If you juice up a whole pumpkin… what to do with all that juice? (My thought being, if you’re gonna do it… DO it, and create some extra juice for tomorrow from your effort today.)

Here’s a great recipe for that, as berries so nicely off-set the quintessentially pumpkin flavor of the fresh juice. And pumpkin seems to have a starchy quality which adds a creaminess to the smoothie.

If you don’t have raspberries, use blueberries, cherries, even goji berries or golden (“Peruvian”) incaberries instead!

In this smoothie, I use only half of the raspberries in the smoothie itself, and the rest is mixed with some honey into a mash that you can put on top as a garnish. It then settles into the smoothie as you drink it, giving texture, and a great hit of raspberry juiciness.

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My whole family loves the Harry Potter books and movies, and — foodie and beverage connoisseur that I am — two details of the series which have always been particularly enchanting for me are the pumpkin juice that the Hogwarts students drink in their mess hall, and the Butterbeer that they order up at the Hog’s Head pub when they want to feel cozy, re-vitalized, and warmed-up from the inside out. I’ve always wondered what made Butterbeer so special, and have long wanted to create a recipe for something that could proudly stand up to that name.

I wanted to make a Butterbeer that wasn’t just decorative, but that truly worked, one that possessed authentically herbal “magic”. And of course, one that highlights the genuine power of raw and living foods…and this is definitely it! There is certainly no Butterbeer recipe anywhere like it, I am quite sure. It’s the Real Deal.

I’ve had this particular recipe in mind for at least 5 months, now, but it required first procuring a stash of galangal…and then waiting for pumpkin season to deliver its first crop! With the first pumpkins to hit my local grocery this week, finally, all the pieces are in place! And the end-product is everything I imagined it would be.

My 70-year-old father who is not into Things Exotic liked it, and when I offered him a second glass he said about the warmth he felt, “Not yet… I’m waiting to see how far it goes.” And my 20-year old son Auden remarked, “Wow… this is quite an achievement!”

I hope you all feel the same!

How I Constructed My “Butterbeer” Recipe…

My vision for “Butterbeer” was something golden sunny-orange, and fizzy, and warming, something that warms you up from your heart outwards, like a hug, or a shot of good tequila.

And I wanted its effectiveness to be truly herbal, to reflect the kind of “witch’s brew” wisdom that Harry may have learned about in Potions class, and which has come down to our modern-day nutritionists from herbalists centuries, even millenia, ago.

For the lovely butter-sun glow, pumpkin juice seemed the screamingly obvious choice. Add a combination of fresh apple juice and some quality vanilla and the drink starts off with the refreshing, autumnal coziness that Butterbeer should inspire as it quenches thirst upon those first sips.

For fizziness, I envisioned ginger beer, the kind with a lot of heat and sweetened with organic cane sugar. As an alternative, it can always be made with fresh ginger root and seltzer, but whichever the case, it needs the intense warming qualities of real ginger. For the batch shown in these photos, I used a variety of organic ginger beer that has the most heat of any ginger beer I’ve ever tasted. But you use what works for you.

The next ingredient that I became so excited about using is galangal, a root known for its anti-inflammation and anti-cancer properties. In the 1100s, mystic abbess Hildegard von Bingen (also an extremely knowledgeable herbalist and healer) called galangal “the spice of Life”, the with such life-affirming potency she felt it was the king of herbs.

It has been described as an aid to overcome sadness, to promote well-being, to instantly improve the heart’s function and circulatory system, and truly “give heart” when depression or low energy has settled in. If there is any root, herb, or spice on the planet which would have been included as a primary ingredient in the Butterbeer enjoyed by Hogwarts students and professors alike, surely it is galangal! And indeed, it struck me that Butterbeer should in fact be built around a freshly made galangal tea.

And finally, I included some cayenne powder, also for it’s potent reputation for improving heart and circulatory system imbalances… not to mention for it’s warming-you-up-from-the-inside-out feeling when you add it to beverages.

Where To Buy Galangal

I was quite fortunate to find a pound of dried Galangal Officinarum (“lesser galangal”) tucked away in a sack in the local health food store, and that is what I used for my first batch. But I found it much weaker in potency than what I had used earlier this year.

The galangal which I had previously purchased online (my son’s doing… it is to his credit that I first learned about it) was a different type of galangal: Galangal Kaemferia, a southeast-Asian variety also known as “kencur”. I prefer that variety over the “lesser galangal”, as the former is spicier and more pungent in flavor, while the Galangal Officinarum variety is quite mild.

I will, going forward, be buying my Galangal Kaemferia from an online source. But keep in mind that, if you live near an Asian market, you may be able to procure it there because galangal is a key ingredient in the very common Thai soup called “Tom Kha Gai”, a chicken soup make with coconut milk and galangal. I would love to try making a tea from fresh galangal; in line with my beliefs around undenatured foods, I suspect it would be quite potent in its effects.

As long as you can locate some pumpkins to juice, and you’ve ordered or picked up a batch of galangal… the rest of the ingredients in my “Butterbeer” recipe are quite pedestrian!

The Benefits of “Butterbeer”

This Butterbeer is as refreshing, heart-warming, and reviving as I expected it to be. It’s got heat, but in a good way. It’s sweet but not cloying, and certainly exotic — I guarantee you have never had anything like it before!

It’s the sort of drink for when your spirits need lifting, or your energy, or when you’ve been giving something your very all and need restoration, whether it’s athletic activity or work around the house.

My first thought while enjoying the warm vibe it gave me was…this will be my new friend when I resume ballroom dance competition, whenever that may be.

A Note On Juicing Pumpkins:

If you can find an organic or trusted local source of pumpkins, do seize upon it! Pumpkin-juicing is not difficult if they are organic, but if they are not, you need to cut off the skin of the pumpkin before you juice them and that is a serious pain the tuckus.

Ideally, if you can find some of those adorable little pie pumpkins, organically produced, all you have to do is hack off the top, slice into wedges slender enough to fit through your juicer and go to town.

In my case… alas… my only pumpkin option was a jack-o-lantern picked up at Target, of all places. So, I hacked off the top, cut into giant wedges and then lengths, and began the tedious task of cutting the thick orange skin off with a knife.

After that, it juices quickly. And I juiced up the pumpkin goopy and many of the seeds as well. If you don’t overwhelm your machine with seeds, it is likely no problem. My Jack La Lanne Powerjuicer managed it fine.

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I was delighted this week to find a good local source of giant aloe vera leaves! It’s been a few months since I enjoyed a smoothie made with fresh aloe vera gel, and the fresh gel is el primo for alkalizing your body and helping to get rid of inflammation and stiffness, not to mention a whole host of other great health benefits.

I wanted to make an alkalizing smoothie especially for my mom, who — for health reasons — prefers her smoothies to be on the low-sugar, low-glycemic side. She found this plenty sweet, but you will see how surprising mild in sweetness it is. Most people mistakenly think of mangoes as being a very sweet fruit and, after having made smoothies using mangoes almost every way imagineable, I can vouch for it being a refreshingly mild in sweetness.

Is Aloe Vera Gel Bitter?

Now, as for the gel… I always use the monster-sized leaves I find in the grocery store, but I know that many people have smaller plants growing at home and are itching to use those. I have heard numerous complaints about aloe vera gel being bitter, which I have never, ever experienced. The aloe juice, yes… but the gel. And I have a sneaking suspicion that the bitter gel may be found in whatever variety these smaller home-grown plants may be.

Coincidentally, my parents just picked up & planted an aloe plant over the weekend, so I will be trying it out to see if it tastes any different.

From my experience, when I cut open a fresh aloe very leaf, the gel always smells like chicken soup, not the real kind but the sort they used to make when I was in grade school. I have no idea why this is the case, but, there it is. However, when I cut out the gel and use it in a smoothie (and I use ALL the gel in a giant leaf when I make a smoothie), the flavor is utterly, completely neutral. I can even make deliciously mild vanilla smoothies with it and it doesn’t interfere with the delicate flavor.

So. That’s my spiel on gel from the sacred aloe plant (which, by the way, comes to us via the health wisdom of Egypt, how nice).

Picking up a few leaves every time you go to the grocery store is a good practice. They run about $1.99 in my area. A fair price, I think, for the kind of rejuvenating, rejuicifying effect they can have on connective tissue in your body!

To cut the aloe vera gel out of a fresh aloe vera leaf:

1. First, slice down along each side of the leaf to cut off the spiky edges.

2. Next, cut the leaf in half crosswise (just to make it easier to handle), and then cut the top layer of green skin off each piece.

3. And finally, run your knife underneath the layer of gel, just above the bottom layer of green. As you release the gel from the bottom, cut it out in blocks or panels, and when you’ve finished, scrape or cut out any extra little bits.

And take care — the gel is slippery! Rinse your hands while you’re working, so you can maintain control without losing a finger.

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This drink — mild, just a wee bit creamy but not too much, and with a nice clean aftertaste — reminds me of pumpkin-juice-drinking Harry Potter peeps. But it’s easier than juicing, and has the mild quality of frothy dairy milk. And I just love the gorgeous, gorgeous color, which cheered me on at the gym when I took it with me for my lastest sweatfest.

And speaking of Harry Potter beverages… I’m currently working on a “Butterbeer” recipe for tomorrow (using pumpkin, of course!)… famous for warming up one’s body and spirits from the inside out!

Also, I’ve included a few suggested variations, depending upon what you have on hand… And a special note: there is no nut or seed milk used in this recipe. Unless you want to of your own accord, of course!

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Now here’s a hot-weather beverage that could really take off. It has the light, truly refreshing quality of iced tea, with the fresh basil having an almost minty accent. Fresh, raw zucchini provides a light, tasteless backdrop for the basil and red grapes for sweetness.

(If you have organic zucchini, make with the skins on and jack up the “green” aspect of your Live Green Smoothie).

I gave a glass of this to my non-raw father to enjoy whilst watching the latest World Cup game. A great refresher after having worked outdoors all morning in the Florida sun.

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Lovely, velvety, with a romantic rosy blush… and you hardly need romance happening to enjoy it. I poured a couple out to enjoy with my father, who liked it very much.

By now, if you’ve been following me for any length of time, surely you have some rose water in your cabinet that desires to make fresh appearances now and then, and this is a great way to enjoy it! Even if you choose to leave the vodka out (two recipes included, here), this is a delicious blend of mango, strawberry, and rose water to help keep the summer heat at bay.

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So refreshing… like Essence of Watermelon, but with a creaminess that must come, almost inexplicably, from the mango!

Add a wee bit of Citron vodka and, well… let the festivity start.

Gorgeous in a lovely glass. So fresh. Eezy-peezy. I mean… what more could you ask for?

There’s enough here for two blenderfulfuls, and the recipe involves making the mixer separately so you can make it as strong or as weak as you’d like. Shoot, leave out the alchohol altogether and do the virgin thing… whatever floats your boat.

Just… enjoy.

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The way tomatoes taste in heaven…

This is a sweet, tropical answer to the Bloody Mary, and I’ll bet you’ve never had anything like it!

The intent of this recipe was to make a Tomato-Rose Sorbet sweetened with Mango, made creamy with Zucchini, and made aromatic with Rose Water. But it was so delicious, I couldn’t wait for it to freeze and drank it as a smoothie aperitif. The result… a delicious, wonderfully flavorful beverage that makes a truly 100% raw cocktail… and also a great creamy sorbet when frozen!

I’ve been asked by a few people to showcase more fresh tomato recipes, so I have that trend going on right now. And one thing to remember: tomatos go great with mango! Remember that the next time you want to prepare a colorful sandwich or salad platter for company. Or for yourself. They complement each other so very well, with the earthy pungency of the tomato slightly mellowed by the tropical sweetness of the mango.

Add rose water and this really does get ethereal.

What… you don’t have any rose water yet! Get with the program, darlin’… you simply must have that in your cupboard a.s.a.p!

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This is a serious beta carotene blast with explosive ginger flavor! And it retains a smooth, creamy texture in the freezer, unlike many raw sorbets which get kinda “sharp” and hard pretty quickly.

I made a Ginger Float outa my portion… I scooped some of the Carrot-Mango-Ginger sorbet into a bowl and poured some of my favorite extra-gingery Jamaican Ginger Beer over top! Yum-mers…

This isn’t a combination you’re likely to find in your grocery store, and it just takes a few minutes to whip up out of utterly pedestrian ingredients you might even have on hand right now!

And it’s so pretty. Great for company. Shoot, I think this would be lovely even with a dollop of whipped organic, grass-fed cream served to guests after a lovely summer meal. Think outa the box. Just do whatever you can to use these recipes for real in your everyday life!

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This fruity fresh, Warm Live Tea made with mango and strawberries was a big hit with the kids. Whip this smoothie up and warm it in a jiffy and every mango-lover in the house will love you.

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