It's Easy Being Green

Now is the time that Arizona citrus is reaching its peak harvest season. When I lived down in the valley, there used to be citrus everywhere you looked. In the area of old Scottsdale where I lived, the home subdivisions were actually carved out of citrus groves in the 1950’s post-war building boom. The developers did a nice thing and tried to leave as many citrus trees as possible while they were building.

The neighborhood I grew up in used to be a grapefruit grove. So consequently at the high point of my childhood home we had 12 grapefruit trees surrounding us. It was a daunting task trying to figure out what to do with so much fruit. As a kid I used to sell brown paper bags full of grapefruit for $5.00 and the best days to sell were days when you knew there were a lot of tourists in town (Fiesta Bowl, Super Bowl, Parada del Sol, etc.)

We definitely couldn’t eat the fruit of 12 trees and there wasn’t much inspiration surrounding grapefruit either. Sure we would end up eating a few as a “breakfast treat” or at least that’s what my dad would try and convince us of the supremely sour fruit. I do miss the intoxicating scent of all the citrus blossoms in the spring though and the sight of hundreds of bright fruits adorning trees in your own yard. Now that I’m older, I do have to say that I’m a fan of citrus and miss the plethora of the harvest sometimes. And, since I’m on my quest for sustainability I’ve also discovered a lot of different uses for the warm weather fruit.

The December issue of Sunset magazine had a great recipe for homemade Rosemary Limoncello. Limoncello is an intensely flavored liqueur typically served as an after dinner drink on Italy’s Amalfi Coast and adjoining Sorrento Peninsula. This is the perfect time of the year to make this homemade liqueur in the desert southwest because of the availability of lemons. If you don’t happen to have good access to lemons in your neck of the woods, you can order direct from some citrus orchards out here. The recipe recommends using Meyer lemons because of their fragrance. But you can also achieve excellent results using Eureka lemons. A local Arizona citrus orchard is McClendon’s Select. The Limoneira Orchard in Southern California offers Meyer lemons through their mail order business. Ojai Citrus also does mail order with mixed boxes containing a variety of citrus choices. You could also get a nice variety of swing-top glass bottles to put your limoncello in for giving out to friends and family once it’s matured. To me, it sounds like a great and different way to enjoy this year’s citrus harvest. If you have a favorite recipe using the refreshing flavors of citrus, let us know about it!

Rosemary Limoncello

Courtesy: Sunset Magazine, December 2007 edition

You will need:

18 lemons (washed and dried)

one 4-inch rosemary sprig (washed and dried)

2 bottles of 100 proof vodka (750ml bottles of Stoli or Smirnoff)

4 1/2 cups sugar

1) Peel lemons with a sharp vegetable peeler, taking only the zest (top layer) and avoiding any white pith. Put rosemary in a 1 gallon glass or ceramic container with a tight seal. Add zest to jar.

2) Pour 750ml. vodka over rosemary and zest; seal container. Let sit undisturbed in a cool dark place for about 40-days.

3) On 40th day, in a saucepan, bring 5 cups of water to a boil and add sugar. Cook, stirring, until sugar has dissolved. Let sugar syrup cool to room temperature, about 1 hour.

4) Pour syrup and remaining 750ml. vodka over lemon-vodka mixture, stir and seal container. Let sit in a cool, dark place for another 40 days.

5) Pour limoncello through cheesecloth into a large spouted pitcher and divide among gift bottles. Limoncello will keep indefinitely in the freezer. Recipe makes 10 2/3 cups and will fill ten 8.5 oz. bottles.

Popularity: 8% [?]

I have a lot of extended family that lives back on the East Coast. They’d never really traveled west of the Mississippi before let alone to the Grand Canyon State of Arizona. That I could believe because to this day, I’ve really only seen nine different states. I guess I’m doing better than some now that I’ve taken a count. What I couldn’t believe about those relatives though was their vision that everyone in Arizona must be a cowboy. I have to admit it is a pretty romantic vision of what life in the west is really like. If only every day could be an amazing trail ride, cooking over a campfire and sleeping under the stars.

I once had a penpal in France that toyed with the same romantic notion that everyone in Arizona lived in the wild west. I was often asked what it was like to have to ride a horse to school and to not have any paved roads…just dirt. It made me laugh on a number of occasions just picturing the visions these people must have of me living in the wicked desert of Arizona. For some reason I think they took the celebrations of the Parada del Sol (what’s said to be the world’s largest horse-drawn parade in Old Town Scottsdale), the Hashknife Pony Express and the Prescott Rodeo and rolled them all into one great idea of what life in the west was really like.

Living in Arizona, the sport of rodeo is around almost constantly. It seems to take a small break during the fall and early winter months but runs the rest of the year. It’s pretty amazing to watch cowboys and cowgirls strapped to the back of bucking bulls and broncos, roping calves, and the “mini-cowpokes” riding on the back of a crazed sheep. If you’ve never been to a rodeo before you should try checking one out sometime. The rodeo circuit really just kicked off this month with everyone now competing for the National Finals Rodeo that is the culminating event at the end of the year. In fact, you know a sport has a following when they can get a couple hundred dollars for NFR Tickets! Even if you can’t afford tickets to the NFR in Las Vegas, I’d recommend checking out a local rodeo near you. For a schedule of events you can head over to the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association website and click the 2008 Schedule of Events on the left side of their page.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Thanksgiving might be a week behind us but I’m still pretty pleased with our decision to go local this year.  Instead of elbowing the crowd at the freezer case at the local grocery store, we located a nearby farmer who raises natural and fresh turkeys for the Thanksgiving holiday.

This is something we’ve done before when we lived in northern Arizona.  Our tradition was short-lived however because the farm bowed out to developers and sold their acreage.  It was disappointing but just another real world example of how small local farmers are edged out of the market every day.  Last year we were new transplants to the Tri-State area and didn’t have much time to begin looking for a locally and naturally raised bird to feast on.

After a call to the River City Food Co-Op, they directed me to Uebelhack Farms located in Mt. Vernon, Indiana.  The family has been raising turkeys for the past 40 years and is not one of those factory farms that inhumanely and unnaturally treats the meat that will end up on our tables.  They took my order, asked if I wanted fresh or frozen and gave me a date to swing by the farmhouse and pick up my turkey.  It was a bit off the beaten path and more expensive than a frozen, store-bought turkey but it was well worth it.

We felt even better about our decision to buy locally sourced meat after watching an eye-opening documentary called Food, Inc. The documentary, co-produced by Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation) and Michael Pollan (Omnivore’s Dilemma), takes a look at how Americans consume meat that is fast, cheap and tasty (or at least that’s what we’re led to believe).  It follows meat from the breeding process in a lab, to the farm, to the slaughterhouse, to the store and eventually onto your table, showing you exactly what you’re eating.

I’ve always been a big proponent to eating locally sourced food but have found it both difficult and cost-prohibitive to find locally sourced meat.  I’ve been talking with another local farmer over at Stonewall Farms in Evansville, Indiana who sells shares of organic, pasture-fed beef, pork, lamb and goat.  After watching that documentary, I think we’re ready to make the leap in 2010 and support a local, organic meat producer.

For more information about Food, Inc. you can visit their website by clicking this link.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Who knew an activity that sounds so dirty on the surface could be so beneficial, not only for our planet but also for yourself?  This morning a dumpster dive find that required really no diving came in especially helpful.

Jack, our orange tabby cat, decided to projectile vomit all over the beige carpet this morning.  In a feined attempt I tried to catch him and get him to a solid surface instead of puking on the carpet.  Instead I was left cleaning up quite a mess, hoping it wouldn’t add another stain to the already pet stained by the previous owner carpet.

After cleaning up the chunkies, I sprinkled the vomit with Borax (I’ve just discovered in my greeness it can be used for virtually any cleaning task you might have) and let it soak for a couple of hours.  Then I used the nifty carpet steamer we found by the dumpster the other day to suck it up and scrub it down.  We found out the reason it was put by the dumpster is because the hot water container leaks all over the place when you attach it to the steamer.  The simple fix is to just hold the container and squirt the water you need on the spot and then scrub it and suck it out of the carpet.  It may not be as convenient but the machine still works and doesn’t need to clog up our landfills anymore than they already are.

The free carpet cleaner we found sitting by the dumpster. It still works!

Another great dumpster find I made was back in Arizona when we lived in an apartment complex there.  Someone who moved out had left a 32″ TV by the dumpster and a portable, rolling Rediwhip freezer like you’d see in the grocery story.  Both worked so how can you pass up extra freezer space and a bigger TV for free?!

The free Reddi-wip freezer I found next to a dumpster in Arizona. The working items people throw out is sickening!

Have you found any great finds that someone else put out for the trash?  Don’t be ashamed, share your story!

Popularity: 10% [?]

Here in Evansville, Indiana, recycling seems to be somewhat antiquated.  Compared to the system we had in Flagstaff, Arizona, there are even fewer things the recycling program here will accept.  To make matters worse, they only provide you with one small bin to put all your stuff into.  I quickly made friends with the man who runs our curbside pickup (which by the way, only happens every two weeks and is a huge drawback for big time recyclers like us) because I watched him have to sort out every category of item and place them in specific bins at the curb.  I thought that just seemed a terrible waste of time for him and decided we would sort our own items into separate containers.  Using old plastic storage bins, we now have four containers we place curbside.

My Crude Recycling Setup

Yesterday, I completed a week’s worth of sorting duties on the back porch and was amazed at how much we actually recycle.  Each week, we generally only produce one or two bags of garbage thanks to composting the organics and sorting out the recyclables.  My  neighbors aren’t so diligent though and that’s when I ran across something they should watch.

A Canadian filmmaker has released a new project that is all about our waste: the trash you put in that container to be picked up and hauled away.  Andrew Nisker shot his documentary using the McDonald family.  The family of five were asked to collect every piece of trash they generated over three months and keep it in their garage.  What was generated three months later is said to be an eye-opener.

Garbage: The Revolution Starts at Home runs 76 minutes and explores the waste generated by the family as well as where the materials came from to generate the waste and where they will go in the end.  The film shows how we act with our garbage has a profound impact on our surrounding environment.  To learn more about the film or to order a copy, head over to their website by clicking the link above.  I think it’s worth a look-see and can’t wait to watch the film.

Popularity: 5% [?]

With gas prices still on the rise and holding at record levels, there seems to be a lot of discussion revolving around shortening the work week to only four days.  Some schools in Arizona are considering the move because not running busses one day out of the week would save a tremendous amount on fuel costs.  It would also help out family budgets since they would be driving to school one less day every week.  But can parents handle the extra day of the kids being home to save some money on gas?  Is it worth one less day of education every week?  Those are interesting questions that will only be answered if someone actually passes this measure and it goes into effect.

In addition to schools, some employers are kicking around the idea of going to 4 day work weeks as well.  You’re still going to work 40 hours in those 4 days.  Or you could telecommute one day out of the week.  That move would supposedly save a lot of fuel consumption too.  But, if you had one extra day off work, do you think you would end up driving the same amount you would normally going to and from work that day?  Has your employer considered an idea like this or have you presented it to them?  Let us know!

Popularity: 4% [?]

The University of Arizona has unveiled their new, completely solar powered car for an upcoming competition.  Apparently it is completely street-legal.  Check out the link below:

UofA Solar Powered Car

Popularity: 3% [?]