Dad’s Refreshing V8-Style Juice
Hello friends! Woah, it’s been a while. Kiddo’s been out of school so my priorities have shifted to trying to find anything and everything for her to do that doesn’t involve a screen. Parent truth: it is incredibly challenging to find things for an upcoming 2nd grader to do, because she’s “too big” for things like the Children’s Museum or Little Gym, which were life-savers when she was younger. But I digress.
The real topic today is the freshest veggie in season - TOMATOES!! I LOVE tomatoes so much; it’s one of my favorite things to eat in the summer. The first tomato and mayo sandwich I have each season, to me, hails in the start of summer. At this point in the summer, if you’ve been growing tomatoes, you might have a glut of them and thinking to yourself “what the heck can I do with these besides canning tomato sauce and salsa?” Oh, my friends, let me introduce you to the ultimate refreshing summer drink (or cocktail?) — tomato juice.
Permíteme a little nostalgia here. When I was growing up, we ALWAYS had V8 juice in the fridge. Looking back, this probably wasn’t common, but it was normal to me. My parents would regularly pour a glass with lunch, or during the hot summer months in Florida… which was basically all year long. While I didn’t drink it as a kid, I learned to love it on, of all places, airplanes. Fun fact: did you know there is evidence that people crave and drink tomato juice more on airplanes? It helps with hydration and has a stronger, acidic flavor and spices than other beverages they serve on planes which means you can actually taste it better.
Because my family has always loved it, my Dad created a simple, refreshing, and delicious “V8-style” (please don’t sue me, Campbell Soup Co.) juice that is perfect for using up some of your excess tomatoes. Now, it doesn’t contain all the veggies that V8 has in it, so you’re welcome to add things like carrots, spinach, etc. Totally make it your own! But this is a great base recipe. Credit to Phil Jamieson - thanks, Dad!
Ingredients:
3 lbs very ripe tomatoes, cored and roughly chopped
1 1/4 cups celery, chopped with its leaves
1/3 onion, chopped
2 TBSP sugar, or to taste
1 tsp salt
8 oz water
*optional add ins: Black pepper, Tabasco, Old Bay, additional veggies.
Instructions:
1) Place all ingredients in a non-reactive pot (stainless steel), bring to a simmer and cook, uncovered for 25-30 minutes until ingredients are well combined and very soft.
2) Let cool if you don’t a blender that can handle heat. If you have something like a Ninja or a Vitamix, you can put it straight in, add the water, and puree. Otherwise, let cool, then puree with the water.*
3) Optional: Run through a sieve to drain pulp. (This is my preference, my Dad likes his a little thicker)
*Dad’s note: Juice may look more brown than red at first, but once you add the water and let it sit for a few, it will turn brighter red.
