Edna and Lucy, friends for life

Hello, everybody!! The Fresh Pioneer is back and I've got a new addition to our little family.

 

No, not one of these, although I'd totally go for one of these sweet things!

Our new friend is quite the newfangled contraption around here. We're awed, taken-aback, and thrilled all at once when she gets going. This is Lucy, meeting Edna.

I wasn't exactly sure what was going to happen when I introduced another silver, shiny, ultra-functional appliance. Lucy is a super juicer and she was at a yard sale for super cheap! I was hoping everything worked correctly. In the Fall, we get apples by the box, and her previous owner said she could juice 50 apples in several minutes.

 

                   REALLY???? 50 in several minutes?? That is some serious power.
So, I brought her home and tried her out... not giving her a name yet because I didn't want the kids to get attached and have a repeat of the grill-that-didn't-make-food episode.

I put in some spinach and about 5 apples. Yes, it took about a minute or two to make all this yumminess!! (What? That doesn't look tasty? *ahem* It sort of wasn't. Live and learn.) Edna was quiet but I knew what she was thinking. "Very powerful but no one is going to EAT that."

We decided to try carrots. Small children started chopping carrots for Lucy. (We named her. We liked her. It was time to make something delicious that did not involved spinach.)

ooooooooo! Fresh carrot juice!! I set it before Edna and said, "Look at this delicious healthy beverage!" There was no comment. I passed the glass and everyone exclaimed over Lucy and her power choppers/squeezers/whatever it takes to get liquid from solid.

Then dear Edna asked me what 'd do with the pulp. "Huh? Feed it to the chickens, of course."

She said that Lucy was quite clever, actually. how else to grate all those carrots for carrot cake?
Hm! What a good idea! So with cups of the pulp, I added 1/4 cup applesauce to moisten it up, then mixed in
4 eggs,
1 cup vegetable oil,
2 cups white sugar,
2 tsp vanilla,
2 cups flour,
2 tsp baking soda,
2 tsp baking powder,
1/2 tsp salt,
2 1/2 tsp cinnamon,
1 cup raisins (or pecans but I only had raisins)

I was a little worried about this collaboration since I'd only ever grated carrots (with the juice!) before, but the applesauce was perfect. I could probably try to sub the applesauce for oil next time to cut down on the calories and make it even more healthy!

Mmmmmmmm..... With cream cheese frosting. So, I got my healthy juice (since I'm not eating sugar) and the kids got both a healthy juice and a delicious treat!!

So, sweet Lucy will be making appearances now and then as she and Edna come up with more recipes. They're over in the corner chattering away. I think they're talking about the handsome trunk we refurbished. He's quite a hunk. You remember the photo of him before? Well, brace yourselves. This is Mr. Turn-of-The-Century after my girls and I spent a lot of time (and calories, hopefully) stripping off his canvas.

                                                                          Ta-dah!

And we named the juicer after Lucy Stone. She was a suffragist and abolitionist from the mid-1800's, the first woman in Massachusetts to earn a college degree. She married, but wanted to keep her maiden name. They actually passed a law (The Lucy Stone Law) because it wasn't exactly legal before then. Can you imagine? So, dear Lucy the juicer, squeezing every drop of goodness from wonderful life, is getting along fabulously with Edna, the pot-stirrer and magic-maker!

 Ok, until next time, my friends!