How To Sprouts

How To Sprouts

Oke doke, so I know for me, winter can make me feel pretty unsexy...lots of clothes, sex with socks on, weight gain.  If you are a dork like me, sprouting will make you feel sexy in the winter and all year long perhaps.  I feel very rewarded when I can say, mid-winter, that I grew my own salad in my pantry.  When I started my business, One Sister Inc., I did just that, began to sprout greens in my pantry (if you don't have a pantry you can use a cabinet).  So here's the deal. it's easy, you just have to do a little work to get what you need... First decide on what kind of greens or sprouts you'd like to grow.  My favorites, which have fast turn around, because I like short-term satisfaction especially when it's cold are broccoli, radish, pea, and sunflower.  All of these will produce beautiful greens once exposed to light.  The sprouting seeds can be found on the web or in some specialty stores.  I like Sprout People and will attach a link.  Once you have the seeds you like you can read the directions but here is what I do.  I put about a tablespoon of each seed in a different plastic container, I fill it with room temp water and let them soak for 8-12 hours.  Then I pour each different seed into a sprouting tray (I use the SproutMaster sprouting tray) but you can use a sprouting jar, hemp bag, or even cardboard egg container.  I rinse and drain the seeds and cover them with the lid but you can use damp paper towel if using a homemade tray.  I place them in my pantry.  You can use a cabinet, etc, somewhere dark and anywhere from 55-90 degrees F.  The warmer it is the faster they will sprout.  You'll want to rinse them two to three times daily, make sure you shake or drain the water off.  Once you see them sprout their little tails you can transfer them to shallow trays containing about an inch of top soil or manure.  If you don't want top soil or manure in your house you can use sprouting mats which can also be found on the Sprout People website (I think they call them baby blankets).  Leave these sprouts covered for a day or two, still lightly rinsing, until they reach about an inch in height.  Then transfer them to a warm windowsill and they will practically turn green before your very eyes.  Once they've grown and opened up nicely you can cut them down with small kitchen shears or any scissors and add them to salads, soups, sandwiches.  If you grow them in a soil or manure medium be sure to rinse thoroughly. 
The broccoli and radish sprouts can also be sprouted to look like the sprouts you find in stores.  Instead of transferring them to soil or baby blanket, just transfer to a tray and place in the light.  They will turn green.  Once green, transfer to a bowl with water and swish around to help hull removal and then drain, pat dry and store in airtight container in refrigerator.  Also for salads composed of mainly sprouts try for the heartier ones such as pea and sunflower.  Sunflower may require a little more practice and patience but the taste is well worth the effort.
When I entered my first Farmers' Market, before my pierogi made it to the big time I sold sprout wraps and zucchini pancakes with Butterkase cheese from Wisconsin. 
For the Sprout Wraps:
1 Whole Wheat Wrap
Handful of broccoli, radish, sunflower and pea sprouts
1/4 Sliced avocado
1T Dried cherries
2 T Vinegar dressing composed of 1 part balsamic, 2 parts grapeseed oil, equal parts salt and sugar, and cracked pepper to taste.
I hope this makes you feel sexy!!!!!!!!
Sprout People link http://www.sproutpeople.com/