Lynn,

Lucky Cats!

I've never grown catgrass, but we overseed with rye grass on the south side of the house every autumn so we have green grass for fire protection, and the cats and dogs all eat the rye grass from time to time. (Unfortunately, so do the deer.)

Maybe I'll get some cat grass and plant some. At least it would be something green in the winter.

I don't keep houseplants inside at all. Between the cats and dogs, it is impossible to keep the plants from being 'misused' in various ways. I overwinter my brugs, after they drop their foliage in late autumn, in the tornado shelter, where they just sit there in a dormant state....pretty much like having them in the ground, except I don't have to worry about them freezing.

Dawn

I think Chia is good for cats, too, isn't it? Over on the cooking forum, Grainlady shared with us that she soaks Chia seed, which makes a gel, and adds it to her bread. It makes the bread very moist and sliceable and the slices don't fall apart when you make a sandwich. I bought some, and it works just like Grainlady said. This is the same stuff we all got for Christmas when we were kids, along with a pottery head or animal -- remember? It's really quick to sprout and grow. I bet it would be tasty for cats.

Ilene,

Oh my! Chia pets! That sounds so very 1960s-1970s! LOL Weren't they the ultimate gift to buy somebody when you had no clue what else to get them? What a fun walk down memory lane.

I do think chia is supposed to be very healthy too. Can you taste it in the bread you make, Ilene?

Dawn

No, I really don't notice a difference in taste. Of course what I tried it in was a bread recipe that had several grains in it and that is normally too dry to make a good sandwich with.

I guess we're dating ourselves talking about Chia pets. But they still sell them!

I'm attaching a link for chia seed. --ilene

Here is a link that might be useful: Chia Seed Source

Ilene,

Thanks for the link. I don't bake bread a lot in the spring and summer 'cause I'm outside so much, but I bake more in the fall and spring.

And, as far as the two of us showing our 'maturity' by discussing the heyday of the chia pet, oh well.....we are not old, just seasoned. I think gardening keeps you young and fit too. I have friends and neighbors here in their 20s, 30s and early 40s that I can run rings around....and I am 49. I think my brother bought me a chia pet one year, but I don't think I did very well with it. LOL

Dawn

You're just a youngster, yourself! I'm turning 62 in January.

In case you want to try it, Grainlady's recommendation is 2 tbsp of chia seed, soaked in the liquid that will be added to the recipe for two loaves of bread. Chia is also a good nutritional additive. Grainlady, from what I've seen in her posts, grinds her own flours and stores large tubs of grain in her basement. She sent me a link once to the Kansas Wheat Commission so I kinda gathered she lives in KS. She goes way further into it than I can, due to limited space (basements tend to fill up with water here, so homes with them are very few)but there's something to be learned from everyone who posts. --Ilene

Ilean - I have never baked with chia, so that is something new to me. I also read grainlady's posting and she seems to be very knowledgeable, but so technical that I am sure she scares many people away from using whole grains. Of course, she claims to live on a budget of $50 a week for food, and I don't know anyone else who does that.

I laughed when I read windsurfgirl's original post about the cat grass. I don't have an inside cat, but I could have planted all three grains she mentioned without going to the store (and a few more). LOL

I love using grain to cook with, but I don't do it in a complicated way. In fact, I was starting to the kitchen to make bread when I stopped here to read my email first. I will grind wheat to replace half of the flour in the recipe. I think the bread benefits from just a bit more sweetener when using whole wheat flour, so I will increase that a bit with maybe a tablespoon of molasses, but that is as complicated as it gets. The loaf will still be light and rise well, but will have that wonderful full-bodied nutty taste that only whole wheat can give. Of course you get the added bonus of the extra nutrition. My husband is fine with total whole wheat, but he is not the only one that eats at my table and I don't want to scare them off. HaHa

He loves it when I throw a handful of barley in the soup, or rough grind the corn to make cornmeal. I have to admit that I don't do that very much because it is so loud. I also don't have a good sourse for dry corn. I always have popcorn and in an emergency situation that could be used. I guess I should get in the habit of growing my own.

Having said all that..............although I own a hand grinder, I use the electric one instead. George "macmex" not only grows his own corn, he hand grinds it. Now that's commitment.

You know, Carol, there's something to be said for being as self-sufficient as one can be, given their situation. When I think along these lines, I always remember back to when I was a young Navy wife living in Oakland CA while DH was out to sea. I made friends with the others in the apartment building, who were young and poor as DH and I were. One day, as we sat around in Marjie's apartment drinking coffee, someone mentioned how hungry they were for pizza but even pooling what money we had, we did not have enough to order. So I said, "This will buy the ingredients and we can MAKE pizza!" They were all dumbfounded. It had never occurred to them pizza could be MADE.

I, too, love to use whole grains but I have not begun to grind them myself. Maybe someday. I'm sure freshly ground grain tastes better. I find that a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice added to a 2-loaf whole wheat bread recipe makes for a better rise. My favorite is oatmeal bread, but I was born a country girl from German ancestors and we have to have our bread, so I enjoy almost all varieties.

I have no idea how much I spend a week for groceries because I stock up the freezer when certain things go on sale and I haven't been keeping track of it. I haven't bought a lot of groceries since March (that's when I retired and took back my kitchen from DH) as I discovered DH was forgetting what he had in the freezer and buying more. LOL! The freezer was so full I didn't have room for garden stuff, or to store extra baked goods. So we've been eating out of the freezer all summer. I do think $50 a week is low, but I don't know anything about Grainlady's family. I think she uses a lot of things that are unusual (to me) that are supposed to be more healthy, such as coconut oil instead of shortening, but I've priced most of them and they are terribly expensive. The Chia seed is not cheap, but a little goes a long way. I just don't think it's possible to feed teenage boys on $50 a week unless they're eating tons of Ramen noodles, beans and mac and cheese, and maybe not even then. LOL

I do wish I had more storage space and more garden space. But, the grandson has announced he's moving back in with his mom as soon as he graduates high school, and that's this spring, so I will have less need to grow in large quantities and therefore less need for storage space. Plus I will have an empty room when he moves out of his bedroom. Two, in fact, because he has taken over the den, as well, for his video games. Maybe some new shelves will be in order, when the time comes. --Ilene

Ilene,

I went to that chia website you referred to in your post. There is a picture there but I can't make out what it is a picture of. Any of you know? The top strip looks like blue sky but for the life of me the rest is .....???

Hank, I followed the link and everything looked ok to me. It's just a simple website with a bar across the top that looks like sky and grass. Then information in large letters on a green background below that. Try the link below and see if you have problems there, too. Should be a picture of a bag of black chia seeds and a long description of the benefits of chia.

Here is a link that might be useful: Chia seed

There's not a lot of chit chat on the topic at places I have a membership, so I'm replying to a 4yr old thread. ;)

My dogs (75% chihuahua, 25% dachshund brothers) just turned 1yr old and have always like munching a little on the grass and weeds outside. So a few weeks ago, I picked up around six 4" pots of "cat grass" at the Home De Pot. I planted a few of them on top of a large strawberry planter with mint in the side holes for them to chaw when they want to.

We've been inside this last week because it's cold here in SoCal, so every other day, I cut one grass clump with scissors both to keep it trimmed and to give it to the little guys. I take it inside and they see it and start twirling--well, one twirls and the other dances on his hind legs. They have a hard time eating it from the bunch in my hand (their canine teeth can't grab it well). So I hold it high above and sprinkle it down like snow and they have the best time.

And they don't puke or have worms.

:) Welcome to Oklahoma! (If only cyberspace Oklahoma) We had an earthquake in OKC last night, got everyone all excited and my Cali friends were laughing....but they pinpointed the 4.3 level before the USGS did.