Starting Seeds Indoors

I've dabbled in gardening pretty much my entire life, but it wasn't until about four years ago that I got serious about gardening. That change came about when we decided we wanted to live a more self sufficient lifestyle.

The garden can provide a bounty of food for your family in the summer, and through the winter if you freeze or can your summer abundance. Gardening can be done for very little money. The cost comes in your own labor. For me it is a labor of love.

Our garden season is almost here, and I couldn't be more thrilled. We have been making plans and preparing for the planting season. One preparation is to start seeds indoors. This is a relatively new gardening activity for me. Buying plants adds greatly to the cost of the garden. Seeds are cheap. So, last year we turned an old bath tub in to a seed nursery.

But you don't need that much space to start seeds indoors. All seeds need to grow is a dirt, light, and water. A sunny window will often do the trick.


If you have composted dirt, this is perfect for starting your seeds. Potting soil will work just fine too. There are a lot of different containers that you can use. Last year I saved containers from plants I bought. I am using those and some repurposed yogurt tubs with a couple holes punched in the bottom. I used toilet paper tubes last year, but was not real thrilled with them. About any small container will work. Just be sure that there are drainage holes in the container.

After the container is filled with dirt, it is time for the seeds. Most seeds do not need to be planted very deeply. Check the package for the type of seed you have.

I usually make a small hole in the dirt with the sharpened tip of  a pencil. Place two seeds in each hole. And cover with dirt again.

The best way to water your newly planted seeds and seedlings is to give them a good soaking from the roots up. I like to fill the tub with an inch or two of water, and  place the containers right into the water. Let them sit there until the dirt is good and saturated.

Place the containers in a well lit and warm place. A sunny window will often do the trick. A simple fluorescent light placed a few inches above the containers will also work.

After a week or so, depending on the type of seeds you have planted, tiny little seedlings will begin to pop through the dirt. A little while later they will get their first true leaves.

When they start to get their true leaves, it is time to thin them out. We plant two seeds in each space, just in case one seed does not germinate, but if they both did germinate one of them has to go. Simply snip the weaker seedling at the dirt level, or you can pull it out.


Continue to keep the plants warm, water when the soil feels dry, and give them light for 12-14 hours a day. If you are using artificial light, a garden timer is a convenient way to control the light. When it is time to plant out side, you need to harden the plants off first. That simply means to put them outside a little more each day to get them used to the outside conditions before you plant them there.

The plants that I have started indoors have not looked as big or lush as the ones I see in the store. Last year we planted home grown plants and store purchased ones. Based on last year, the home grown ones soon caught up and performed as well or better than the ones that came from the store. The plants started from seed only cost a fraction of the plants purchased in the store.

Starting seeds indoors is not difficult, and does not take much time either. Gardening from seed is also a step toward self sufficiency. Saving our own seeds from one season to start most of our plants the next season is my goal.  It can save you a lot of money, but I have to admit my favorite part is that it relieves a little of my cabin fever. It does me good to play in the dirt a little and watch things grow.

Frittata - sort of!

I am overrun with eggs here on the farm and constantly thinking of ways to use them. This dish is a favorite of mine. Not exactly a quiche and not exactly a frittata, it's quick and easy.


This one has about 1/4 cup of red bell pepper in it.

If you've always wanted to make a frittata but don't because your skillet can't go in the oven try this version.

4 eggs
1 cup milk
1 onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 dried red chile, crushed (or use 1 tsp red pepper flakes)
1 potato, finely diced (1/4" dice)
1 zucchini, quartered and sliced
salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese (optional)

You can put anything in here! I always use onions and garlic but the other vegetables change depending on what's in my fridge. I frequently add diced red bell pepper and something green because the red and green colors look beautiful in this dish. What you use and how finely you dice it determines how much prep you will need to do. I always pre-saute the onions, garlic and red chile. If you fine dice the potatoes you won't need to pre-cook them. Asparagus and broccoli should be blanched before you put them in. Use common sense and practice to see what works. The vegetables in the finished product should be tender. When you're trying to decide what will be good think of what you like in omelets and quiches.

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees

Heat up your skillet and add the olive oil; add the onions and crushed red chile, saute until the onions are translucent, add garlic, salt and pepper and saute for an additional 1 or 2 minutes until the garlic is fragrant. Remove from the heat and set aside.

If you are using vegetables that need to be blanched, prepare a bowl of iced water, set aside, boil a pot of water and put the vegetables to be blanched into the boiling water. Remove the vegetables after 2 or 3 minutes; green vegetables will be bright and vibrant. Remove the vegetables from the boiling water and plunge them into the iced water to stop the cooking. Remove from the iced water and set on paper toweling to drain.

I use a glass pie pan for this dish but have also used an 8 x 8 baking dish. Put the sauteed onion mixture and all the other vegetables in the baking dish and mix them evenly. Whisk the 4 eggs and cup of milk together in a bowl and carefully pour over the vegetable mixture. Salt and pepper and top with a couple of tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes or until set. Check it after 30 minutes and if the center still jiggles, cook it 5 more minutes. Remove from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Serve with fruit and a salad.

Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Join me everyday over at SimplyForties where I write about navigating mid-life - grown children, finances, relationships, social responsibility and yes, food!

Carnival #157 and Introducing.....

This week the carnival can be found at Lighter Side. Thank you Abi for hosting the carnival this week. Some of my favorites from the carnival:

Green Onion Vase
What a clever idea to use wilted onions. I wonder how long they will last.

Keepsake Ornament
I made something like these with my two oldest children a long time ago. Every year when we get them out at Christmas we are all amazed at how little their hands and feet used to be. I need to make these again, with all the kids.

Peanut Butter Brownie Cupcakes
I wish I had some of these sitting in my kitchen right now! Well more specifically, sitting in my hand about to be devoured.

Thanks for joining us for the carnival this week. Be sure to submit your posts for next week. The carnival will be right here at Make it from Scratch.


And introducing a new contributor here at the Make it from Scratch blog, Mary from Simply Forties. Long time carnival readers know her as a frequent carnival contributor. She shares some fabulous recipes. Looks like she has a good one to share tomorrow. Stay tuned!

Spanish Hot Chocolate

 Whilst we're over here sweltering in Australia I'm seeing reports on the news saying how y'all are covered in snow!  So there's no point me giving you my latest icecream recipe is there? (let me know and I'll share one next time, promise!)

What I thought I'd share with you is the recipe for Spanish Hot Chocolate.  Something to warm the cockles, and I swear to you, you will never drink hot cocoa or a store-bought hot chocolate again after having one of these.

I came accross the Spanish Hot chocolate in its' homeland when I spent one January backpacking through Spain on planes, trains, automobiles and ferries.  You can buy them at most bars and eateries.

Makes 2 cups (because you may want to share, or you may not be able to stop at one....)

Ingredients
475ml full cream milk
115gr milk chocolate
1 tsp. cornstarch (cornflour)

Method:
Pour milk and cornstarch (cornflour) into a saucepan, turn up the heat and begin to scald, (i.e. making it bubble at the edges of the saucepan) whilst using a metal whisk to ensure there's no lumps.

When it just begins to boil, it should begin to thicken, turn down the heat at this point to low-medium and add your chocolate.  Keep whisking until chocolate melts and it will resemble a bit of a thinnish custard.  Taste and add sugar if you wish to taste, dissolve sugar, then pour into coffee/tea mug.

Try it!  Perfect accompaniment would be Easter Shrewsbury biscuits!

So lovely Make it from Scratch Readers: What's your favourite accompaniment to a hot chocolate/cocoa or coffee?  A cookie?  Chocolate?  A special, cake or muffin?

You can find more step-by-step cooking from scratch posts and much more at my blog, Frills in the Hills - the fabulous life of our family of five - the fun, the food and the frugality.

What’s Your Secret???

Today I am having a tooth extracted so instead of posting a rocking recipe or a clever craft, I thought I would ask you, my MIFS friends, for help solving one life’s little riddles: Secrets to line drying clothes! Last week I asked my readers at Frugal Front Porch, my Facebook and Twitter friends for their secrets to luxurious soft line dried clothes. As you can imagine, I got a wide range of answers.

• Add vinegar to the rinse cycle
• Tumble dry a few minutes after they are dry
• Tumble dry a few minutes before you hang them to dry
• Add Downy to the rinse cycle
• Use less laundry detergent

Someone also suggested I simply live with it but surely I can have it all: line dried clothes that are soft and fluffy!

Some of the suggestions helped more than others but the best results offered a marginal improvement at best so I am hoping you ladies and gents can help me out with some fresh ideas.

I just started line drying our clothes in the basement a few weeks ago when I noticed the clothes seemed to take longer and longer to dry. I am not sure if the dryer is going out. We’ve checked all the vent lines and cleaned the lint trap so we feel confident this isn’t the problem. I also wanted to save on our monthly electric bill and add some desperately needed humidity to our home.

Before now, I have NEVER line dried clothes other than tossing a wet pool towel over the shower curtain or fence line. I know: shame on me but in my defense, my mother wasn’t exactly Donna Reed. She used our dryer for EVERYTHING except for the occasional sleeping bag or quilt. I grew up thinking the clothes line was just another toy for my brother and I to swing and play from so I never thought to line dry clothes as an adult. Now that I have started line drying clothes, it seems I am stuck with INSANELY stiff crunchy clothes!!! I need help! 

Keep in mind, this is what our yard looks like right now. Hubster sank through the snow during his walk with Ruby, our dog. It’s up to his knees! Line drying outside won’t work till warmer weather arrives. I am line drying in our basement right now.

Anyone have the secret to soft line dried clothes? Inquiring minds want to know.

Healthier Tuna Salad Sandwich

Hi! My name is Rina aka Mama Bear from Gotta Little Space. You might recognize me as a former monthly Make It From Scratch carnival host! Stephanie invited me to contribute to the MIFS blog and I am super excited to do so!! Thanks Stephanie!!

I love food. A lot. My husband does, too. So does our 2 year old - and his tastes are pretty strange for a toddler! We love trying new things, and being in the kitchen with my hands in a mixing bowl or stirring something up on the stove is where I'm happiest.

Some time ago we realized that eating processed, fake foods wasn't for us (but don't get me wrong, we enjoy our rare fast food moments - and I'm all about salt and vinegar potato chips!). So we decided to do our best to eat fresh, local, as un-tinkered-with foods as possible.

We're planning a fairly adventurous garden in the backyard of our first house, and we're lucky enough to live in an area that has a massive variety of other fruits and veggies to supplement (and can, and freeze, and otherwise preserve!).

Last year my family took all of us kids to California for a vacation, and my husband and I decided we were going to try and drop a bit of weight so we wouldn't be embarrassed to hit the pool or wear clothing to beat the heat.

Enter the ChangeOne plan: an eating plan that wants to teach you how to lose weight simply, safely and forever. You can click here to view all of the ChangeOne posts (about the plan, recipes, our experience and of course, our weight loss) on my personal blog, if you so desire.

It worked really, really well for us. My husband and I lost a combined total of 40 pounds in about 3 months - and we ate more while doing ChangeOne than we did before (and we were gaining weight then, certainly not shedding it!). Unfortunately though, once we returned from California, despite our best (half hearted?) efforts, we strayed from eating properly - and we've both gained back a bit of weight.

So here we are, starting back up on the ChangeOne plan. We're excited about it because we know it works, and we enjoy the food. One of the lunch recipes provided is for this tuna salad sandwich (see the picture at the top of the post, click to view it on Flickr). It's really delicious on a grainy, whole wheat bread - add some crunchy lettuce and a few tomato slices, too!

Tuna Salad Sandwich
Serves 2

1 can white or light tuna in water, drained
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon plain yogurt
1 tablespoon low fat mayonnaise
1 tablespoon pickle relish
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon minced onion
3 slices whole wheat bread
lettuce and tomato slices

Place tuna in a bowl and combine with the lemon juice. Add the yogurt, mayo, relish, mustard and onions and combine well. Line 2 bread slices with the lettuce and tomato (if desired). Top each with half the tuna mixture and the remaining slices of bread.

Variations!
Tex Mex: replace the relish and mustard with salsa.
Indian: add 1 teaspoon curry powder and 2 tablespoons raisins.
Italian: replace the yogurt and mayo with fat free Italian dressing.

Ch-Ch-Changes

 

Changes are coming to Make it from Scratch. I am very excited, and think that these changes will make this blog a better resource for all of us. First there will be new contributors. Joining Jenn, who regularly blogs at Frugal Front Porch, Kellie, whose home blog is Greenhab, and myself, blogging at Stop the Ride,will be Rina author of Gotta Little Space, Liss, writing down under at Frills in the Hills, and  mom2my9 (soon to be 10) who shares her accumulated wisdom at 11th Heaven's Homemaking Haven.These new contributors will be starting very soon.

Another change that will be coming in about a month: You may notice that all of our new contributors are long time regular hostesses of the Make it from Scratch carnival. Soon they will no longer be hosting the carnival. Carnival hostesses are scheduled through March. After March, the carnival will be hosted right here at Make it from Scratch. The day will be changing from Tuesdays to Thursday's and we will begin to phase out the Blog Carnival submission process and go to a MckLinky type format. I think this will make the carnival much more accessible for readers and participants. 

I know, a lot of changes to keep track of. For now, enjoy the posts from our new (and old) contributors. The changes to the carnival will happen slowly, and I'll be sure to keep you updated. Thank you for support of this blog, carnival, and the bloggers who make it all happen.