How-to — Blog — Let the Good In

File this under "Late to the Game" (as in, I was late to catch on to this concept!). My first encounter with coffee ice cubes in my iced coffee was when we were in Sayulita, Mexico earlier this year for the wedding of one of my best friend. The iced soy latte you see to the left here was a coffee revelation. Good, strong coffee that doesn't get watery and diluted as the ice melts? What's not to like!I've been meaning and wanting to make this for some time now, but it's been one of those things that I tend to think of at inopportune times. Finally the other day when at Trader Joes, I picked up a tin of their Vanilla Chai-Spiced Coffee and headed home with iced coffee on the brain. Into the french press went the coffee grounds as the electric kettle brought water to a boil, and I got a large glass jar and ice cube tray ready for the prepared coffee. Then, this weekend, with the coffee well chilled and cubes well frozen, those two along with some coconut milk made for a very refreshing beverage that did not get watered down as time went on! Absolutely the best way to enjoy iced coffee.

I spotted a small container of wheatgrass - which I love - amidst sprouts and herbs at New Frontiers recently, and curiosity got the better of me so I grabbed it to try preparing the juice at home for the first time. I initially thought we'd use the juicer, but another experiment with that machine recently left enough to be desired that I decided to instead tackle the wheatgrass with a blender and fine mesh strainer.Turns out you don't need a fancy juicer or special wheatgrass juicer to make your own wheatgrass shots; a high powered blender will do the trick as well. Granted I did have to use a little water, so the juice was a little more diluted than usual, but it still had its trademark refreshing, sweetly grassy taste.How to Juice Wheatgrass Without a JuicerThe container of wheatgrass I bought was about 5 x 5 inches and filled with rooted wheat grass. I cut the green grass portion off and put it into my blender (a Blendtec). I then added few ounces of cold water - enough to just cover the flat part of the blender blades. I pressed the juice setting button, and let the Blendtec go to town! Once it was done, I placed a small fine mesh strainer/sieve over a Pyrex measuring cup (you can replace this with just about any cup or bowl) and poured the juiced wheatgrass through the strainer, using a spoon to press down and extract as much liquid as possible. Very little was left in the strainer aside from a bit of thin pulp and some foam. I then poured the wheatgrass juice into two small glasses (see photo - that's a teaspoon in front of the mini glass to help show how small the glass is), and we drank away!As I said, the addition of water to this makes for a wheatgrass juice not quite as concentrated as what an actual juicer would produce, but that didn't bother us; it was a very enjoyable and delicious morning treat to have this at home!Why wheatgrass? Read more about the potent benefits of this powerful detoxifier at the Hippocrates Institute.