Easy Sproutin'!

I've posted before about making your own sprouts.
It's pretty easy,
all you need is a jar, some beans and water.
You can read about that here and here.

This gizmo was given to me by my farmer friends, Faye & Lynn.
It's one of those vintage items that's been in their on-site storage for a while.
I'm not even sure they are made anymore.
They asked me if I wanted to try it out.
Always game for a new food adventure, I agreed.

It comes with a base, three clear tiers and a top (left/front) cover.
You can use one or all of the tiers,
depending on how many folks eat sprouts in your household.
It's nice to have a variety of sprouts too.
 My order of alfalfa is expected soon,
and I'll be trying them out as well.

These little gadgets are the secret.
They fit on every level (except the base) and allow water to trickle down.

I used dried lentils that I had in the pantry.
I just filled up the bottom vessel.

After adding the top container over the beans,
 about 2 cups of water was added.

See the water trickling down?

The water is changed just once daily.
Simply remove the top tier,
and reuse the water in the base to water house or patio plants.
This is how they looked after three days.

You just know they're gonna be delicious!

Here's what happened after 5 days.
It made me wonder if it would also work
for sprouting hard-shelled seeds for sowing.
Hmmm...

Am I the only one who thinks this is fascinating?
Those dried beans just want to grow
and give us something fresh to eat!
What a great lesson for kids to see how God is always providing.

The sprouts were dumped into a colander and rinsed.

They were drained for a bit,
but you could also spin them in a salad spinner.

What a wonderful addition to any salad or sandwich.
However you decide to do it,
get your sprouts on!

Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day, y'all!
It's that time of year where we honor our Mother.
Here are some simple things we can all do to make the planet a better place.

Plant a tree.
Different parts of the country celebrate Arbor Day at various times.
Everyone can plant one tree.
Even if you don't have a yard or any room left on your own property,
you can always donate a tree to a public space,
like a library, fire station, post office or school.
Read more about planting trees on the Arbor Day website.


Compost
There are a myriad of ways to do it.
A pile close to the garden, a tin in the kitchen for food scraps,
a worm bin on the patio.
There really isn't much to it,
and just think of all that waste you'll be preventing!
Even if you don't have space for a big system,
you can direct compost, like we do.
This great informational chart on composting was found here.
Some of us appreciate that visual cue to help things stick in our brains.




Buy Less

Not only does this help you save money,
but there's less chance that packaging will end up in a landfill.
Concentrate more on experiences, rather than material things.
For a special event like a birthday or graduation,
enjoy a unique adventure (read zip-lining),
or revisit a miniature golf course or bowling alley.
I love this idea at Echoage,
where friends can donate to your favorite charity in your honor.


Volunteer

If you have a little more time,
or just feel the need to be outside more and give back a little,
volunteer at a national or state park.
There are all kinds of jobs that can be completed by folks who have the time.
You could even make it a project for your family or any organization to which you belong.
Think of it as giving a little back to Mother Nature,
who is abundantly generous to all of us.
Here's where you can start your search for jobs near you.

 We can all do something.
After all,
Mother Earth gives us so much everyday.
She deserves our very best.

Singer Sewing Score!

A while back I talked about teaching myself to hand stitch.
It's still something I'm working on,
but not as often as I probably should.
Another thing I've been working on 
is saving for a vintage sewing machine.
I made some feed sack totes for our family,
and enjoyed it so much, I thought I could make a few more
and give them to friends or sell them. 
(A machine had been borrowed to complete the job.)

I've been scrimping, saving and selling a few items
to create the sewing machine fund.
Well, it took me a few months,
but I finally had enough to start looking.
The first place I usually look for things is Craig's List,
because so many used items need a home,
and I love the idea of older items being passed down to someone who will use them.

I met a lovely lady who actually refurbishes old sewing machines.
We took a drive to Springhill, FL,
about 2 hours from our home.
It was well worth the trek.

Ms. Linda not only repairs and resells these lovely machines,

she also has quite the collection herself.

Here are some of the beauties she shared with me.

This is a hand-crank model.

Can you imagine having to crank the handle

(where the wheel is on the right),

and sew at the same time?

What a workout!

She favors the treadle machines,

and showed me this model.

Just the table and foot pedal alone are enough to make a gal swoon.

Here's what it looks like without the cover.

So simple, yet elegant.

I can't remember the details about them all,

it was just amazing to see the variety.
They were all in such splendid condition.

This was another beautiful cabinet 

with a fold-out work surface.

Amazing ingenuity!

The cabinets were made so well
because they were used as a piece of furniture
when the machine was tucked away.
I guess back then, folks didn't have a separate room
designated for sewing, so it had to fit in with the decor 
of the main living room or parlor.

Here's what I brought home.
The carrying case is a little worn,
but I think it adds to the charm.

Here she is in all her glory.
There were a few accessories included,
though at this point I can't imagine being able to use them.
All in all, she's in great shape.

My gardening coach, Lynn, used to work for Singer.
He's actually the one who put the bug in my head about buying a vintage machine.
His take on it is that since they are all metal,
they're impossible to break,
(which is quite comforting to me), 
and I'll never need to buy another machine. 
I can get behind that.

He knows everything there is to know about these beauties,
so his advice is valued.
He gave her the once over, and deemed her solid and ready to go to work.
He's gonna show me how to properly maintain her,
(cleaning, oiling, etc.)
so that she'll be running fine for a good, long while.

I started perusing the manual,
but I've got a lot to learn.
It's all good.
Now, on to those feed sacks!
Here's an update.

 

Blueberry Cobbler

Our friends, Faye and Lynn gifted us with blueberries.
They've got some great connections!
So, we got to work using them up.
We made a gluten-free blueberry spice cake, 
which I've made before.

And gluten-free corn muffins with blueberries added to the mix.

This was the first time I made a cobbler.
I like that it was so simple and had very little sugar in the recipe.
I imagine you could even use a butter substitute or coconut oil to make it vegan.
We didn't have any cornstarch in the house, so I used extra flour.
I'll bet it would be absolutely dreamy
with a scoop of French vanilla ice cream on top.
 I hope you'll give this a try.

Get your berries on!

Blueberry Cobbler
3/4 C unbleached flour
1 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
1/4-1/2 C almond milk
1/4 C unsalted butter (cold)

3 C blueberries
1/4 C sugar
1/8 C cornstarch
1/4 t cinnamon

Combine flour, powder and salt.
Add diced butter and knead with a pastry cutter or your fingers,
until the flour mixture resembles a coarse meal.
Transfer to a large bowl and add almond milk until dough comes together.
Preheat oven to 375.

In a medium bowl, combine berries, sugar, cornstarch (we used flour) and cinnamon
and mix just until incorporated.
Transfer berries to 8" square baking dish (we used a ceramic pie plate).
Top with dough mixture.
Bake 55 minutes, let cool 30 minutes on wire cooling rack.
Enjoy!