Ah, leafy green beauty of Spring. A little dry, but nonetheless marvelous. I suggest, however, that you move beyond contemplation and actually eat the leafy green gorgeousness. The more the better – and better again with a vinegar or lemon juice dressing and some dry roasted nuts and seeds thrown on top. One of the best things you can eat would have to be fresh, home-made sprouts made from grains or legumes (i.e. beans) – and it is so easy to do. The sprouting process turns grains/legumes/seeds into nutrient packed, super easy to digest, living plants. Complex starches are broken down, digestive enzymes are produced … providing you with instant salad enhancers &/or (if you want to cook your sprouted whatevers) drastically reduced cooking time. The advantages of doing your own sprouting are that you can be sure of the quality of your starter seed or legume and you know exactly how fresh the product is. Also, it would have to be the easiest way to become an organic gardener!
Here’s how:
• In the absence of a piece of official sprouting hardware, the easiest and most contained solution is to find a (preferably largish) jar with a wide neck, a piece of muslin, cheesecloth or loose weave linen & a rubber band
• Thoroughly wash & rinse your grains/legumes/seeds (maybe a couple of tblsp only to try), put them in the jar, cover with a generous amount of water & leave to soak for the appropriate time (See below **)
• Drain your grains/-/- & put them back in the jar. Using the rubber band, secure the cloth over the jar mouth & turn the jar upside down over a bowl to get rid of the excess water.
• Place your jar, in INDIRECT sunlight only, in such a way that air can get in (to oxygenate the sprouts). Ideal room temp is 20 – 28 deg.
• 8 – 12 hours later, thoroughly rinse your grains/-/- and return them to the draining position.
• Repeat this “rinsing & draining” at least twice daily. (Do this more frequently in hotter weather.)
• Sprouts will arrive after a few/some days – depending on what you started with. You can start eating them once the little tail is about the same length as the starter grain/-/- but you can also keep rinsing and draining until they get tiny leaves and eat them then!
** For more detailed info (like optimal soaking times and so forth) have a look here: http://greenharvest.com.au/SproutingAndMicrogreens/SproutsGrowingInformation.html
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