Grapefruit Glut

Before....

It dawned on me the other day that I have a LOT of citrus in the bowl on my kitchen island. I know we're eating it, but between the CSA and our backyard orange tree, the bowl hasn't emptied with tangelos, mandarins, oranges and grapefruit. This isn't a terrible problem to have, but while contemplating a Saturday night cocktail, the bowl of fruit caught my eye and I realized that I needed a recipe for citrus cocktails!

Online I go and, thanks to White on Rice Couple I was quickly inspired by their Salty Chihuahua recipe. Instead of their suggested tequila, I went with the traditional vodka and enjoyed fresh squeezed citrus in a martini glass! If you don't mind getting your hands a little sticky, this is a great way to get your vitamin C (and vodka!) for the day.

Squeeze one grapefruit into a cocktail shaker with ice, add two ounces of vodka, shake and pour into a salt rimmed glass. Cheers!

After!

Tis the season...

...for camelias in Sacramento. Mine have been blooming for a month or so now and I found this particularly pretty one yesterday. Enjoy!

Paying it Forward: Garden Compost Edition

So my plans for yesterday were simple enough. Make a run to the dump (don't they have a nicer name for it now?? I can never remember it....) with the brush pile created from last weekend's crepe myrtle pruning and, while there, pickup some compost for the two raised vegetable beds. I know I can buy bagged compost at my local garden center, but I'm trying to be more green, right?? Since I don't have a compost pile at the moment, I put my green waste out on the curb every two weeks and it is taken to the "dump" where it is turned into compost. Shouldn't I pickup that compost and take it back to my house now?

After much discussion and review of how much a yard of compost actually is, my husband and I decided that 1/2 yard of compost would be plenty for our future veggie beds. We pay for our purchase ($20/yard) and are instructed to drive to the compost area where someone with a loader would meet us. All of that was simple enough, but when the guy with the loader arrived at our truck, he dumped what must have been over two yards of compost in the back (and all over) our truck! There was so much it was piled up as high as the cab and poured out of the back all over the bumper. What would we do with all of this compost?!?!? My simple little project was now a really big project.

We immediately called friends and asked if they wanted some, which they did. After much ridicule, and the determination that they only needed to fill two half wine barrels, they sent us to a neighbor whose entire backyard is filled with fruit trees and raised beds who was thrilled to take some of the compost off our hands - and offered us apricots in the summer in return - yum! The three of us shoveled at least half of the haul into his backyard, then gave our friends two wheelbarrows full and, in the end, had about 8 wheelbarrows for our own yard and raised beds.

Our little dump run took three hours, but we were able to share our "wealth" with other gardeners and, speaking of good luck, I found a penny while we were unloading the truck and found three ladybugs in my raised beds. If that isn't a sign of good luck to come, I don't know what is. Now I'm looking forward to the fruits and vegetables I'll be enjoying this summer - from my very well amended soil.

Buying renewable energy is super easy!

I actually would not have believed that to be true. Don't I have to install solar panels on my roof for tens of thousands of dollars so that I can be "off the grid" or something like that? I always thought that it sounded great, but just not affordable or feasible for me. However, I learned last week that the City of Roseville offers the option to purchase green energy, specifically, wind and solar generated electricity from around Northern California for an extra 1.5 cents per kilowatt-hour. My husband and I went over every electric bill for the past year to figure out what that would cost us in an average month. Based on our last 12 months electricity use, it would be an extra $13/month to purchase clean, green energy. What a deal!

I think we also get a little yard sign that says that we purchase green energy which should be a conversation starter in the neighborhood as well. From what I understand, every time someone signs up for the program, it adds renewable energy into the city's "pipeline" and reduces non-renewable energy. Therefore, the more people and businesses that sign up, the more of the overall city energy will be renewable allowing them to put more solar panels on city buildings for even more green energy. I'm sold!

For more information, visit http://www.roseville.ca.us/electric/green_roseville/default.asp

What exactly do I put on my skin every day....Prologue

Over the years, I have always struggled with keeping my skin clear and balanced. The typical teen acne continued into my 20's when I finally got serious about clearing it up permanently. My dermatoligist took me through the usual escalating treatments - topical creams and gels like Retin A, followed by prescriptons for tetracycline and settling on the use of Accutane when nothing else worked after six months. Taking Accutane was no simple remedy. The plan was to use it for six months during which time I had to visit my derm every month for checkups after ensuring that I was on birth control since the drug has such severe effects on a fetus and was required to have monthly pregnancy tests "just to make sure". In the end, the Accutane cleared my skin, but it dried me out so severely that my lips would bleed when eating. After four months, I cried uncle to my doctor and insisted on stopping the treatment.

After all that, my skin was more or less clear on a regular basis. I would have occasional breakouts but nothing overly objectionable. In the last few years however, it seems to be getting more sensitive to my surroundings. Of course, it has been a process of elimination to figure that out. Three years ago, I decided to work on evening my skin tone out from all of the years of scarring by alternating between regular chemical peels and microdermabrasion. This has been successful in improving the quality of my skin, but I started breaking out constantly on my chin and nothing my esthetician nor I would do could clear it up. Through process of elimination, we figured out that it is related to construction (what, specifically? who knows....) Between work and home, I have been around construction and renovation almost constantly for the past few years so it's not that surprising.

All that being said, I have become much more conscious about what I do to my skin and how I can keep it clear and healthy. If construction dust landing on my skin can have such an adverse reaction, what about my cleanser, moisturizer, foundation and hairspray? What exactly is in that stuff? Taking the time to find out, and find alternative products has been eye opening indeed! I'm now slowly phasing out my skin care products one at a time and one month into my experiment, I'm having excellent results with Dr. Alkaitis Organic Herbal Toner and Organic Day Cream. The ongoing breakout that has most recently plagued me for months is clear and I've noticed a glow to my skin. Bonus - the company is in West Sacramento so I'm also supporting a local business!

Here is a quote from his website: www.alkaitis.com
"Dr. Alkaitis manufactures his products from certified organic, biodynamic or ethically wild-crafted ingredients. All the products are manufactured in-house in his West Sacramento, California lab. The ingredients are never heated above room temperature to preserve the plant's healing properties. The products contain no synthetic preservatives or chemicals, trans-fats or genetically modified organisms. His motto is "if you can't eat it, don't put it on your skin."

Next up in my experiment....foundation, and based on my early research - this wil be trickier. Stay tuned!