What are you SPROUTING today?

[Wifezilla]

When you get the urge to grow something and the ground is frozen, think sprouting! It can take care of that itchy green thumb and allow you make some delicious food in only a few days.

I use mason jars with pieces of nylon screen as my sprouters. You put in some seeds, soke overnight, and then just rinse a couple of times a day. You rest the jars upside down and tilted about 45 to make sure no water pools around the seeds. In a few days they are ready for harvest.


Besides being fast, fun and tasty, sprouting has some serious nutritional advantages....

The process of germination not only produces vitamin C, but also changes the composition of grains and seeds in numerous beneficial ways. Sprouting increases vitamin B content, especially B2, B5, and B6. Carotene increases dramatically-sometimes even eightfold. Sally Fallon, Nourishing Traditions, pg 112

I just sprouted some red clover, daikon radish and peas. The peas didn't do well...I think the seeds were too old.

I LOVE the flavor of the daikon.

So what are you sprouting??

 

[Dace]

Can we get a pic? I am not sure I really get it. Tankshill tried to explain it to me once too!

 

[Wifezilla]

I found some pics online...

http://media.photobucket.com/image/sprouting mason jar/ch_tielfan/Sprouter.jpg

Mine are like this....
http://www.turtlshel.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/2009LentilSprouts4.jpg

The jars tilted...
http://www.homemadeliving.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/sprouts-02.jpg

 

[Wifezilla]

Here is where I got my daikon and cress seeds...
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=bl_sr_g...s=grocery&field-brandtextbin=The Sprout House

The peas were just a bag of organic peas I got at Vitamin Cottage. There were not sprouting seeds, but cooking peas. Some sprouted but not many.

 

[Dace]

When they are tilted and the sprouts/seeds are setting on the mesh....don't they just dry out? or do you mist them or something?

 

[Wifezilla]

They don't dry out. When you first start them you soak them overnight (guess I should add that to the first post huh?). They retain enough moisture that they never dry out if you are rinsing at least twice a day. If they wont dry out in Colorado, I think everyone else is safe

For lunch today I had some clover sprouts and daikon radish sprouts in a salad with cucumber, grilled chicken and fermented ginger carrots. Yummmmmm!

 

[freemotion]

I have a couple of gallons of barley sprouting for the critters....does that count?

 

[me&thegals]

I'm a dull sprouter. I do mung beans. Everything else is so expensive! So, I'm actually in the middle of a fall greens-red onion-HB egg-and-bean-sprouts salad. Mmmmmm.

 

[Wifezilla]

I have a couple of gallons of barley sprouting for the critters....does that count?

It sure does

One thing about sprouts from the Nourishing Traditions book I should point out. ALFALFA SPROUTS are NOT a nutritious food. I forgot what it was about them, but there is something in those sprouts that isn't healthy. Funny enough, my ducks were offered these over the summer and they would not eat them. Guess they were on to something...LOL

 

[freemotion]

Yeah, alfalfa is all I used to sprout, but after reading that, I don't anymore. Rats. :/ I loved them.