Sprouting

Here's the much awaited post on sprouts ... I actually almost FORGOT to post it today!! Ooops. It's been a really long day (as was yesterday).

Why do I like sprouting? I am able to grow fresh, organic, nutritious, CHEAP and delicious vegetables in my own home, with little effort, in about 3 days!!! WOW!

Basics for sprouting ...

You can sprout pretty much anything that is in (whole, original) seed form - wheat, quinoa, rice, legumes, flax, and so on. Just as each grain, seed or legume has its unique flavor and texture, so do the sprouts. Alfalfa for example is kind of sweet and crisp. Lentils are also crisp, but have almost a bit of spice to them. Wheat berries are sweet and chewy. Garbanzo beans are a little nutty and crunchy. And so on. Some things are not as easy to sprout as others ... I sprouted flax seed once and did not like it because it was slimy ... but flax is like that anyway so I should have known better! Oh well, live and learn, right?! I like quinoa sprouts, however they have a tendency to get stuck in my teeth, and that kind of bugs me!! But they are tasty nonetheless.

Ideal conditions for sprouting - a somewhat warm and dark place. However I sprout in the winter just fine (we keep our heat as low as possible to save money); it just takes a little longer to grow.

You will need a bowl or mason jar and some sort of cover for it. I use wide-mouth quart mason jars and plastic sprouting lids I got at the health food store. The lids have a built-in screen to make rinsing and draining easy. If you do not have that option, I suggest using cut up old (clean) pantie hose or some sort of thin cloth. Just cut a big enough square to cover the top and screw the jar ring on. This will allow you to rinse and drain just as easy as the nifty plastic lid, however you will probably have to replace the fabric and ring every so often. I have never sprouted in a bowl, so you are on your own there! Here's what my lid looks like:

The sprouts on this post have come from mung beans, green lentils and alfalfa seeds. Pictured below, the mung beans are on the top left, lentils on the top right and alfalfa at the bottom. I used a penny to show the size of the seeds. Mung bean sprouts are what's commonly used in Chinese food. Alfalfa sprouts are popular for using in salads and sandwiches.

First you need to soak the seeds over night. I use about 1/2c of seeds per quart jar ... however I might start using less because by the third full day they are pretty squished in there! I will try 1/4c next time. Not all seeds will take up the same amount of room ... for example, when I sprout alfalfa seeds, I use 1/8c per pint jar and that fills it up real good.

Here's a picture of the mung beans soaking:

I store my sprouts in one of the kitchen cupboards and try my best to remember they are there! So, put them where you will remember them!
Like I said, soak them overnight in water. Drain in the morning (you can save the water for soup stock or to water your plants), rinse, drain and leave drained. Tilt the jar up-side-down at about a 45 degree angle so the water is allowed to drain out better. I prop my jars up in a medium sized pyrex mixing bowl. Set back in the same dark place (still propped up) and leave till the evening time. Before bed, drain, rinse and prop up again ... back into the dark place! After about 24 hours, your sprouts should have little 'tails' (sprouts!) - well, I guess it's been about 36 hours at this point, including the soaking time (lentils on the left, mung on the right):

OK ... rinse, drain and prop up in the dark again, morning and evening. Here's what 24 more hours looks like:

You can stop here if you'd like, however I like mine to be a little longer. So, after yet another 24 hours (still rinsing and draining twice a day), here are the final results:

I then rinse and drain one final time, pull them out of the jars and place them in bowls. I put the bowls in the window to get a few hours of sun ... this greens them and, as a result, adds more minerals. I forgot to take a picture of the greener sprouts, but here's how they look in the bowl anyway! The lentils are first, then the mung:

Here are a few pictures of alfalfa sprouts - in the window to get green, and the end results:

That's it!!!
Simple ... so what if you have problems? Maybe your seeds were too old or cracked? (they wont sprout like that!) Maybe you did not drain it properly? (they will form mold) Maybe the room temp was too hot? (they will ferment).
Store your finished sprouts in a covered bowl or plastic bag for about a week.

Now then ... what do you do with all those fresh, homemade vegetables? Of course finding a way to eat them raw is the best - it would be a shame to kill them after all that work you put into them! We usually eat our sprouts as a salad ... using the sprouts in place of the lettuce. Add all the 'normal' salad ingredients like tomatoes, carrots, olives, etc. Another way we will use them is by adding them to sandwiches, tacos, burritos and so on. YUM! My favorite is alfalfa by far, however I know variety is good for you, so I try to mix it up a little. Besides, alfalfa seeds can get a little pricey. One more way we will use them raw is by making tuna salad sandwiches - tuna, sprouts, pickles, and whatever else you like in your tuna salad ... mix it all up with mayo and spread it on some bread or crackers.
When using them cooked, I will add to a stir-fry. I like to add it at the end so they are still mostly raw and not totally dead. Sometimes I make too many sprouts and we don't eat them fast enough ... then I will throw them into my crock-pot soup. That's about it!

Please share if you have a way you like to eat your sprouts. I'm always up for trying something new.

Have a great day!