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by Humaira
Our holiday season was made even more special by a visit from my cousin Ghani, who is on his first trip to the United States. It was really fun to show him around, and see my world from his perspective. He had many insightful questions such as:
- What is the difference between McDonalds and In-N-Out Burger?
- Why did educated, democratically elected American politicians shut their government down?
- What is the difference between a street, court, boulevard and avenue?
Some questions were easy to answer and other not so much.
We took him to many restaurants, he was game to try new things but felt most foods were too dry and needed more oil.
He shared recipes for a variety of his favorite Afghan dishes which I hope to share with in 2014. In Afghan hospitality the guest is never allowed to enter the kitchen but we finally relented and allowed him to make his favorite juice for the family --- an instant hit.
I find that most people stay away from whole pomegranates since they are difficult to seed. In this recipe I have a quick and easy technique to seed pomegranate in less than one minute.
I hope you start your new year with a glass of Ghani's wonderfully refreshing and healthy juice.
Ghani's Quince, Pomegranate and Apple Juice
1 large pomegranate seeded
1 quince cored and cut in slices
3 red apples cored and cut in slices
1/2 cup water
Roll whole pomegranate on a hard surface or kitchen counter while putting pressure with both hands. This loosens the seeds. Cut the pomegranate in half, hold the open side down in the palm of your hand over a deep bowl to avoid the splatter of the juice. Take a heavy spoon or a wooden spatula and hit the back of the pomegranate 3-4 times. Most of the seeds will fall out after a couple of whacks.
Pick out the rest of the seeds by hand and remove any skin before juicing. Put the fruit through your juicer, pouring a little water in between each fruit to clear out the juicer.
Serve with ice. Makes 4 large glasses.
Your Comments are appreicated!
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Narges Jan - Thank you very much. This is one obsession I really like. I'll keep the recipes coming. - Humaira
Posted by: Humaira | 01/18/2014 at 02:17 PM
I am obsessed with your website. please continue to share your amazing recipes!
Posted by: Narges | 01/18/2014 at 12:42 PM
Dear MJ- Thank you for your insiteful comment. Perhaps, your search landed on my site for a reason. Maybe you were meant yo share all of this with us. As for seeds, we did not have any problems making this recipe since we seeded the apples and quince before running it through the juicer. Happy 2014. - Humaira
Posted by: Humaira | 01/05/2014 at 09:52 AM
does anyone have the issue of the hard little tiny seeds that are actually, the seed of the seed. getting stuck in between the blades of the juicer? i mean my mom went through two different high end juicers, however, those hard tiny little army of seeds really get in the holes and the blade literally cannot cut through them..... any suggestions or a brand that will not get stuck and break down? I cant help but to raise the amazing way Allah (SWT) works.... beautiful fruit, best tasting and at the same time its a fruit that teaches you something we all need to learn (some more than others).. amazingly, it teaches us to be patient, to keep your eye on the prize and in return, a marvelous 5-10 minutes of pure delight :) BUT- there is another lesson to be learned.... during the "patience" time of removing the seeds, if you go to fast or not pay enough attention you may lose a few of delicious gems only leaving the hard tiny seed and if your note careful, you may accidentally put in the skin of this delicate fruit into your bowl! when you do not notice the "skin" of the fruit, in the bowl, one millimeter of that skin will have you tasting a whole different totally opposite taste. in life, when you do not learn from your "accidents" and you add the "skin" or the unnecessary things into your life, your entire world changes just like the taste buds in your mouth changes and has a bitter taste no matter how many seeds or spoons you had of this fruit... WOW- my apologies to the readers, i actually was looking up something absolutely different and ran into this article and on to this drink because my sister makes something similar...(she adds carbonated water which makes it a really great alternative with dinner instead of the standard 3745 bottles of coke during our infamous Mehmanee's ( afghan get togethers or party on a moderate scale) and thats the reason i ended up writing here after i read Humaira's comment to actually leave a comment.. turned into more of a very long paragraph..... i dont know all of that just came to me so i thought id just write it... :) take crae all and happy eating!!!! MJ-Fremont, CA
Posted by: M.J. | 01/05/2014 at 02:17 AM
Taste of Beirut - Weren't the questions great? It was things we just don't think about much, well maybe the government shut down is something we thought about a lot. I am so glad you liked the post - Humaira
Posted by: Humaira | 12/31/2013 at 08:20 AM
Perfect! we have quinces apples galore and pomegranates here; loved the questions he asked! great post; Happy New Year!
Posted by: TasteofBeirut | 12/31/2013 at 07:59 AM
Pam - I have admit a juicer can be long term commitment. - Humaira
Posted by: Humaira | 12/30/2013 at 02:24 PM
Waheed, I didn't realize you worked so hard to find the quince. I'll make this for you - Humaira
Posted by: Humaira | 12/30/2013 at 02:22 PM
Not fair I didnt get to have any of that juice, I did take him to 40 diffrent markets to finally find Quinces.
Posted by: waheed ghilzai | 12/30/2013 at 01:42 PM
Yum! I may need to buy a juicer just to make this.
Posted by: Pam | 12/30/2013 at 01:14 PM