sparkly

About a 100 years ago, I was one of those avid "I make my own home cleaning products" dorks mostly because I really wanted things that smelled pretty. I can't say that I was driven to reduce the toxic chemicals in my home; there really wasn't any decent smelling products on the market at the time. The nontoxic, earth friendly versions weren't widely available and cost too much. Of course, since then we've undergone an evolution in home cleaning.

Favorite brands like Caldrea and Mrs. Meyer's have wrapped my home in yummy goodness for years now. Seventh Generation, Ecover and other less mainstream brands have become commonplace in Target and Walgreens. All good things. Best yet, I feel like my skin doesn't suffer as much when I use good stuff in the cleaning water or in the laundry. But I've always reverted to basic Windex to clean so much of my bathroom and kitchen since it really just does such a good job of dealing with every kind of sticky, greasy, icky mess. With no streaks! Well I won't say that I've found a really great alternative for that yet, but it's only because I haven't really tried. Lately, in an effort to be cost-conscious while getting greener (which sometimes seems like two opposing efforts), I decided to try making some of my basic household cleaners once again. If you'll forgive me the pun, I've been scouring around the web and other resources to find the best formulas out there.

If you haven't gotten my joke yet, I tend not to just put a pile of links or whatever on this blog. I really try to give you recipes, resources, books, lipgloss, etc that I've already tried and can feel good about recommending. Of course, sometimes I'm yearning for something I haven't actually used yet, but I believe in adding value to this process. Any fool can post a bunch of links. On the other hand, sometimes things just speak to a person and a list of resources can be a great way to quiet an inquisitive mind or kill a good 20 minutes of office time. Whatever moves you. So there will be a list of more links and resources coming at you once I have a chance to check them out and give them the Trixie Stamp of Goodness.

In my chilly day funk, I decided that a bath, some candles and a nice green tea were in order. So, in a slight bastardization of a recipe from The Naturally Clean Home, I just mixed up a little scrub for the tub consisting of 1 part castille soap (I used Dr. Bronner's tea tree scent), 2 parts baking soda and one ground Vitamin C tablet for every 1/4 c baking soda. I smooshed it all together in a travel sized squeeze tube I picked up at Target the other day and I gave the tub a quick shine. I also tried out a 100% biodegradable sponge that I had picked up last fall. It's from Twist and made of a material that will completely biodegrade. And how cute is this: they've designed the cardboard sleeve that held my Euro Sponge to turn into a bird feeder with a little crafty effort. How can you not love a fun product like this?

Well, it certainly helped quickly remove 2 weeks of bathroom remodeling deritus and smelled delish. And I'm not at all worried about whether or not I rinsed every gritty bit out of the tub...a considerably different experience from when I use Soft Scrub with Bleach! I very well may need to keep that bleach product handy for other purposes but I'm guessing that with a little more research, I can come up with a perfectly fitting replacement for just about every task in the house.

I'm working to use up what I have first so this won't be a wholesale switch. But I'm having fun adding the tools of the naturally clean trade to my loft. My goal: spring cleaning this year using at least 80% natural products. For now, if you'll excuse me, I have a nice warm bath waiting for me.

seedy business

Everyone's talking food these days. Eating better, eating at home, eating cheaper. Mark Bittman recently posted a small piece about growing garden-like items from seed and got a number of really great comments. According to the USA Today, seed sales are already cranking for the year, signaling a return to homegrown and thrifty. I get caught up in this condundrum: I love the concept of growing things but never seem to conjure up the dedication to keep said green things properly fed and watered throughout the summer. I set out with the best intentions and then things just fall miserably by the wayside. Nine of the last 10 summers have started off with me buying little pots of herbs and tomatoes to grow. I totally skipped last summer because I couldn't deal with the guilt. Now traveling 3 weeks out of each month probably contributed to my gardening lethargy, so perhaps life will be different now?

My mom keeps a large vegetable garden, as she has each year since that same plot of dirt was turned and planted by her father. We have a ritual each year that it's my job to taste the very first cherry tomato of the season, thus promising us a bountiful harvest. Or something like that. And in the last 8 or so years, she's started composting which has helped us both by turning out rich soil (really good for pot planting if, like me, you don't have a garden) and by absorbing the scraps which are an inherent part of being a good green girl. But even her passion wanes over the summer. By the time I'm all wound up about having fresh basil and tomatoes, she's over all the weeding and picking that needs to happen daily. Somehow this year, we have to do better together. Otherwise those farmer's market bushels of tomatoes are coming home with me again for fresh tomato sauce...and that just seems dumb!

Yes, I'm a city dweller so don't exactly have the perfect growing conditions at the loft. But truth be told, I have some SERIOUS sunshine available on my deck. I have direct light from about 9am in the summer until about 7pm. This is both a blessing and a pain as with direct sun in that duration comes fried out, dried up green things. You really have to water each and every day. (Last year was a successful year with cacti and succulents, if I may say so myself.) But this year, I want green things to eat. I can do a lot with the downtown farmer's market being just blocks away, and with my mom's garden 3 miles north. What I really want is herbs here, at my fingertips.

So I'm going to start a little research. I have no interest in, nor space for, those stupid greenhouse lights so I am not sure if I have the right conditions to start things from seed. But they're so damned cheap that I'm definitely going to look into it. Right now, the $2.99 per package of fresh herbs is killing my sensibilities. I won't live without the fantastic flavors, so I've gotta figure something else out. Will report further...

recipe: the new birthday cake

This recipe was adapted from the Beatty's Chocolate Cake in the Barefoot Contessa at Home cookbook. I decided to give it a slightly Mexican twist and to kick the coffee flavor up. It doesn't end up tasting tremendously coffee-y or cinnamon-y. Just super rich and decadent without being overly sweet. A great grown up birthday cake.

And I just messed around with a fairly basic cream cheese buttercream frosting to go along with it.
This is one of those places that I believe in sticking with the very best ingredients. You won't be disappointed.

Cake:

butter for greasing the pans
1 3/4c all purpose flour, plus more for the pans
2 c sugar
3/4 good cocoa powder
2 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1 t kosher salt
1-2 t good cinnamon - I like Penzey's Vietnamese for this
1 c buttermilk, shaken
1/2 c vegetable oil
2 extra large eggs, at room temperature - or 2 large eggs + 1 extra yolk
1 t+ pure vanilla extract (I used the paste here, probably about 1 1/2 t)
1 c freshly brewed hot coffee
1 t+ espresso powder (dissolved in coffee)

This is so easy. Preheat oven to 350. Butter two 9" round cake pans (the recipe calls for 8" but I swear to you, after two go-rounds with this cake blowing up into my oven, I think either you have to have very tall 8" pans or just step up to 9" and call it a day), then add a circle of parchment to the bottom of the pan to fit. Butter the parchment, and flour the insides of both pans.

Sift all the dry ingredients together: flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda & powder, salt and cinnamon. Pay attention to what's left in your sifter or strainer, as I almost lost all of my salt this way! Pour the dry ingredients into your mixing bowl, using the paddle attachment.

In a separate bowl, combine: buttermilk, oil, eggs and vanilla. With the mixer on slow speed, gently add the wet ingredients. With the mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom with a rubber spatula as you go. Taste the batter here and decide if you need more cinnamon or salt. (Or if you just want to sit down with the bowl and a big spoon.)

Batter in pans. Pans in oven for somewhere between 30-40 minutes. Toothpick will come out clean and center will be set. Now, be patient because this cake is super moist. Let the layers cool in the pans for 30 minutes; then turn them out onto the cooling rack and cool the rest of the way. If you don't frost the same day, wrap each cooled layer well with plastic wrap and leave on the counter. Heck, I think you could freeze them at this point too.

Frosting :
2 - 8oz pkg cream cheese (low-fat works fine); room temp
1 1/3 stick butter; room temp
4 t vanilla (I did half with the vanilla paste and half with vanilla extract to get the little black flecks in my frosting)
4 c (approx) powdered sugar
pinch kosher salt

This comes together best by sight/taste. You may not need all of the vanilla, or you may want more if you're looking for a sweeter flavor. I think somewhere around 4 c of powdered sugar works well but you may adjust that as you go too.

Start by creaming together the cream cheese and butter. Add vanilla. Slowly add powdered sugar about 1/2 c at a time. If it gets too thick, you can always add a tablespoon of cream or milk.

Frost the cake:
I strongly suggest crumb coating the layers first or you'll have a mess on your hands. Put the first layer on your cake plate and slide 2" strips of parchment under the edges all the way around; you'll remove these later and have a lot less frosting to clean off the plate. Add a good cup or so of frosting to the middle and smooth it out. Don't worry if the excess drips off the edge. In fact, it's almost better if some does squoosh out.

Add the second layer on top. Then add about 1/4 of the remaining frosting to the top. You're looking for a thin layer - just enough to coat and lock the crumbs down. When you go back to frost it, you don't want ANY chocolatey pieces coming into play. Just nice frosting.

Chill the cake and the remaining frosting for about 20 minutes here. Keep an eye on the frosting though so it doesn't get too thick. You may have to pull it out before the cake.

Then frost - be generous on the top and let the stuff goo down the sides of the cake. Add more to the sides and do whatever you do to straighten out the edges and put a nice finish on the top. Again, chill for at least 20-30 minutes after frosting, up to a few hours. Remove the parchment strips and tidy up the plate with a damp paper towel. Then back into the fridge if necessary. If you do leave it chilled for more than an hour or so, give it 10-15 minutes to come up to room temp before you try to cut it.

(Cake also works out perfectly as cupcakes; pipe the tops with a thick ribbon of frosting and sprinkle with some of that clear edible glitter for a beautiful finish.)

swallow it down

Many of you know that there was a day in the not-so-distant past when I put a ton of time and energy into starting a business. A retail business focusing on natural and organic bath, body and cosmetics. However, due to many contributing factors, that business never came to be. I have, however, harbored a lot of passion and attraction for this type of business. I really wish I could have done it three years back!

Which is why I'm both SUPER excited and not just a little jealous to tell others about a new retailer on the prowl. Housed in the still relatively new Ecotique on Grand Ave (right by the Lexington-end Caribou Coffee and the cutest little shoe shop called Shu), the Nature of Beauty has recently opened its doors. They're featuring cosmetics, skin care, hair care, baby and a number of other categories of product culled together with a firm adherence to some simple values: no bad for you ingredients, no animal testing, and a wonderful operational policy that keeps them greener than green. Primarily an e-tailer, they have an outpost in Ecotique - a great concept that allows for some physical presence without having to staff or stock an entire store. I won't say I didn't consider that very idea myself! It's a great way for a startup particularly to get going, economically and greenly (hmm, now I'm making up words too). I think it makes such sense for retailers to combine efforts when they can. Collaboration is my middle name!

I share this with you for a couple of reasons. One, I have a undying love for entrepreneurs, particularly women, and want to support their efforts. Sure, there are other places to buy these types of products but why not support the our local chicks if we can? Two, I can't help but support the foray into green business. This is the wave of our future and I'm BIG on it. Three, I'm all about providing information...and if that information just happens to intersect with someone getting their hands on a great new lipgloss, well, that is the burden I must carry.

Speaking of, I am dying to try this product: Lip Delivery Nutritional from Intelligent Nutrients. You remember our friend Horst? After divesting himself of the salons and the Aveda brand, he's still busy making fantastic products right here in MN. This one looks particularly num and, as the site alludes, when you think about how much lippie we consume (ick-worthy, yes, but where on earth did you think your lipgloss was running off to?), it makes an awful lot of sense to ensure it's made of things that won't do harm.

If that's not enough, there are a ton of resources to be found within their site. Check out the Press page, and blog. Thanks NOB! Can't wait to give this fresh sprout the ol' college try.