Monday, February 17, 2014

Kitchen Pets

I have gradually developed a real zoo of bacteria in my kitchen.

The yogurt.  The kefir.  The kombucha. The sourdough starter.



I usually have one fermented vegetable mix in the fridge.  This is a mix of root veggies and ginger with leeks.



Then I'm growing sprouts in the little niche above the oven hood.  I have to remind myself to look in on them several times a day when they're growing.  This jar is sitting in a sunny windowsill to develop the green in the sprouts.




I like tending to these things as I wait for a child to finish a meal, wait for the coffee to perk, or just keep house as the snow falls outside.  I'm not a very successful gardener outside, but inside, my houseplants and kitchen pets are doing just fine.  What about you?

11 comments:

Jennifer Jo said...

Do they have names?

Margo said...

snort. No. Should they?

Jennifer Jo said...

Absolutely. They're pets, aren't they?

Polly said...

Yeah, name 'em!

How's the sprout-growing going? That is something I've always wanted to do but am sort of scared that I would grow deadly bacteria instead of, you know, harmless sprouts.

Rozy Lass said...

Don't name them! Eating things that were named is so much harder. I like your kind of gardening, that's about what I could do. Thanks for sharing.

Hazel said...

I had a ginger beer plant called Natalie when I was a teenager. No idea why Natalie. My friends' was called Hubert or Egbert or something.
I usually have sprouts growing and yogurt fermenting, but they don't have names anymore :) I also grow carrot and parsnip tops for free greens for my chickens.
I killed my kombucha and am trying to replace it and I'm trying to get better at keeping some fermented vegetables and sourdough around.

Rebecca said...

Sourdough, water kefir, milk kefir. No names but held in affectionate esteem just the same. (I really must give a ringing endorsement to the water kefir. It's the best thing ever with just a squeeze of lime. Don't forget to ask me for some grains when you get the urge.)

Margo said...

Polly, the sprout-growing is my favorite! I just love the miracle of fresh, tasty veggies in my kitchen in midwinter. I had fears about deadly bacteria at the beginning, but I read some research (pro and con) and wound up concluding that it was probably more dangerous to eat the factory-farmed food in restaurants which seemed more likely to be salmonella-tainted.

Dusa said...

At least your kitchen pets are earning their keep: ours (the kittehs) just demand food and attention on their schedule, not ours.

jenny_o said...

Let's see ... only two plants left in the house due to indoor cats ... And even those two plants were chewed to stubs last summer when our daughter's cat lived with us for awhile.

So, not good :)

Glad to hear yours are thriving!

Sew Blessed Maw [Judy] said...

Looks like they are growing good..