By this time of the year, I crave greens. I don't care what type of green it is, just something I can eat. So over the weekend, I was cleaned out a drawer and came across a mixture of seeds for spouting. Talk about a light bulb going off! Eureka! My fresh greens. Wonderful beautiful home grown greens.
You really don't need anything fancy to grow them. Just a jar, a rubber band, and a piece of stocking. That is all.
Put a couple tablespoon of seeds into the jar, add water, and secure the piece of stocking over the jar. Let the seeds soak an hour or so and drain. Each day, add water, swish, then drain. In a few days you'll have nice fresh greens.
A few years ago, I invested in a nice stackable sprouter with 5 layers. I place some seeds in each layer, water it and the water drips down to the bottom layer. It is easy and within a few days, I have wonderful fresh greens.
As you know, you can add sprouts to stir-fry, salads, sandwiches and even bread. If you keep an eye out, you can get books devoted to using sprouts in cooking. I have several. Each type of green provides a unique flavor and texture.
Alfalfa sprouts are a popular choice for most people. Its neutral taste and crunchiness provides vitamin C, vitamin K, and a bit of protein.
Broccoli sprouts is said to be quite good for you. It has vitamin C and fiber.
Mung bean sprouts are often what you see as "bean sprouts" in Chinese cooking.
Radish sprouts offer a spiciness or bite which add to the over all mix.
Other seeds are lentils, chickpeas, sunflower, wheatgrass, fenegreek, clover, soybeans, mustard, and onions.
One other thing to think about is sprouting peas because pea shoots are a delicacy used in Chinese cooking. Check the internet for easy to use recipes. I think I'm going to get some of that to start at home because I want to try them.
Fresh greens when there is snow all around and no chance of any grown locally until summer. I'm happy and I'm starting a batch tonight. Yeah. Let me know what you think.
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