Sweet

This morning I stopped by Anton's Greenhouse and purchased my first few seedlings for the garden. The frost-free date for Illinois is tomorrow. That means I will be planting on Saturday!

Since I didn't forsee having access to any garden space, I didn't start seeds early enough to grow everything from seed. (My tomato plants are about two inches tall, with two little leaves each). Though more expensive, it's good this way, because I can actually see things in my garden beds now, not just seeds hidden in the silt.

I bought eggplant, chocolate mint (heavenly smelling!!), basil, and what I'm most excited about....

STEVIA.

...labeled on the tag as "sugar plant."  My friend D. is an enthusiastic stevia advocate who told me about this great, all-natural sweetener substitute. I didn't realize we could grow this plant in the U.S. until the woman who previously owned my plot said she grew it last year. Cool!

According to the plant tag, you dry the leaves, grind them up, and use in place of sugar. It also states that stevia is 20-30 times sweeter than sugar cane. This is great news for me, as my sweet tooth (a cherished interitance from my Grandma--nature and nurture, folks) keeps me close to the cookie jar and I struggle to break off my relationship with refined sugar and maintain a truly whole and healthful diet. I eagerly anticipate making a batch of cookies with stevia (and whole wheat flour...and my homemade vanilla). There are some experiments in my future!