| Author | Content |
rvnsbrk
Leesburg, VA (Zone 7a)
February 26, 2008 12:22 PM Post #4589814
| I have been sprouting for a long time now. One of my favorites is a mix of fennel, alfalfa and clover. The fennel is a really great flavor and adds a lot if interest. Also try sprouting onion and garlic chives. They take a lot longer to sprout, but they are totally yummy on sandwiches, wraps and salads. Great seed mixes can be found at sprouthouse.com and the sproutpeople.com. If you are on the East coast sprouthouse is better for the shipping. Good Luck!
Juanita |
doccat5
Fredericksburg, VA (Zone 7b)
February 26, 2008 1:02 PM Post #4589925
| I'm allergic to the alfalfa, but the others are soooooooooooo yummy! We love bean sprouts especially. Thanks for sharing this information.
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LTilton
Glen Ellyn, IL (Zone 5b)
February 26, 2008 5:50 PM Post #4591173
| Oh, yes, I do like onion sprouts! |
critterologist
Frederick, MD (Zone 6b)
February 26, 2008 10:57 PM Post #4592428
| Hey, a use for all the seeds my clump of garlic chives produces! Next year, I'll collect more of them... Thanks for the idea!
Lois, thanks for a great article!
I've got some screw-on lids that are made to fit canning jars... They're especially for sprouting, made with screen-like tops to make it easy to rinse the sprouts as well as for ventilation. |
LTilton
Glen Ellyn, IL (Zone 5b)
February 27, 2008 12:57 AM Post #4593204
| I've seen those for sale at Whole Foods, critter.
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critterologist
Frederick, MD (Zone 6b)
February 27, 2008 1:02 AM Post #4593245
| I think mine might have come from Pinetree or Territorial Seeds... |
critterologist
Frederick, MD (Zone 6b)
February 27, 2008 1:03 AM Post #4593250
| adding... they seemed like they'd be easier to clean than the 3-tier stacking sprouter I've been using... glass jars and plastic tops can all just go in the dishwasher. |
LTilton
Glen Ellyn, IL (Zone 5b)
February 27, 2008 2:38 AM Post #4593838
| I don't find the stacking sprouter that hard to clean, but sometimes the draining thingie gets clogged up.
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critterologist
Frederick, MD (Zone 6b)
February 27, 2008 4:38 AM Post #4594491
| Right... I just rinse mine... but I like the idea of being able to run jars through the dishwasher. I'm not sure if my stacking sprouter is DW safe, so I've just been handwashing it. Either way, as long as I end up with a crisp batch of sprouts, I'm happy! |
LTilton
Glen Ellyn, IL (Zone 5b)
February 27, 2008 1:58 PM Post #4595373
| Oh, I DW everything, don't use the heat-drying. |
critterologist
Frederick, MD (Zone 6b)
February 27, 2008 2:34 PM Post #4595514
| Thanks; I'll remember that! :-) |
dkistner
Mineral Bluff, GA (Zone 7a)
March 5, 2008 1:25 PM Post #4624938
| I love sprouts but forget to start them. Or I start them and have too many of them and wind up having to compost them. Or at least I had these problems in the past.
What I'm doing now is keeping sprouts going and growing all the time. I use quart-sized mason jars with those plastic screw-on drain lids to get them going, and then when they're starting to sprout, I transfer them to glass plates with a moist paper towel underneath and let them green up a bit.
I keep a little "fresh edibles" shelf by the kitchen table with a large Pyrex bowl full of fruit, a few African violet pots (base for water, insert to absorb water) with heads of lettuce stuck into a little water in the insert, and those sprout plates. This encourages us to think in terms of eating as close to the tree as possible and reaching for the junk food less and less.
I keep my eye on my edibles table and, as I see things are needing to be eaten, I pull them and get them right into my Excalibur dehydrator set to 105 to dry them without killing the enzymes and vitamins. Once dry, those get vac-sealed into half-pint can-and-freeze jars and put on the pantry shelf. So I'm not only growing something all the time, I'm putting it up, and it couldn't be easier. No planning or going through food processing ordeals. This is really working for me!
Diane
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LTilton
Glen Ellyn, IL (Zone 5b)
March 5, 2008 2:42 PM Post #4625240
| You've nailed down the key thing - making it a part of the regular routine.
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Fitsy
Hayesville, NC (Zone 7a)
March 8, 2008 9:06 PM Post #4638985
| Dandy info on drying sprouts! I don't have a Vac-sealer,
tho. Maybe the sprouts would keep a short time just in
a closed jar.
Fitsy |
LTilton
Glen Ellyn, IL (Zone 5b)
March 8, 2008 10:35 PM Post #4639319
| I think they would. I just use a regular ziplock.
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