Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Snow, pets and sprouts

What a title, huh? Lol! We didn't have snow on Christmas, but got it about a week later! Sadly it is gone now, but we did have fun in the snow while it lasted!




Sierra is getting older, and hasn't been able to tolerate the cold as much. She does go out with us, and will play, but limps afterwards :(. I'm sad at the thought of her getting old. Sierra and Daisy have always gotten along really well. I wasn't sure if they would when we first got Daisy, but they love playing together. It has been sweet to see them play, and also love on each other. I did have to laugh at this picture though. Notice the ears coming out of the green blanket...

Evie had wrapped Daisy up in the blanket, and Daisy just laid there all comfy. Then Sierra came over and laid down, and put her head like that on Daisy. I thought it was both sweet and hilarious :).

I miss my garden in this winter weather. I have been really getting into sprouting for awhile now, which helps me be able to have something fresh to eat in the winter. I loooooove sprouts! Besides the fact that they are ultra inexpensive to make, they are healthy too. The bag in the middle of the jars that I bought was around $5.00. You only use 1 1/2 Tablespoons each time you sprout, and so the bag lasts a long time. Each jar will end up being filled to the top with sprouts after about 5 days of sprouting. I have 2 different sprouts soaking right now. I soak them for 8 hours on day one, then drain it off, and rinse them 2 times a day. I start out with this.....

And end up with this!
We use them in salads, sandwiches and wraps. It is like growing salad in a canning jar! It is great for the winter months when we don't have anything fresh from the garden. I do love winter though. I love the crisp air, and the beautiful snow. I do look forward to summer though :).

8 comments:

Jules said...

I never realised it was so easy to grow sprouts. I love them too and they're a ridiculous price at the supermarket. Not to mention, they tend to go off before we can use them all. I'm going to have to see where I can get some and do my own.

Brr, you can have the snow. Give me summer any time.

Unknown said...

Jules, they are so super easy. I bought the lids to go over my jars about 7 years ago. That was the only cost for materials. I have learned a trick though. After the seeds are rinsed, I lay the jar on it's side and keep it like that so that the seeds are spread out more, and so they aren't sitting in water. Since I have been doing that, my sprouts have been the most productive I have ever had. I hope you are able to find some! Usually they are easy to find at health food stores. If you can't find them, let me know. I got mine online, and they were really inexpensive.

We just got a whole lot more snow these past few days. I bet we have about a foot on the ground now!

Jules said...

Thanks for the tip Jen. I've ordered some lids and organic seeds online. It was a starting up package and very cheap and includes 5 sample packs of seeds so it should give me an idea of what we prefer and what to buy more of next time. I already have the jars.

I've done some research online and it seems that there's been some bad press about sprouts but I suspect it's like most things: if you believed all that you read/heard you'd never eat anything.

SchnauzerMom said...

In the past they had trouble with food poisoning in sprouts but if you grow your own you won't have that problem. I used to like to eat them until the food poisoning thing came up.

That's the kind of snow I like, here today, gone tomorrow.

SchnauzerMom said...

I forgot to say that I love the photo of your pets, so cute.

K said...

Okay I have been considering trying to grow sprouts at home, but didn't know what to do with them. But I guess anyplace you would use lettuce then? I may have to try them. I so miss fresh greens in the winter and I'm also scared to buy the stuff in bags at the store.

April said...

What a happy snowman ya'll built! We've not gotten any snow this year, but I don't mind since we had quite a bit last year (for us in the South).

Aw, what a cute picture of Sierra and Daisy. :) That's nice they get along so well. Our little Dusty has too much energy for Sophie and our other cat. He just jumps on their backs to hug them, but he's getting so big that they freak out. He's being loveable though, so it's not too bad.

Sprouts! I used to grow sprouts years ago and forgot all about them. I really need to start them up again, so thank you for your post! Not only do we love them, the chickens would probably think they're worms and go crazy for them too. They sure would be nice right about now... I can surely relate to wanting something green and fresh in the middle of winter. I've just ordered my seeds (from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange this year) and am going to try my best to get an early spring garden in this year - BEFORE the bugs arrive. We'll see how it goes!

Unknown said...

Jules - You will have to let me know how the sprouts go. SchnauzerMom was right about the food poisoning. It doesn't happen when you grow your own! There is a chance for mold to grow on the sprouts, if they aren't rinsed 2x a day. I have read that if you add citric acid to the rinse, that can help too. I am going to try that.

SchnauzerMom--We got rid of all of our snow, only to get more! I like the snow though. It is so pretty, although not fun to drive in :).

Kelly--The sprouts are great! I use them either like lettuce, or with lettuce (like in salad). If you give them a try, let me know how you like them!

April--We have gotten a lot of snow this year! We have another 8 inches or snow on the ground again.

I have never thought of sprouts for the chickens! If I ever decide to get chickens, I will have to try that :). I am getting ready to do a seed order too! I hope your garden doesn't get invaded this year. That can be so frustrating!