Harry Potter Pumpkin Juice

The label for Pumpkin Juice at Universal's Wizarding World of Harry Potter lists the ingredients as: water, apple juice concentrate, pumpkin puree, apricot puree, sugar, natural and artificial flavor, citric acid, acesulfame potassium, and sodium benzoate. Here is my version of the Wizarding World drink. I leave out the sugar and everything else on the list after it, and my natural flavors come from spices. We find that it is sweet and tasty enough without the added sugar. Because of the purees, this is a bit thicker than most juices, but I understand that the WWOHP product is also slightly pulpy. My Vita-Mix does a fabulous job with this recipe. I haven't tried the WWOHP juice yet, but hope to some day soon. I'd love to know from someone who has tasted it, if this recipe comes close to matching the wizarding beverage.

Harry Potter's Pumpkin Juice
4 cups apple juice (I make mine from concentrate and add an extra can of water.)
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup apricot puree *
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Place all ingredients in blender. Process on high for 1 minute. For best flavor, chill in refrigerator. Shake or stir before serving.
* To make the apricot puree, I puree a can of apricots without the juice in my Vita-Mix and freeze the leftover puree for future batches. You can also use jarred apricot baby food.

**UPDATE** I have gotten to try the WWOHP bottled drink at the theme park in Orlando, and I'd say this recipe is pretty close.

Green Monster

We go through quite a bit of spinach when making smoothies in our Vitamix. It is full of nutrition and is considered one of the "magic vegetables" since the taste "magically" disappears when you blend it with fruit and other smoothie ingredients. We throw a handful of spinach in almost every batch of smoothies we make. Fresh spinach can be frozen for later use in cooking or smoothies. (Just don't expect to make a salad out of it.) I just rinse the spinach, spin it in the salad spinner, and pop it in a zipper freezer bag.

"Green Monster" is a term that can be used for just about any smoothie that contains green vegetables. Here's a recipe for a basic green monster that our family enjoys.

Green Monster
1 1/4 cup diluted juice (apple, white grape, pineapple, almost any juice will do OR use 1/4 cup juice concentrate plus 1 cup water)
1 orange, peeled (leave the white pith)
1 slice pineapple, 3/4" thick, skin removed
1 banana, peeled, fresh or frozen cut into chunks
1-2 cups spinach (1-2 big handfuls)
1-2 cups ice
Add ingredients to the Vitamix in the order listed. Start on variable speed 1 and quickly increase to variable speed 10, then switch to high for one to one-and-a-half minutes.

Vitamix Strawberry Lemonade

Strawberry Lemonade
3 cups fresh or defrosted grapes (red or green)
1 slice lemon 1/2 to 3/4-inch thick with the zest still on
4-5 fresh or frozen strawberries
Up to 1 Tablespoon honey, optional
2 cups ice
Start your Vitamix on variable speed 1 and quickly turn the dial up to 10, then switch to high. Blend on high for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Makes approximately 36 ounces.
Strawberries can be omitted for plain lemonade.
For limeade use a 1/4 to 3/8-inch thick slice of lime with the zest still on instead of lemon.

Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix

The chill in the air must mean it's hot cocoa season! 

Hot Cocoa Mix
2 1/2 cups powdered milk
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup cocoa
2 teaspoons corn starch
1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt
Combine all ingredients, and process in a food processor (I used my Vita Mix on variable 5 or 6.) until well-blended. (This recipe fits pretty well in a one-quart canning jar-especially if you make a cup or two first.)
To make hot cocoa, stir together one part mix with two parts hot water or milk.