So on to the next time we met...January or was it February 2016?
Machelle Epperson came and shared her experience with sprouting! Why sprout? You turn your seeds and beans into living food with lots of vitamin C that's why! Crunchy is the first thing I miss anytime I go on a "food storage diet"! To sprout, basically all you need is a jar, some fabric or plastic netting to cover the top of the jar (or purchase a sprouting set at the store), seeds to sprout, water to rinse, and light. That amazing homesteader, Machelle, provided us with lots of seeds and beans to try, some muslin fabric to put over the lid of a mason jar and a few tips. My take-aways were to let the air get to all of the seeds while they are germinating to prevent them from molding in the jar and lots of rinsing 2-3 times a day. What did I miss ladies?
From Vicki Clark: Soaking nuts, seeds, grains or beans, releases enzyme inhibitors, allowing the sprouting process to occur. This is said to activate the life force inherent in the food. What did we eat that month? I can't remember! Sorry! No recipes in my notes! Send them to me!
The recipes from March 2016:
We met again in March to taste our sprout recipes! They are below:
Spanish Rice from Kristie Burt
1 cup sliced onions
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup rice
2 cups canned tomatoes, drained through sieve
1 cup beef bouillon
salt to taste
freshly-ground pepper to taste
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 cup mung bean sprouts
1/2 cup grated sharp Cheddar cheese
Preheat oven to 350. Heat butter in skillet and saute onions until limp. Place in bottom of 1 1/2 quart casserole. Spread rice over onions. Pour tomatoes over rice. Sprinkle mung bean sprouts over tomatoes. Pour over bouillon. Add seasoning. Sprinkle cheese over top. Cover and bake for 1 hour. uncover and bake 10 minutes longer.
Herb Biscuits from Laurie Beth Burt
2 cups unbleached white flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
4 tbsp. butter or shortening
1/4 cup mung bean sprouts
1 tbsp. parsley
2 tbsp. chives
2/3 cup buttermilk
Preheat oven to 425. Chop together the mung bean sprouts, parsley and chives.Put flour into large bowl. Add baking powder and salt. with fingertips, blend in butter until it is well mixed with flour. stir in chopped herbs and sprouts. add buttermilk all at once and mix well until a smooth dough is formed. Turn out and knead for 2 minutes. Pat or roll into a flat piece. Cut out rounds with 2-inch biscuit cutter. Place biscuits on ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes until risen and browned. Note: also make as a topping for meat pies. Yield 12 biscuits.
Cucumber Sprout Spread from Laurie Beth Burt
1/2 cup mung bean sprouts
4 oz. cream cheese
2 oz. blue cheese or crumbled cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated cucumber
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
1 tbsp. minced chives
2 tbsp. chopped olives
salt and pepper and paprika to taste
Bring the cream cheese to room temperature until it can be stirred. Finely chop the mung beans and fold them into the cream cheese. Combine next 5 ingredients and make sure all excess water is drained. Incorporate them into the cream cheese mixture. Add salt, pepper and paprika to taste. Use this as a refreshing dip with chips and crackers, or as a sandwich filling using whole wheat bread, deli meat and additional sprouts of your choice.
Wheat Sprout Baking Powder Biscuits from Laurie Beth Burt
1 cup wheat sprouts
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup unbleached white flour
4 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 cup shortening
2/3 cup milk
Sift the dry ingredients together and cut in the shortening. Combine half of the milk with the wheat sprouts and add it to the dry ingredients. Add enough of the remaining milk to make a soft dough. On a floured board, lightly knead the mixture no more than 5 times. Pat the dough into a rectangle, 3/4 inch thick and cut out 16 biscuits. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes.
Sesame Sunflower Bread (adapted from Ani's Raw Food Kitchen) Vicki Clark
It is not necessary to soak the seeds first, but I like to do so to add nutrition and digestibility.
2 cups ground flax seeds (do not soak so you can grind them)
2/3 cups whole flax seeds (soak 1/2 hour)
2 tsp sea salt
2 cloves of minced garlic and 4 tabs yellow onion, chopped
2 1/3 cups of water (2 if you've used 1/3 already as above)
1 1/3 cup sunflower seeds ( I soak seeds in the fridge overnight)
1/2 cup sesame seeds (soak 4 hours)
Combine the ground flax seeds with the whole ones, salt, garlic, onion and the water. Add sunflower and sesame seeds and mix well. I then spread it out on the dehydrator tray sheets and dry for 4 hours. Then turn the over and score the back into nine slices. Dehydrate until crunchy or for just an hour if you want to serve it warm as a soft bread.
Cucumber, Tomato, and Sprout Bagel Sandwiches from Peggy Bullock
We eat these every summer! Fresh veges are the best!
Toast two halves of a bagel in the oven or toaster. Spread plain cream cheese on one half. Top with sliced tomato, cucumbers and sprouts of your choice (we love alfalfa when you can get it!) Salt and pepper to taste and the other half of the toasted bagel. Yum! Indianola Store was the inspiration for these yummy vegetarian treats!
We talked for a bit about pickling. Did you know that you can pickle all kinds of vegetables. They make a fun winter alternative and add lots of interest to your dinner menu! Peggy loves escabeche from Los Casadores in Poulsbo, and is trying to duplicate the recipe. She shared pickled potatoes, cauliflower and carrots for the ladies to taste.
Escabeche from Peggy Bullock
3 cups vinegar (any kind, but cider is nice)
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp. salt
6-8 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp dill + some fresh sprigs
1 tsp whole pepper corns
vegetables
Wash and slice desired vegetables. Combine vinegar, sugar, salt, oregano, dill and garlic in medium sauce pan. Bring to a boil. Add sliced veges. Be sure they are covered by liquid, then reduce heat and let simmer with lid on until veges are just tender. Let cool, refrigerate, in a covered in a bowl. The longer they sit in the brine the more intense the flavor. I have not tried canning these yet! The potatoes are our favorite--we use quartered red potatoes!
