[giselley]

I've gotten into sprouting big time. I actually gallon sized sprouting jars. I will probably post some more on this, but sprouts are good in any manner of cooking or not cooking. As a cold salad, use lentil sprouts, fine sliced peppers and onions and a balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

For cooked, I just made a sprout "veggie burger" good enough that my landlord asked me to cook for him for an upcoming date. (I'm to prepare the meal, not date him). Right now I am keeping the recipe secret because I want to enter it in a cooking contest. I am experimenting with a sprout and noodle casserole type salad as well. Sprouts are a good way someone poor like me can get decent fresh vegetables on the cheap. I unusually sprout small seeds (alfalfa) but am now trying sunflower, Lentil, mung beans and larger beans like that.

The story: I bought a sprouting lid for a 1 quart canning jar and some expensive alfalfa seeds to sprout. I tried it, and of course, alfalfa sprouts are tasty, but it was too expensive to do all the time. Looking up sprouting on the internet, I learned that the sprouting phase in a plant's life is the most nutritional for those who eat the plant. Many common beans and grains can be sprouted, thus lowering their carb count and GI. I got some gallon pickle jars (plastic) from a diner and used a drill to pierce holes in the jar lid, like the small lid, then, I tried it on cheap dry green lentils.

To Sprout: I soaked the beans overnight, put them in the jar, rinsed them twice a day (using not much water which can be re-used to water the plants or something), and in 4-5 days had edible sprouts. At first, the sprouts were just a snack food, then I started thinking of ways to use them in meals, which was how I thought of the veggie burger.

I am really poor at this moment, and sprouts have been a wonderful way to get inexpensive veggies. Nearly any seed that can be grown can be sprouted. I can sprout Quiona, Millet, Wheat Groats, Buckwheat, big and little beans. There are fancy mixes you can get from a health food store, but a lot of "common" beans can be sprouted too.

Anyway, I encourage you to look into sprouts, an inexpensive, and tasty source of good veggies.