Russians Reading Southwest Desert Blogger?

Who do so many Russians read Southwest Desert Blogger?  Is there a Russian fascination with the Southwest Desert or something else? 

As of the 2002 Russian Census over 142 million respondents claimed to be Russian citizens.  Dual citizenship was claimed by about 44,000 respondents.  Over a million respondents claimed to be foreign citizens and 400,000 claimed to be "stateless" persons.

Of a recorded resident population of over 145 million, there are nearly 10 million more women than men.  Seventy-three percent of the population is urban.  So, who is on the internet and why?

There are nearly 7 million English speakers in Russia.  They may also read and write English, but the level of competence is unknown.  Children are presumed to speak a language if their parents speak it, so that 7 million likely includes some kids.  Incidentally, 98.3 percent of Russian citizens claim to be competent in Russian.

The most recent Census in the United States of America was the 2010 Census.  The 2010 Census was our twenty-third US Census.  As mandated in our Constitution, we conduct a Census every 10 years.  The first US Census was in 1790.

As of National Census Day, April 1, 2010 (no joke), the population of the US was counted as 308,745,538.  The most populous state is California.  The city with the greatest population is New York City.

So why all the Southwest Desert Blogger readers from Russia?  Let me know.  Is it your interest in my Omega vertical VRT 350 juicer foibles? (see previous blogs) Is it a fascination with the wild west?  Is this blog featured on some site you frequent?  Where did you discover Southwest Desert Blogger?
(http://yandex.ru/yandsearch?text=southwestdesertblogger.blogspot.com , or domar.ru ) Are you messing with the system?  Trying to figure out whether my cookies are edible or not?  Trying to figure out whether driving out here is a hard drive?  Do we have to have a medical degree to have an operating system?  Are we wired or wireless?  Do I have a mouse or a rat's nest?  Do we speak Russian?  Da?  Niet?  You've got to figure we habla (hablamos) some Espanol because we are in the Southwest Desert.

Looking for answers without any clues,
Southwest Desert Blogger
C. (c)2011

Gettin' a Might Chilly

The nights and early mornings have been Southwest Desert cold.  It has been down to the low 40s (F.) lately.  Of course, the sun warms it up during the day, but at 7:00 am I am wearing a jacket, hat, and gloves to be comfortable.  That is not a complaint -- just the weather report.

We are all looking forward to the Thanksgiving Day holiday next Thursday.

For those of you outside the USA, Thanksgiving is a day of giving thanks for all we have.  Traditionally, we have a large meal consisting of turkey, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes or yams, maybe some white potatoes and gravy, and pumpkin pie for desert.  Most of these foods are native to the Americas.  Regions and families may have their additional traditional foods, but those are the basics.  I guess we will have to add a large salad for the raw food folks.  I have heard of vegetarians who prepare baked stuffed squash as their traditional Thanksgiving dinner.  That sounds good, too.

There are big Thanksgiving Day parades in several major cities.  I would judge the most grand of them all to be the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City.  It features marching bands from all over the US, famous singers, the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes, brief scenes from Broadway musicals, floats, and giant balloons in the parade.  It is about 3 hours long.  There were some years the weather was New York cold for the parade.  In 1957 there was heavy rain.  The hat of the giant Popeye the Sailor  balloon filled with rain water and the balloon poured water on the crowd.  We are wishing all the parade participants, and the million or so who view the parade live, sunny and mild weather this Thanksgiving.

The Macy's parade, and a few others, are broadcast on network TV.  The first TV broadcast of the Macy's Day Parade (as it is now often called) was an experimental broadcast in 1939.  I look forward to seeing at least some of the Macy's parade on TV.  I always watch the beginning to see the Broadway musicals and Rockettes.

The idea of a Thanksgiving Day Parade is said to have originated in the 1920s.  Macy's store employees and professional entertainers marched in Manhattan along with live animals borrowed from the zoo, floats, and vivid costumes.  Large balloons replaced the live animals in 1927.  The first parade was a Christmas parade, with Santa Clause, then as now, as the finale.  The parade morphed into the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade over time and has continued every year except for 1942-1944. 

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  It is not as commercialized as Christmas, yet has the important component of remembering to give thanks.  What have you got to be grateful for?  A computer?  The use of someone else's computer?  Food, shelter, clothing?  A job?  Friends?  Relatives?  Skills, talents, abilities?  The senses (sight, sound, smell, taste, 6th sense, etc.)?  Make your list.  See how long you can make it.  Do you have some warm, cozy socks, slippers, robe?  A pet?  A juicer, blender, TV?  Don't forget to thank the farmers who grew the food, the truckers who transported it, the store that sold it to you.  Have gratitude for the inventors of the systems, tools, and vehicles we use, and even your blanket, pillow, and chair.  It is not trite to be grateful for the small things.  It has been said that gratitude is an invitation for more goodness to manifest in your life.  I trust it will be so. 

Gratefully,
Southwest Desert Blogger
C. (c)2011

Got Javalina?

"What in the heck is a Javalina?" you may be thinking.  It is a critter that looks like a feral pig or wild boar with coarse black, gray, and brown hair and a faint white collar in the winter coat, a pink snout, and hooves.  Take a look at this photo on the right.  I had wanted to get photos of Javalina for you, but they are predominately nocturnal creatures.  However, they do sometimes come out during the day, especially if the weather is cool.
Today the temperatures dropped into the mid 40s (Fahrenheit) and it rained this morning.  It is mighty cool -- the desert dwellers might even say it is downright cold.  When the sun came out after the rain, I looked out the window, and there were the Javalina.
They like to eat plants.  Prickly pear is said to be one of their favorites. This herd of Javalina was feeding on the yellow fruit of a barrel cactus.  See the next photos.

There are 5 Javalina in this photo, including the baby. Can you spot them all?

See that pink snout! 

The Javalina blend in with the background environment perfectly.  

                                           

An adult Javalina can weigh up to 60 pounds and stands 19 inches tall.  They can be aggressive and have been known to bite humans.  They will defend their territory, especially if they are eating or have young Javalina with them.

Years ago I saw a herd of Javalina eating some fancy flowers at night.  Their eyes glowed red in the headlights of my vehicle.  They would not leave those tender, store bought, hand watered flowers until they had their fill.

I have also seen Javalina eat bird seed blocks and knock over trash cans to feast on vegetable pulp from the juicer!  The only time they bothered to knock over my can to get the pulp was when I juiced some garlic in my vegetable juice.  They ate all the pulp, then left, but they would not leave until they had finished every morsel of pulp.  I could not get into my gate until they left.  The largest one defended the area in front of the gate while the others finished eating.  There were young ones, so I dared not cross until they left.

Javalina have a strong, musty smell.  Sometimes you can smell them after they have been in an area.  It is said they identify members of their herd by smell.  Their eyesight is poor.  Loud noise will startle them.  Here are two more photos:

This was the first of the herd to spot the yellow cactus fruit.

 I've got to get out and get some chores done now while there is still some sun.  The weather folks say it could get near freezing tonight. You Southwest Desert Blogger blog readers up in Russia and Latvia stayin' warm?

I AM stayin' warm as I can,
Southwest Desert Blogger
C. (c) 2011

Got Sprouts?

I grew some red lentil sprouts in a jar.  I covered the open end of the jar with cheese cloth fastened around the jar's rim with a snug fitting rubber band.  First I soaked a few tablespoons of seeds overnight in a generous amount of water, drained them through the cheese cloth in the morning, rinsed and drained them again, and covered the jar with a dish towel to keep the seeds dark until they sprouted.  Rinse and drain well at least twice a day.  Within 3 days the jar is full of beautiful lentil sprouts.  Rinse before use and throw away any lentils that do not sprout.  Store well drained, unused lentils in the refrigerator.  Use them in a day or two.  Their taste is mild.  I sprinkle them over a salad.  If they start to get a bad smell or unusual consistency, throw them away!  I make small quantities and always use mine quickly enough to avoid waste. 

Lentil Sprouts growing in a jar -- you can see some roots and tiny pale leaves

 lentil sprouts growing in a pint jar with cheese cloth fastened over the opening

The salad consists of a base of tender leaf lettuce, a small amount of thinly sliced cucumber, one half gala apple diced with skin, a sprinkle of lentil sprouts, a bit of oil (I use an unfiltered, highest lignan, organic flax seed oil -- use what you like) and a light sprinkle of pink salt.  Layer ingredients in the order listed.  Of course you can use any dressing and add vegetables you like.  Enjoy!

The Salad with Red Lentil Sprouts

As you have noticed, the red lentils are more of a pale orange color.  Nevertheless, they add interesting color, shape, and texture to a salad.
Lentil sprouts are also good sprinkled over soup or stew.  They are nice in a broth or miso soup.
Sprouts are said to have much more nutrition and are easier to digest than the un-sprouted seeds.

On another subject: today I saw the license plate "I AM" -- I had a fine day.
I AM
Southwest Desert Blogger
C. (c)2011

Problems with the Omega VRT350HD Continue

This morning I tried straining the juice from the Omega VRT350HD vertical juicer.  The 2 ounces of kale juice produced so much foam it nearly covered most of the 5 inch strainer.  I chose to just juice 24 ounces of vegetable juice and strain the juice afterward.  The juice contained kale, carrots, celery, and a small amount of apple and cucumber.  Here are some photos of the results.
Notice the celery strings on the rim of the strainer.
These strings, and more, were in the juice!
There are many more strings in the pulp.

Close-up of pulp after I pushed out much of the juice with the back of a spoon.  Look closely and notice more celery strings throughout the pulp.  This pulp also contains carrot and apple.  The green kale material, which Omega says the 350HD does the best job of juicing, predominates this pulp although it was less than 10 percent of the total juice.

Select Celery Strings in the Omega 350HD juice:  Up to 2 inches long!

 Notice some celery strings from the juice in the photo on the right.  And yes Omega, I did cut the celery into quarters prior to juicing.  This celery was not the most stringy variety I have ever purchased.  It's strings were average.  This would have juiced very well in my 16 year old centrifugal juicer.  The old juicer produced a sweeter, pulp-free juice in less time, with no strings and fewer parts to wash.  Omega's answer to the problem of the large quantity (more than photographed) of strings in the juice:  it might be a defective auger.  This is the second auger!  I will try the third auger when it arrives and let you know whether things improve.  I am developing a new string theory.

So far, my experience with the Omega VRT350HD vertical juicer has been a strain.  And no, this is not pulp fiction.

With apologies for the puns,
Southwest Desert Blogger   P.S.  To support this blog, use discount code WAL660 for $5 off first purchase at www.iherb.com .  They sell nutritional supplements, raw supplements (Garden of Life), raw and organic food such as tahini, coconut oils, energy bars, goji, etc., herbs, teas, organic and natural shampoos, conditioners, skin creams and lotions, cosmetics, dry skin brushes, Madre Labs acai and Cafeceps, organic soaps, raw organic cacao, organic raw chia seed, hemp seed, seaweed, nuts, kelp noodles, oils, homeopathics, organic pet food, etc. at discounts.  Currently, they ship free for US orders of $20 or more.  They also ship internationally.  Just enter code WAL660 at check out.    Plus, there are helpful product reviews.   And more free:  iherb offers a variety of FREE PRODUCTS to sample, so be sure to select one with your order. www.iherb.com .  Thanks.

If you want to learn more about the 10 day juice fast (also see my September 2011 posts), the 7 day raw food challenge (see my July 2011 posts), or just want a free eBook with vegan juice and smoothie recipes and informative blog /videos link to:http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=1383344
Be happy!
C. (c)2011

Omega VRT350HD Vertical Juicer - Replacement Juicer Update

As you remember, I am using the replacement Omega VRT350HD Vertical Juicer the company sent me.  I just juiced and feel the need to brush and floss because there is so much pulp in my mouth after drinking a pint of juice.  I want to show you how the juicer is juicing by way of the pulp produced via the pulp ejection port, i.e., the waste product of juicing. See photo.

Notice the whole skin of a wedge of apple on the right.  There are also 2 other pieces of undigested apple skin.  The largest in the photo is the full size of the piece of apple put into the juicer: 3 inches long x 1 inch at the widest part.  The white seeds are un-masticated cucumber seeds in the very wet cucumber pulp!  Of course, the orange material is carrot pulp.  Again today the Omega VRT350HD jammed because of a carrot that was a mere 1 inch in diameter.  I tried calling the customer service phone line, but they are too busy at this time.  They are experiencing "high call volume."  This has happened before.  I held for over 2 minutes and seem to have been disconnected.
I just wanted to give them an opportunity to explain why their juicer is not masticating produce fully and produces a wet cucumber pulp.  Actually, the carrots did not produce a particularly dry pulp either.
I am now on hold with Omega again.
Wait!  They answered the phone and told me all my problems are just normal for this juicer.  It gets less yield than a centrifugal juicer for carrots and other fruits and vegetables and only excels when juicing greens.  This is not what I was told prior to purchasing the Omega vert.  Yes, it will jam from a one inch diameter carrot, it may not masticate apple peel, difficult to remove the bowl from the base, etc. -- all normal!  They know all the issues and accept it.  If you get one, just be sure you can return it if it is not for you.

Going to brush and floss the Omega VRT350HD Vertical Juicer juice "pulp" out of my mouth,
Southwest Desert Blogger
C. (c)2011   
P.S.  To support this blog, use discount code WAL660 for $5 off first purchase at www.iherb.com .  They sell nutritional supplements, raw supplements (Garden of Life), raw and organic food such as tahini, coconut oils, energy bars, goji, etc., herbs, teas, organic and natural shampoos, conditioners, skin creams and lotions, cosmetics, dry skin brushes, Madre Labs acai and Cafeceps, organic soaps, raw organic cacao, organic raw chia seed, hemp seed, seaweed, nuts, kelp noodles, oils, homeopathics, organic pet food, etc. at discounts.  Currently, they ship free for US orders of $20 or more.  They also ship internationally.  Just enter code WAL660 at check out.    Plus, there are helpful product reviews.   And more free:  iherb offers a variety of FREE PRODUCTS to sample, so be sure to select one with your order. www.iherb.com .  Thanks.

If you want to learn more about the 10 day juice fast (also see my September 2011 posts), the 7 day raw food challenge (see my July 2011 posts), or just want a free eBook with vegan juice and smoothie recipes and informative blog /videos link to:http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=1383344
Be happy!

Omega VRT350HD Vertical Juicer Update #4 - The Replacement Arrived

The replacement Omega VRT350HD vertical juicer finally arrived.  It has been over 2 weeks since I shipped the original juicer back to the company.  The replacement unit is better than the one I returned; however, it has a couple of features that trouble me.

First, the bowl that attaches to the base of the juicer is very difficult to remove for cleaning.  It is a major effort to rotate it and thus unhinge it from the base.  This is physically difficult to do as the base is smooth and has no grips.  The bowl fits too tightly.  The amount of effort needed to disassemble is unacceptable.

Second, the pulp produced after extracting the juice is, on average, one ounce heavier per 16 ounces of juice produced than my old juicer.  The old juicer, as you recall from previous posts, is 16 years old.  One of the reasons I purchased a new juicer with supposedly "dry" pulp was to get greater efficiency in juicing, i.e., extract more juice from the produce.  I am concerned about the consistently higher weight of the waste pulp as compared to my old juicer.  On average, the weight of the Omega VRT350HD pulp is over 6% more than that of my old juicer, and that does not include any pulp in the actual juice produced by the Omega.  My old juicer produced a juice that was virtually pulp-free.
Six percent may not seem like a lot, but over time, it adds up.  I had hoped the new juicer would be more efficient, not less efficient.  If you try this sort of comparison at home, be sure to include the pulp that remains around the auger and in the pulp ejection port, a very narrow rectangular space 2 inches x 1.25 inches x 1/2 inch.  The pulp tends to get stuck in this narrow space and is a challenge to clean.  The cleaning tool included with the juicer is like a toothbrush with a narrower part on the handle end.  However, the bristle head is too wide to fit into the pulp ejection port so it can only be rinsed with water, not brushed out.  The narrow handle end is not the right size for effective cleaning.  I may have to use a chop stick.

Additionally, there are several parts that are difficult or impossible to clean due to their trapping bits of pulp or becoming stained with juice pigment after each juicing.  The main exit port for the juice, the juice spout, is like a cylindrical pipe.  Normally, one could clean a cylinder large enough for a finger, sponge, or wash cloth.  But, this cylinder has a hard plastic wall dividing the cylinder like a radius dropping down from the top of the cylinder.  This little radius-like wall within the cylinder makes thorough cleaning difficult and cleaning the little "wall" is almost impossible as it is acts as a pigment and particle magnet over time and the diameter of the pipe is not large enough to use the cleaning tool bristles.  It is impossible to easily and effectively clean the narrow space around this small, yet hard to access "wall" using any tool or technique I have tried.  Bad design.  [See post dated 2/8/12]

If the function of the bad design wall is to break down the foam the juicer produces, it is not working in my opinion.  If the bad design wall has any other function, I cannot figure out what it is.  Bottom line:  it is impossible to quickly or effectively clean the juice exit port because of this bad design wall, thus there will be additional particle and pigment build up.  Is this healthy?

Is the Omega VRT350HD vertical juicer worth the money?  This is a highly subjective question.  Personally, I expect better design and function for the price.  After all, it is just plastic parts with a motor.  Also, there are other parts that are difficult to efficiently clean due to particles getting caught in poorly engineered fittings such as the auto cleaning brush fitting.  The auto cleaning "brushes" are just rubber-like windshield wipers that wipe the pulp strainer baskets.  Good idea, but the wiper material stains after the first use juicing pigmented vegetables such as carrot, and will stain after each such use. Juice material including pulp gets lodged in the crevices where the "brushes" are attached to the plastic.  This organic juice matter builds up over time and the cleaning tool does not dislodge it effectively.  There are no instructions for use of a special cleaning product except "Do not use metal sponge . . ." and "Do not use dishwasher to clean."  I use a biodegradable liquid soap.  It does not remove all the pigment stains but does lessen the pigment deposits on the juice bowl.  Note I said reduce, not totally remove the pigment stains.  Thus, they will build up over time and form a patina.  There are too many little places that produce material gets lodged and stuck, and no tool can clean.

The replacement Omega VRT350HD juicer produces less pulp in the juice than the Omega VRT350HD I returned.  It produces a juice that is like the most pulpy orange juice, but with some, how to describe it, chunkier style pulp -- little chunks of carrot, etc.  Today I got a string of celery in my juice that was nearly an inch long.  This was not pleasing.  And as I have described in previous posts, the strings of celery or wheatgrass tend to get packed into the pulp ejection port area and can be time consuming to dislodge.  Note that I cut my celery into lengths half as long as Omega recommended to me (although their suggestions have varied from person to person), put all produce into the juicer slowly, and almost never use the pusher.  I have been using the smallest carrots I can find.  Although they are not baby carrots, the largest carrot diameter, at its widest, is 1/2 inch.  Nevertheless, the Omega 350HD jammed and had to be put into reverse to clear the jam.  Come on Omega, a one-half inch diameter carrot!  What's the problem with your product?

Am I totally satisfied with the Omega VRT350HD juicer?  In a word, no.

Added Dec. 17, 2011:  photos of sample of strings, etc. from today's baby spinach and carrot juice.  I have had strings as long as 2 inches in the Omega VRT350HD juice since the original post!  Not pleasant to fish a 2 inch string out of one's throat! 

This gives you the size of the strings in inches.  The photo on the left has added material from the juice.  This is just a small sample and does not include the chunks of "pulp" which are ever present in Omega VRT350HD juice.  There are several other reviews of this juicer in my blog.

Thinking of a way to grow and juice enough wheatgrass to make the Omega VRT350HD worth it,  but juicing the wheatgrass just produces too much foam!
I AM
Southwest Desert Blogger
C. (c)2011   P.S. Support this blog by using discount code WAL660 for $5 off first purchase at www.iherb.com .  They sell nutritional supplements, raw supplements, raw and organic food such as tahini, coconut oils, energy bars, goji, etc., herbs, teas, organic and natural shampoos, conditioners, skin creams and lotions, cosmetics, dry skin brushes, Madre Labs acai and Cafeceps, soaps such as Dr. Bronner's, raw cacao, organic chia seed, hemp seed, seaweed, nuts, kelp noodles, oils, homeopathics, organic pet food, etc. at discounts.  Currently, they ship free for US orders of $20 or more.  They also ship internationally.  Just enter code WAL660 at check out.    Plus, there are helpful product reviews.   And more free:  iherb offers a variety of FREE PRODUCTS to sample, so be sure to select one with your order.  www.iherb.com .  Thanks.
 Also: a free eBook with vegan juice and smoothie recipes and informative blog /videos (recommended by Southwest Desert Blogger) at this link:
http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=1383344

Got Tarantula? and Updates

My Halloween Tarantula -- Trick or Treat?

We are getting a taste of cool Southwest Desert weather.  The temperature dipped into the high 40s (F) last night and is projected to only reach the mid 70s (F) today.  The temperatures will be warmer after today-- back into the 80s (F) during the days and into the 50s at night.

Yesterday I found a tarantula outside my gate.  It showed up to scare me for Halloween!  I have only seen a few tarantula's in the wild. This is a small one.  There are about 850 different species of tarantula in the world. Only about 48 species of tarantula are found in the United States.  Their colors vary from black, to reddish brown, to tan.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with the tarantula, it is a hairy spider.  The one I found is about 2 inches long.  See the photos.  Tarantulas have 8 legs and 8 eyes set in two groups.  Below the eyes is the mouth.  Tarantulas have fangs and I am told their bite can be painful.  They also have barbed and irritating hairs on their abdomens.  It is said that the females sometimes kill the males after they mate, like a black widow spider.

Some cultures eat tarantulas.  I imagine they are crunchy as they are exoskeletal creatures.  Tarantulas shed their exoskeleton.  Some folks keep tarantulas as pets.  I think keeping the exoskeleton would be more trouble-free.

Update 1:  As you read in previous blogs, I AM still waiting for the arrival of my replacement Omega VRT350HD vertical juicer.  I shipped it back to the company over 2 weeks ago.  Since then, I have been perfectly happy with my old, 16 year old juicer with which I make my daily quart of mixed vegetable juice.  It does not clog, is fast enough to clean, juices quickly, and does well with celery, which the Omega 350HD did not. 
Update 2:  As you read in a previous blog, Jeweler who did not pay me the correct amount for the "scrap" gold he bought has finally sent me a check to make up the difference.  He told me some more fabricated facts in an effort to save face.  Old saying:  A person who steals would lie.  It is sad when professionals have to invent stories to cover for their misbehavior.   What a pathetic person!  I hope he does business in a more ethical way in the future.

Thank you for reading my posts.  Check out my previous posts and the Southwest Desert slide show at the bottom of the blog.  If you like to make smoothies or juices, get this free eBook and check out the site for other good, nutritional info.  You may need to cup and paste the link that follows:
http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=1383344

Be well and happy,
Southwest Desert Blogger
C. (c)2011

Sold Gold?

Have you sold any of your old gold lately?  Thinking of selling some of your unused, broken, or unloved gold jewelry?  As you may have read in a previous post, I sold some gold to a jeweler who seems to have had trouble reading the weight of some of the items on his scale; i.e., items weighed less at his store based on the fact that he paid more per gram of 14K (carat) gold, yet gave me less for some items than another shop I had visited.  If you have good reason to believe a business has some scale issues, here is what you can do:

Call your state Department of Weights and Measures and your local Better Business Bureau.  If you were the victim of a scale that did not seem to weigh items correctly, these two sources can steer you in the right direction.

I filed a brief complaint with my local Better Business Bureau and the Department of Weights and Measures.  Weights and Measures was most interested in scales that were incorrect.  I told them the scale could be correct and it is the jeweler "reading" it incorrectly or "adjusting" the weight in his favor.  Nevertheless, they sent someone to the jewelery shop to inspect the scale.

It seems the jeweler has four scales!  None are licensed with the state.  That is bad.  He could be fined from $300 to $500 per scale!  Bad jeweler!  Thank you Department of Weights and Measures.

It seems the jeweler did not want to hassle with the Better Business Bureau, so he said he will be sending a check in the mail to cover the amount that I was shorted.  Have I heard that one before?  The old, "Check is in the mail" routing.  We'll see.

Waiting by the old mailbox,
Southwest Desert Blogger
C. (c)2011

Omega VRT350HD Vertical Juicer Update #3

It has been a full week since I sent my "defective" Omega Vert back to Omega for a replacement.  Today I phoned Omega, and they were busy.  Problems?  I asked when I should expect to receive my replacement juicer.  I was told 5 business days from today.  That means I will have gone two full weeks without my new juicer!

Luckily I have my old juicer which works well.  Otherwise, I would be high and dry without fresh juice for two weeks.  Today I juiced a small sweet potato with my usual carrot, celery, spinach, and apple.  The sweet potato was a wonderful addition.  It gave the juice a rich quality and creamier texture.  I will get another little sweet potato and have that juice again.  It is a smooth, tasty, drink.

Still waiting for an Omega that works well,
Southwest Desert Blogger
C. (c)2011   P.S.  To support this blog, use discount code WAL660 for $5 off first purchase at www.iherb.com .  They sell nutritional supplements, raw supplements (Garden of Life), raw and organic food such as tahini, coconut oils, energy bars, goji, etc., herbs, teas, organic and natural shampoos, conditioners, skin creams and lotions, cosmetics, dry skin brushes, Madre Labs acai and Cafeceps, organic soaps, raw organic cacao, organic raw chia seed, hemp seed, seaweed, nuts, kelp noodles, oils, homeopathics, organic pet food, etc. at discounts.  Currently, they ship free for US orders of $20 or more.  They also ship internationally.  Just enter code WAL660 at check out.    Plus, there are helpful product reviews.   And more free:  iherb offers a variety of FREE PRODUCTS to sample, so be sure to select one with your order. www.iherb.com .  Thanks.