Better Home Cooking Basice: #57 Zest, then Juice or Freeze Citrus.

I zest citrus almost daily. By zesting citrus it packs a lot of flavor into dishes without adding extra liquid when it isn’t needed. First & foremost if you are using the zest of citrus (limes, lemons, oranges, etc) you should zest the fruit while it’s whole - it's much easier this way. But then what? Well you can either cut it in half & juice it or if you’re not going to use it right away you can freeze it. I wouldn’t leave it in the freezer for more than a week. When you’re ready to use it take it out of the freezer & pop it in the microwave for about 30 seconds to let it thaw & you can use the juice then. If you don't freeze it the citrus fruit becomes a shriveled tough raisin that is virtually un-juiceable (read: a waste!).

Say good bye to shriveled pre-zested citrus at your house & hello to a freezer full of juicy possibilities.
Get more of my better home cooking basics here. 

Thirsty Thursday: Sweet Heat Juice

Back to detoxing with Irena from Zen Blendz for this Thirsty Thursday post. Irena says this sweet treat is a good way to ease into juicing, without feeling like you're drinking a salad! (Sign me up!)

The sweet pineapple (please use a ripe one) is cut with tart apple. The lemon (or in my case lime - because I ran out of lemons!) balances these flavors. Romaine lettuce is hardly noticeable in juicing but has lots of benefits & makes your juice last longer with added water! (This is true this recipe makes a bunch of juice).

The cayenne pepper rounds out this juice by giving your tastebuds some heat, a great sweet treat for the summer an equally as warming for winter months when juicing may be difficult.

Give it a try & let us know what you think! I really enjoyed it.

Gluten-Free Pasta with Crab, Citrus & Fresh Greens

We clearly eat some pasta at our house. Don't let the "O" and apostrophe in my last name fool you - this girl is Italian & her Irish husband is now too :) Well part Italian at least.

I'm always looking for new recipes to use with the staples I pick up at the grocery store. Yes, canned crab is one of those staples since there is only so much chicken & salmon we can eat.

I jazzed this recipe up with my gluten-free pasta & some fresh greens of course.

Click through for a citrusy take on crab & pasta. Yum.