Grapefruit Surprise

I love my SodaStream soda maker and I love Squirt soda… but the grapefruit Soda Stream gunk is not Squirt….. hmmmmm.

I was at a winery in Valley Center a little while back – Triple B Ranch – and while growing grapes for some decent wine, they were growing some awesome citrus. I picked up three of the most perfect, and huge, ruby grapefruits I’d ever seen, for only a dollar.

Come to find out, if you make a potent grapefruit/lime syrup and mix it with your bubbly water – all natural Squirt-ish soda you have!

To make the syrup potent, I always add a bunch of grapefruit zest, and every time I’m always super annoyed that there are little pieces of junk in my soda – but worse, they would get stuck to the glass and be impossible to clean out! I had tried straining it out, but it was virtually impossible. But then – the lightbulb flashed on – instead of zesting, I cut the rind off in long thick strips, and cooked it as usual. Now the surprise: when I took out the big pieces of zest after cooking the syrup , I ended up with some AMAZYING candied grapefruit!!

Here’s how to do it:

2-for-1 Grapefruit Goodness
Ingredients:

• 1 ruby grapefruit
• zest from the grapefruit, cut into long wide strips
• Juice from half a lime
• 1-1/4 cup of sugar, divided
• Splash of water

Directions:

1. In a small pot, over medium heat, add the zest, lime juice and one cup of sugar.
2. Measure out the juice from the grapefruit to measure around ½ a cup. If you have a little more, that’s ok, if there’s a little less, use the water to make up to at least ½ cup.
3. Slowly bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Let boil for around 30 seconds. Take off the heat, cool to room temperature, and strain and reserve the stuff in the strainer.
4. Put the remaining ¼ cup of sugar in a shallow bowl. One by one, coat the strained grapefruit zest in the sugar. Set the pieces on a silicone mat or parchment paper and let dry for a couple hours.
5. Keep the syrup in the fridge for up to a month and the candies in an airtight container in the cupboard. To make a soda, add around a shot glass worth to a pint glass of bubbly water. To use the rind – just put in mouth and enjoy.
6. Substitutes: This recipe is pretty great for lemon lime syrup, just use half lemon half lime juice and zest, and orange syrup with same measurements, just orange.

I love bubbly water. I love grapefruit. But most of all, I love not having to throw away a piece of food – even if it’s a little piece. Enjoy!

When Life Gives You Lime Rinds…

Make a cleaning solution!

Last night, I was craving mojitos. Yes, that delicious rum/lime/mint concoction, generally reserved for warm days on the beach. Luckily, it WAS a nice day and I had all the ingredients around the kitchen, with the exception of the rum, but my husband and Smart & Final had that covered. 

Anyways – we had to juice some limes to make the drinks – and afterwards I was staring at 6 lime halves, void of their juice. As my husband went to clear the counter, I had to stop him from throwing them  – helloooooo I’m sure they have a use!

This morning, I saw them on the counter again, and it struck me! A while back, I had convinced myself that I wanted to make all the cleaning supplies for our house. You know, laundry detergent, hand soap, all-purpose cleaner. During my research, I had been trying to use pinterest (which, I’m still no good at) and I saw many, many pictures of lemon rinds in jars of vinegar. I hadn’t had enough lemons to try it at that point, so I filed the idea in the back of my brain.

So, now, I have a pile of lime rinds – so why not use them? I like the smell of limes better then lemons and as a citrus they have all the same cleaning power! 

So, here is the recipe – it only makes about a cup of cleaning solution – but I think fresher is better, so I like making only a little at a time. But scale up as you like!

Lime-Vinegar Cleaning Stuff

Ingredients:

• Rind cut from 3 limes
• 1/3 cup of white vinegar
• Water
• Castile soap (optional)

Directions:

1. Put everything in a jar. Put a lid on the jar. Let sit for 3 weeks, shaking the jar occasionally. After three weeks, strain out the rinds, mix with 3/4 cup water and put into a spray bottle. If you want, add a drop or two of castile soap.

That’s it! An all purpose, all natural cleaner. I wouldn’t necessarily use it on windows or mirrors (there is a bit of streaking) but its great for cutting grease on stove tops, wiping down the bathroom and cleaning finger prints off cupboards.