The famous Chia 'pets' grown on clay pots are a superfood known and cultivated by Aztecs over 5000 years ago. We need to stop playing with this plant and start EATING it!!
There are two varieties, the cultivated Mexican Chia
, Salvia hispanica, which grows naturally on clay soils (hence chia pets), and
the Golden Chia (
Salvia Columbariae). This is our northern variety. It hasn't been cultivated, but was collected from the wild by the indigenous California people. It's a little annual sage that doesn't look like a sage. The leaves are deeply dissected and very crinkly. 2 or 3 neat flower globes grow on each square-stemmed stalk from a 1-2 foot plant. Highly variable, this native can be found in clean areas between the chaparral, on south slopes on rock, gravel, or disturbed soil. In the desert it grows only a few inches high.
Taste-wise, chia seeds have a nutty flavour, and are a healthful addition to the diet sprinkled on cereals, yogurt or salads. You can also eat them whole or mix them into flour when baking bread, muffins or other baked goods.
Chia (-
hispanica) is an oil seed; two-thirds of Chia oil are Omega-3 essential fatty acids (polyunsaturated) with only 10% saturated fatty acids, making them a better source of omega 3 fatty acids than flax-seeds. In addition to its extremely high Omega-3 content, Chia has other nutritional qualities: antioxidants, fiber, vitamins B1, B2, B3, plus minerals such as phosphorus, calcium, potassium, iron, magnesium, manganese, zinc and copper.
A great benefit of the chia seed is its durability. Unlike flax-seeds, it can be stored for long periods without becoming rancid, and does not require grinding. Two tablespoons of chia - about 25 grams - provide about seven grams of fiber.
In a preliminary study from the University of Toronto (2006), researchers gave 21 diabetics either a supplement made from chia, or grains with similar fibre content. The results were interesting. After three months, blood pressure from the chia group dropped 10 points diastolic and 5 points systolic., while the blood pressure from the grain group remained steady.
Chia hispanica
Chia columbariae
More on Chia
and More on Chia
We have chickens again! I returned the 2 little roosters a while back and ordered 2 dozen Black Copper Maran eggs from mail order place. BAD idea! I asked to be notified when the eggs were shipped so I would be expecting them. Well we came home one chilly 37 degree day to find my box of eggs sitting on the porch! I rushed them inside and turned on the incubator. When the
temperature seemed stable enough, I put the eggs in and hoped for the best. Only 11 developed, and only 5 hatched. There was another problem as well. This breed's eggs are supposed to be dark chocolate burgundy brown. These eggs were not all that dark; in fact, they were not much darker than regular brown eggs. It was a big disappointment. Soon after my 5 little chicks hatched, out pet shop had a few amaraucanas come in. I brought home the cutest little white chick to add to the flock. We still don't know which are boys and which are girls, but we are getting a bit of an idea. There's one in particular- quite aggressive and tends to run off by himself. We figure that one must be a boy. But time will tell! About a week ago we brought home 3 more amaraucana 
chicks from out pet shop. These were sexed and are supposed to be hens. They are all a cute soft buffy brown. Sorry, I don't have pictures of them yet. So the total is 4 Marans (we lost one to a local Cooper's hawk- my daughter caught it in the act!) and 4 amaraucanas. Out of these we will hopefully have 2 girls out of each group. If my marans don't lay any dark eggs though, I'll be shopping for replacements next spring.
