GREEN DRINKS GATHERING ON 11/28

Come one, come all to the Long Beach Green Drinks gathering on Wednesday, 11/28:

House of Hayden, 7-? p.m.
421 East 1st Street
Long Beach
(between Atlantic & Long Beach Blvd.)
Questions: Jenny@FundraisingGreen.com
http://www.greendrinks.org

Hope to see you there!

THREE WAYS WITH FUYU PERSIMMONS

Photo courtesy of K & J Orchards, Winters, CA

Fuyu persimmons are one of my favorite late-fall fruits and last week a neighbor shared her bounty with me.

Over the years I've experimented with serving Fuyus in a variety of ways, and people who haven't tried these crunchy, tomato-shaped fruits are often won over in just the first bite. Unlike the Hachiya, which is gelatinous, the Fuyu is best eaten when firm.

Pick some up at a local farmers' market or health food store--or if you're lucky, try to get a few from a neighbor's tree.

Here are three simple recipes:

In the Raw

Wash Fuyu persimmons with cool water. Pat dry. Slice off the stems. Cut into eight pieces and put in a decorative pattern on a plate. Place toothpicks in each slice and serve.

Spinach Salad with Fuyu Persimmons
Serves 4

1 10-ounce bag baby spinach, rinsed and patted dry
1 med. Fuyu persimmon, washed, dried and sliced
2-3 T. pecans, toasted (can substitute walnuts) and coarsely chopped
dried cranberries or pomegranate seeds
your favorite vinaigrette salad dressing

Place spinach in salad bowl and top with sliced persimmons, toasted pecans, and dried cranberries (or pomegranate seeds). Gently toss salad with dressing.

Note: For added flavor, crumble feta cheese on top.

Mexican-Style Fuyu Persimmons

2 Fuyu persimmons, washed, stemmed, sliced
juice from one lime
salt
cayenne pepper

In a bowl or on a plate, drizzle lime juice over sliced persimmons. Sprinkle with salt and a dash of cayenne. Toss gently.

Note: This was my husband's invention a few nights ago and he loved it!

GREEN TIP BLOG

There are many earth-friendly websites to visit, in addition to the plethora of green blogs that exist for timely information. Here's a link that was sent to me last week:

This Week's Green Tip blog

GREEN LIVING EXPO IN VENTURA THIS WEEKEND

If you happen to be in or near Ventura this weekend, the Green Living Expo is on today and tomorrow, offering exhibitor booths, workshops, and tips from guest speakers.

For more info, visit this website:
The Green Living Expo

The next "local" expo will be at the Los Angeles County (Pomona) Fairgrounds, March 28 and 29, 2008.

STILL OUT AND ABOUT

You'd think by now, that desert tortoises would be tucked away in their burrows as winter nears; but it's not so--at least not this past weekend when the daytime temps hovered in the 70s and 80s and the nighttime lows remained quite comfortable.

Over the three-day holiday, my family and I were in Wonder Valley, an unincorporated community outside of 29 Palms. While wandering the desert and digging up invasive mustard plants, my husband came across this large tortoise. "She" was lumbering along quite happily, munching on little plants that had just sprung up from a previous rain. Seeing her created a lot of excitement--even with young teens, who came running to get a glimpse.

Spotting this threatened species was one of the highlights of our short trip away. We also had sightings of a jackrabbit, red racer, rattlesnake and numerous lizards. Oh yes, and a spectacular sunset on Sunday evening (sorry no pics of this).

photos by Bruce I. Lissak
"Desert Tortoise"
"Prickly Mess"

Learn more about the Mojave desert tortoise (Genus: Gopherus
Species: agassizii):
National Park Service Desert Tortoise info

THE BIG DRAIN

In an effort to make some positive 'green' changes in our own home, my husband and I have decided to do a few things:

1) Get a new roof with two inches of rigid foam insulation. Done.
2) Get solar panels. Installation happening sometime in Dec.
3) Empty the pool to eliminate the costs of a pool pump, pool maintenance AND to reduce water usage (constant evaporation means constant refilling with gallons of precious water each week!).

This brings me to the title of this blog...

Two days ago we drained our pool.

Before my daughter went off to school I told her to say goodbye to it (not easy). Last night she stood in the shallow end looking down to the deep end and said, "I can't believe I used to swim in this!" The truth is, not a one of us used the pool very often and this backyard water-guzzler had become a financial burden and water hog. Though the costs of taking it out are high, we're looking forward to demolition...and later, a beautiful setting designed with native, drought-tolerant plants. We're also going to incorporate the broken concrete into the design, with meandering paths, steps and benches.

THE DUST HAS FINALLY SETTLED

Over the past four weeks, my family and I have been living with much disruption--but all for the ultimate good. The first couple weeks involved the clanging and banging of getting a new roof. Lots of dust seeping through cracks I never knew existed. The second two weeks involved electrical work--cutting into drywall, patching with mud, then sanding it when it had dried. More dust floating through the air. So why the construction projects?

We live in the Cliff May ranchos, and though these houses are known for their unique mid-50s architecture, they do have their problems. There are no attics, only tongue and groove ceilings, so this means no insulation. There are lots of windows, so this causes much heat loss in the winter and scorching temps in the summer and fall when the sun beats down on us and through the glass. We needed to take care of two problems: an ailing roof and no insulation. (Maybe window replacement will come later.)

Thankfully, these issues have now been remedied. (WHEW!)

Before the new roof (paper and rock to composition shingle) went on, we decided to install two inches of rigid foam to buffer us from the elements. After this insulation was snugly atop the tongue and groove boards, we noticed an immediate change in the temperature of our home. What a great investment.

With the roof now done and the dust officially settled (into my vacuum cleaner), today we signed the contract with a local solar company to get photo voltaic panels installed before the end of the year. Yeah!!!

Will try to keep an account of this for those who are interested.

Cheers to a new roof, double cheers to insulation.

Email Sarojni