Sprouts &Tire Gardening

Ok...so I promised more information on Sprouts. (I left a 'teaser' on my family blog...I will have to get to the tire gardening at another time, another post)


Alfalfa Sprouts
Add 2 Tablespoons of alfalfa seeds to a quart-size jar.

Fill jar with water and cover with 2 layers of cheese cloth or a piece of nylon stocking. Screw a screw-band onto jar over the stocking, or just put a rubber-band around it.

Soak the seeds overnight.

In the morning, drain the seeds and prop in your sink so the jar is at a slant.

Rinse the seeds 3 or 4 times a day, then prop and leave the jar at a slant to drain.

When the seeds have grown to fill the jar, they are ready to eat. This takes about 3 or 4 days. make sure that you are rinsing the seeds 3-4 times a day (seed will stop sprouting, if it is too dry, and it will mold if too wet) You can taste them along the way, and eat them whenever they have grown to your personal liking.

Once they are done sprouting, you can store the jar in the refrigerator and they will keep for about a week.

Wheat Sprouts in a colander:
(It is important to note that wheat that has been stored in the #10 cans from the cannery will not sprout because it has been treated with the oxygen packets added upon canning. The chemical in the oxygen packets treats the wheat so it will not sprout. Also, if you have been storing your wheat outside or in the garage, it likely will not sprout because the heat, especially in hot climates like AZ, cooks the wheat and once it's been 'cooked' it will not sprout. Keep a container of 'sprouting' wheat in your pantry, or cupboard)

Put desired amount of whole wheat in a jar or a bowl and put enough water to at least double the depth of the wheat. (This allows for the wheat to swell while soaking). Soak the wheat over night.

In the morning, pour the wheat into a colander and rinse really well.

Rinse 3 or 4 times throughout the day including one time right before you go to bed.

In the morning, if you see a very small sprout coming out of one end of the wheat, your sprouts are ready to eat. Taste them and if you want them a little softer and sprouted just a little longer, you can leave them sprouting for the rest of the day, making sure to rinse them a couple of times. You don't want to leave wheat sprouts to sprout too long because they will start to get a 'green' taste and lose their sweetness. Once they have sprouted to your liking, put them in a container with a lid and store them in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Wheat Sprout Bread
Pus as many cups of wheat as desired in a food processor with the knife blade attachment. It is important to get enough or else you will not be able to get a good gluten worked up, so at least a minimum of 2 or 3 cups of sprouts. Turn on your food processor for a few seconds, then stop to scrape the sides of the bowl. Turn back on again for a few seconds. Continue this process of running, stopping, and scraping until your wheat sprouts are a big ball of sticky dough-like substance. (It will be pretty stiff, sticky stuff) If needed, add a Tablespoon or 2 of water, if your sprouts are too dry and are not sticking together. Be careful not to add too much water or you will have a flat loaf. Once your gluten is well developed (meaning your sprouts are holding together well into a 'dough') sprinkle a baking sheet or baking stone with sesame seeds to prevent your bread from sticking, and put your dough in a big glob in the middle of the sesame seeds. Bake in a 225* oven for about 3 hours, until you have a nice crust around the outside of the bread.

helpful hints: you may want to do at least 2 loafs, to 'justify' having the oven on for 3 hours. (maybe even a good time to make jerky or dehydrate something?)

Also, a food processor IS necessary. I tried doing it in my Bullet Blender. No dice! Not enough 'torque', and ya...I smelled the motor. Plus, it didn't blend it well enough, to get the gluten going. (when it gets stringy, that is when you know when the gluten is activated.) So, I had a flat, and not very tasty lump of something. ;)