April 10, 2012

growing alfalfa sprouts


You cannot imagine how GOOD,  freshly grown alfalfa sprouts taste! They are so crisp and sweet and fresh! And . . . they take hardly ANY effort at all to grow.
Like, no effort people!


Really! 
It's so easy! 


Well, they do take a teeny bit of effort, but I promise you, it's no big deal!

Okay, first off, let me tell you about a sandwich I made the other day. Hang tight, we're still talkin' sprouts here! This sandwich was the sandwich to end all sandwiches. It was the bomb! I'm telling you, I was not even expecting it to taste this good. I cannot wait to make another, and another and another!


Here's the ingredient list for the sandy-sandwich:
whole wheat bread
ham lunch meat
turkey breast lunch meat
slice of provolone/mozzarella cheese
very large handful of alfalfa sprouts
sweet pickles
Hellman's mayonnaise

Yep.
That's it.
And it was to die for!
Trust me on this one!


I swear the sprouts were the star of the show! The slight crunch you get from the freshness of the sprouts is like . . . I don't know . . .it's just good! The flavor of the sprouts is a little . . . earthy . . . and sweet. I cannot describe it any other way. You are just going to have to taste for yourself!


Here's what ya do and how ya go about doin' it!

Grab a 1 quart jar.
Measure 2 Tbsp. alfalfa seeds and pour into jar.
Cover seeds in jar with about 1 inch of water.
Swirl water around to make sure all seeds are coated.
Cover mouth of jar with a piece of cheesecloth or a coffee filter with pin prick holes to allow for air circulation.
Fasten rubber band over cheesecloth or coffee filter to hold in place.
Place jar in dark place such as a kitchen cupboard.
Let seeds sit overnight.
In the morning, drain water from seeds through the cheesecloth or coffee filter.
Then, remove cheesecloth, fill jar with a couple inches of water and swirl around to rinse and then drain the water again through the cheesecloth.
Next, leave the drained seeds in jar covered with cheesecloth or coffee filter for about 12 hours, in a dark spot.
After 12 hours, rinse seeds in jar with a couple inches of water and drain through the cheesecloth.
Leave drained seeds to sit in dark spot.
Repeat the "rinse, drain, and let-sit-in-dark-spot" process, every 12 hours.
Within 4 days your sprouts will be approximately 2 to 3 inches long and ready to eat.
Store the grown sprouts in the refrigerator, covered with tight lid, or a piece of plastic wrap.
Sprouts will stay fresh for about a week.

Enjoy!

P.S. It's quite the gratifying experience to grow sprouts as it is almost full proof, and you will see the results with a day or so.

A WORD OF WARNING: make sure you buy organic alfalfa seeds that are specifically for food consumption. Do not use commercial seeds for farming that may be sprayed with insecticide. Also, follow directions precisely for sprouting...there will be directions on the package.  Follow sanitation and rinsing guidelines posted on package. A great brand to use is by Now Health Foods. http://www.nowfoods.com/