion about ego and identity let’s agree that whoever one “is” the destruction of the brains abilities through dementia or Alzheimer’s is devastating.

As people get older, globs of a protein called amyloid accumulate between our neurons (nerve cells) and we slow down mentally and become sluggish. Inflammation and oxidative damage accompany this protein buildup which nicks the cell membranes and interrupts the signals between neurons and as this happens we may experience a few “senior moments”.  For many this presents no real problem but sometimes a downward dementia spiral can occur if over time too many proteins gunk together and too much inflammation and oxidative damage erodes cells.

How can this be prevented? Um…  oh right!  Overall, medical science is offering some hope.  “For the majority of people, studies are showing you can probably slow down cognitive decline enough to escape disease altogether,” says Greg Cole, Ph.D., associate director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at the University of California, Los Angeles. And although no one knows exactly why, studies show that healthy eating habits can help.  We’ve got some clues and tips.  If I could just remember where I put my notes…  

“Somewhere under the sea..” Oh right FISH!  According to research one of the most powerful anti-aging nutrients is fish because it is full of those wonderful anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids.  An observational study of 3,718 elderly people in the Chicago Health and Aging Project found that eating just one fish meal a week is linked to a 10 percent slower rate of cognitive decline and other research has found that fatty fish like tuna or salmon are associated with a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. 

In another study on brain deterioration, research found that diets rich in vitamin-E-containing foods like grains, nuts, milk and vegetable oils were associated with reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease as well.  Ground whole grains and nut butters will still contain vitamin E so you can easily get plenty of these in your diet.  Other antioxidants, such as the polyphenols found in colorful fruits and vegetables, the catechins in tea, and even compounds in herbs like sage and turmeric, are all showing promise in cell culture and animal studies so berry filled smoothies and fresh juice from leafy greens and carrots is a great way to get this into your diet.

The B vitamin folate is also effective.  Some large-scale observational studies have linked high dietary folate in foods like leafy greens and beans with less cognitive decline so again get into the grain and juicing.

Well, I think that’s it… Is it?

Be Well,

Juicy Josh

A Few Free Juicing Recipes!

Spinach - Cucumber - Celery Juice Recipe

• 2 Cups Packed Spinach (4 Oz)
• 1 Cucumber
• 1 Celery Stalk

Because celery isn't overpowering, it allows the spinach and cucumber juices to stand out.  Spinach is a great source of calcium, iron and potassium

This makes 10 Ounce with the following Nutritional Facts

• 139 Calories
• 1 Gram of Fat
• 35 Grams of Carbs
• 1 Gram of Protein

Pineapple - Blueberry - Giner Juice Recipe

• 1/4 Pineapple
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1 piece fresh ginger (1/4 - 1/2 inch)

Blueberries are rich in antioxidants, which have been shown to fight certain types of cancer. The ginger aids digestion and sets a South Pacific mood when combined with pineapple

This makes 12 Ounces with the following Nutritional Facts

• 80 Calories
• 0 Grams of Fat
• 16 Grams of Carbs
• 7 Grams of Protein

Enjoy!!

Bio-Magnetic Technology Explained

First, let us say that we do not know the 'true' benefits of this technology.  877MyJuicer.com has not had any conclusive information on these benefits except for what the manufacturers have claimed.  We do, however, have a good explanation of what the heck it means!

Bio-magnetic content and special magnets within the gears of the twin-gear design supply positive ionization to the minerals of the fruits and vegetables which prolongs the freshness of your juices, therefore delaying oxidation for up to 48 hours!  You can then store your healthy juice drinks for later enjoyment without fear of vital nutrients being depleted.

Biomagnetic technology explained:

• Inside each gear mechanism is a section of magnets in series side by side. The magnets alternate positive and negative charges. With the twin gears' side by side design they work together to produce a positive charge which keeps your juice fresh and lively for much longer periods than usual.

• The next level inside the magnetic assembly consists of special bio-ceramic particles protected by a stainless steel housing. Intense infrared technology creates bio-ceramic activity which then gives off positive ions.

• The magnetic assembly in the GS-1000 along with the bio-ceramic material work together like a team recharging each other continually.

• When the twin gears of the machine turn together, the magnet fields and bio-ceramic activity steadily produce the positive ions which are retained within your juice.

• The addition of these ions gives juices a longer life by helping to preserve vital minerals and nutrients.

• This constant activity reduces oxidation and retains the freshness!

Who put the “K” in Vitamin?

By Joshua Schmidt

I just love imagining the