Did I tell you that John has predicted that spring is coming early? Just a thought. 
So now we have these growing in the South Window. I know, they will get leggy. However you always plant tomatoes right up to their leaves as they are one of the few plants that will grow roots from the stem if planted deeply and that is a good thing. So they are forgiving. And John just gets desperate to start growing and he was never one for rules and dates anyway. Those little first leaves have such promise in this mornings sunrise.
Yesterday I felt like something crunchy to nibble on so I cruised about and found these Sunflower and Cheese Crackers from Food in Jars. Oh excellent, I thought to myself Low carb, crispy and healthy. Went to the pantry and only a half cup of sunflower seeds. But I did have raw almonds and my ever present flax seeds. Do visit Food in Jars to get the recipe. In the food processor I pulsed flax seeds, almonds, a few caraway seeds and sunflower seeds to make up a cup, then a cup of grated cheese and then water to make a dough. Rolled out and cooked. So here they are in a Tea Cup. 
A Girl with a Teacup introduced me to this fantastic dressing which I had made the other day. It is made with chickpeas and oil and garlic and vinegar and other stuff and is very very tasty. We have been eating it with everything. So I took my crackers and dipped them in! YUM! It was a lovely taste of summer. Here is the Summer Dressing in a Jar. 
Teacups and Jars. Get it!
Now it is time to look on your calender and see what your last frost date was. Count back six weeks. Some seeds will need to be sown soon. And some other seeds need to be chilled. We will talk about those tomorrow.
It is great morning, 14F here and the sun is rising into a clear sky. No wind. A perfect winter day. All the animals will be out in the cool sun today! Me too.
Good morning
c
PS. Here are the Answers to your questions from yesterday:
- Use copper pieces to clean the jars as the copper is soft and will not scratch the glass.
- Vinegar is for shine.
- ChgJohn commented that using the same principal, add ice and a little salt to the inside of your coffee pot (the glass carafe) and shake that around to clean it.
- Yummy said to use coke to get those burnt bits off the stainless steel pots, which just underscores why I do not drink coke!! Just use it as a cleaning product!
Sam added a tip to the discussion about improving your photos. Using the principle of thirds applied to light: e.g. One third light or two third dark. Or the barn would be two thirds dark and the sky one third light. And vice versa.
Have fun
c
The Kitchen's Garden 
75 responses to “Tea Cups and Jars”
Loving all the extra tips especially the photographic ones!
🙂 Mandy
You are inspiring me to try a few seedlings here on my balcony in HK.
Great. We are focussing on the balcony this year .. there are many readers who have balconys.. c
Thank you for introducing me to two new blogs Cecilia and thank you for all the tips.
I never drink cola but I do use it to clean stubborn spots, it works like a charm. How people drink it knowing what it does their bodies is something I will never understand
weird huh! c
We’re on low carb too, and those crackers sound great. Sent the link to my hubby as I am a pretty poor baker… For a spring update, my tulips are about 5-6 inches out of the ground already. One of my blueberry bushes put flowers out in November…aaaaarrrgghhhh…
Oh no, best i check my blueberries, hopefully they are not dong the same thing, surely yours will flower again at the proper time, fingers crossed. c
Hello. I’ve just bookmarked your blog. It looks great. You mentioned lavender, and that you have some in the fridge? Exactly what is the deal with lavender? I have tried to grow it for two years now – the English kind. I’ve tried moist, I’ve tried dry, and it just doesn’t seem to respond? I really liked your time management post too. I admire you for your 5.30am starts! I’m pretty organised, but that just seems superhuman!
Hi and welcome. I sow my lavender seeds into little pots and cover with a little media, then moisten and pop the pots into a shoebox that I put into the back of the refrigerator. I leave them there for 6 weeks. Then bring the pots out and put them in the window to germinate. My bees love lavender so I sow some every year. But they are inclement and I get about a 50 percent strike rate. c
Ok, I will try that method. Thanks. And I feel a bit better now that I know it’s just their natural temperament and not me! I guess 50% is much higher than in nature though, now that I think about it. I think I’ve only ever had one naturally struck lavender seedling ever.
They grow better from cuttings but my summers are not long enough to get them established! c
I might try that from some of the 50%. Good to know!
That dressing looks like a better version of hummus
Celi, I visited both websites and was enthralled! The dressing sounds especially good – am very excited about finding something healthy!