The cage is outside. It's about as big as two large laundry hampers. Which is a lot smaller than they tell you, for compost. but it still works. They say you need about a 3' x 3' area or bigger - but who wants to deal with turning all that over? Too much work for me.

I don't put much fruit in mine, because that makes it smell and attracts a lot of insects - and not good ones. Grass, weeds, are most of it with bad tomatoes and cukes from the garden maybe being 5%.


Thing is, I need to cover the finished dirt with plastic and let it set in the sun a few weeks to kill off the bacteria and seeds because this small of a compost does not do as good a job at that as a larger one.

They make this stuff sound so complicated, and it's not. you throw clippings in a pile and let them rot, and that's compost. It's as complicated as you make it.

I figure this, what ever a plant takes out of the ground is what it needs to grow. You put that back in the ground, and you can grow that plant really well. Saves a ton of fertilizing.

I think I'll just keep doing my sprouts. I have no backyard. I live in an apartment. I'm doing JUST FINE doing my sprouts, and today I found another way to make sprout patties.

AND BOY WERE THEY GOOD.

Because I'm diabetic I rarely eat any carbs and I NEVER EAT ANY REFINED CARBS.

But I was using bread crumbs as a binder to make my veggie patties, sprout patties, various sorts of patties. I would throw in egg whites, chopped onions and any mashed up veggies that I had and I would then throw some sprouts in, mash it all up, make a patty, spary some PAM and add a bit of vegetable oil, make the pan hot, and add the patties, turning until browned and cooked.

And then adding a dollop of my yogurt dill dressing. Absolutely delicious but then again, THERE WERE THOSE CARBS FROM THE BREAD CRUMBS.

Wel!!! today I said "I'm just going to make sprout patties, with no bread crumbs.

So I took my sprouts (BROCCOLI, FENUGREEK AND RADISH SPROUTS). Just imagine all these green leaves peaking at the tops of the white sprouts (absolutely beautiful to look at). I put them in a bowl, add some chopped onion, added an egg (you can use substitute or egg whites). Then I took a fork, mixed it all up, did the PAM bit in the frying pan, and put in some oil Not a lot of oil, but just to cover the bottom a bit. Then I got it hot, took some of the mixture in my hand, and while it doesn't form a pattie, I didn't care, because when it hits the hot oil, it makes a birds nest kind of thing (if you can understand what I mean.

When you turn it over and it's done, it's all crispy.I drained them completely, and there is no saturated fat at all.

So when they were all ready, I added the yogurt and my husband said "oh my god, these are better than the others, they are so crisp".

So I now have NEW PATTIES, NO CARBS, No sturated fat, crisp and delicous, and you can top with yogurt, applesauce, anything you want.

These are absolutely to die for.

I'm going to post this on the recipe forum (Do we have one of those? lol)

Melody

We sure do Melody. Look above... still in the Social Forum and you'll find the Food Forum, or you can use this link to take you to the recipe sticky thread. http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread22361.html

That does sound good! I should show that to dd. She's a vegan and I bet she'd like that. Probably get into sprouting too.

Your DD probably has been doing this all along. But show her anyway, if she hasn't BOY IS SHE GOING TO ENJOY THIS ONE!!

And no carbs. You GOTTA LOVE THIS.

lol
Melody

She hasn't. I just saw a pack of sprouts in the fridge the other day and it cost more than a bag of beans. She will love saving all that money, plus having them fresh all the time. Plus around here, you play heck trying to find any variety. I'm sure she's never thought of all the kinds you can eat.

Good!!1

I buy my organic sprouting seeds online at Handypantry.com and Sprouthouse.com.

I get my organic broccoli seeds from Sprouthouse.com and I only get one pound and I use them SPARINGLY, because they are very expensive. But you need only a bit in the jar, as long as you put other sprouting seeds in it.

I use Clover, Radish, and Fenugreek, besides the Broccoli.

Fenugreek is bitter but when you combine the seeds in the mason jars, and they sprout in 5 to 7 days, and then I put in a big tub of water, I take off ALL THE HULLS, then I put in salad spinner to dry.

THEN, I store them in air tight containers in my fridge.

You can't imagine how much money you can save when you no longer have to buy any lettuce and you use the sprouts as your base for a salad.

The health benefits go through the roof. My body IS MUCH LESS INFLAMED.

I don't buy Alfalfa sprouts (if it were just me, I would), but since Alan might have auto-immune stuff going on, I read somewhere that Alfalfa sprouts might interfere with that so I just don't sprout alfalfa.

And I grow my own mung bean sprouts. I buy 5 lbs from the Asian Market (which will last me a good 3 months) because THEY GROW LIKE CRAZY WHEN YOU SPROUT THEM.

Because my mung beans are not organic, I wash them carefully in a colander, then I put in a big bowl to soak overnight. To this bowl I add a teaspoon of 3% hydrogen pyroxide (I got this information from my sproutpeople message board).

Oh, when I soak ANY OF MY SEEDS OVERNIGHT, I add a few drops of Liquid Kelp (I got this info from the message board also)

It seems it adds all KINDS OF LOVELY AMINO ACIDS, HEALTH BENEFITS, VITAMINS, ETC. because seaweed is supposed to be EXTREMELY HEALTHY.

So I got the liquid kelp for free because I had a $25.00 coupon from Garden's Alive, when they sent me their catalogue. Go to their website, order a free catalogue that has the "SAVE $25.00" and when it comes, you call them up, you can buy anthing you want for twenty five bucks and under and it's FREE!!! You don't have to give them any credit card or anything.

I got some organic lentil seeds and the bottle of Liquid Kelp. They do this for first time customers I gather, but I just was pleased as punch to get that catalogue with the $25.00 coupon off on any order (and if the order is under $25.00, the order is FREE)

So that's what I did.

But I only buy my organic seeds from Sprouthouse.com, and mostly from HandyPantry.com

My seeds are all stored in my freezer and they don't freeze. They just keep forever.

I buy the 5 lb cans of organic seeds (except for the broccoli) That's too expensive. But if I ever win the lottery, all I would buy would be broccoli seeds and Fenugreek (which is good for diabetes or so they say)

Anyway, give it some thought. Start slow. and soon enough you'll be like me.

GROWING THINGS IN YOUR KITCHEN.

I love this. I have trays, jars, and god knows what else. But I have this all on my racks. Nothing is on my kitchen counters and my kitchen is clean.

This way, I never use a pesticide or chemicals and I feel I'm doing something GOOD for my immune system, my digestive system, and god only knows what system I have.

lol

Melody

Well it makes a lot of sense. After all a car wouldn't run too well if all you put in it's tank was dirty puddle water. So why should a body run, if all you put in it is junk?

Put good stuff in, and it works better.

I admire how you are doing this. It's one thing to grow a garden out here, with a big yard, but you have to be really resourceful to grow all that in your kitchen.



Very cool.

Right now I really can't start on this. Dh got transferred - he's been in fl for a couple months working, and I'm leaving to go see him in a couple days.

We're moving as soon as we get all that arranged, but who knows how long all that is going to take. Seems like it's really dragging on. This started in April so we thought I'd be down there moved in by Sept. Now we're hoping by Christmas.

Someday when it's not so up in the air though.

Hi.

I MUST share my new toys with you. I received them the other day and I now store ALL MY SPROUTS in these containers in my fridge.

I was so excited (just imagine a woman getting excited about storage containers), lol.

I was using the green bags and various kinds of ziplock bags, but when you plop these in the fridge, well they fall over and even more important, I WANTED A STORAGE CONTAINER THAT WOULD BE AIR TIGHT, BUG PROOF (you never know, lol), and water proof.

So I went online, did some research and found a reasonable container.

It's called the LOCK & LOCK storage containers.

I just now made a video (to share with my other sprout message board sprouting people.) We share all kinds of info.

I'm going to upload the video now on youtube.

When I have it up, I'll come back here, and re-edit this message and put in the link

mel.

Melody

okay, it's live.

Go here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlarSm9t2vY

I've seen those Lock and Locks. Very cool! Like how easy they are to open and close, and you KNOW they are closed right when you close them. Plus all the great colors they come in.


BUT.... you're going to want the new containers when you find these - they are made out of that *green bag* material. Cool huh? So it's a container and it preserves your food like those bags. Sweeeeeet!