Upcoming Free Classes

I have been asked to present some classes at a local preparedness store one Saturday each month. Food 2 Store is located on Fariview just west of Eagle Rd (by Seagull Book.) These classes are free to the public so tell your friends and family - it would be fun to have a large group there! The bread class can be fun for older children as well as adults. I'll post more classes as dates are set.

Saturday, June 2nd 10:00 a.m.

Bread Making and Shaping Techniques

Nothing says "home" more than the smell of fresh baked bread! Join us to learn tips on making better yeast breads using your freshly ground wheat flour. We will also cover quick, easy ways to shape your bread dough into hot dog buns, hamburger buns, different roll shapes and even alligators for those who really want an adventure in the kitchen!

Sprouting - Growing your own vitamins

Here is the post I promised. You are all going to be surprised at how easy sprouting really is! Sprouting is a way to significantly increase the vitamins you are receiving in your diet. I'm not going to bore you with the scientific details, but a quick search of the internet will alert you to all the health benefits of eating sprouts. You can grow them at home for a few pennies and save a lot of money over purchasing them from the store. The kids get involved too when you tell them it's a science experiment.

You can purchase the fancy sprouting trays and other equipment, or you can use an empty wide mouth jar. I put a double layer of tulle over the opening and secured it with a canning ring. 

Step 1: Place the item you are sprouting in the jar and fill the jar with a good amount of cool water. Cover the jar with the tulle and secure it. Allow this to sit on your counter for 8-12 hours. This begins the process of sprouting. You can begin to enjoy the health benefits even after the first soak. I have a jar of wheat, lentils, and alfalfa.

Step 2: When the first soak is complete, pout the water out through the tulle or mesh top. Refill the jar with fresh water and pour this out immediately. (I call this rinsing your sprouts.) I prop my jar upside down in the sink drain to allow all the water to drip out. When it has all drained, place your jar on the counter on its side and leave it this way for another 8-12 hours. This picture is the alfalfa.

Here is the wheat.

Here are the lentils.

Here they all are resting on the counter. 

Repeat this rinsing process every 12 hours or so. I take care of my sprouts at about 8 am and 8 pm. 

Wheat: The wheat sprouts can be used even after the first soak. I haven't let them go more than 2-3 days. Sprouting times really depend on how warm it is in your kitchen. This time of year they are done in 1 1/2-2 days for me. You only want their little tail to get to about 1/4 of an inch at the longest.

Lentils: These take 2-3 days. You want the tail to be 1/4-1/2 inch or so, but you don't want the leaf to appear. In my opinion, once the leaf appears, they taste bitter. Really the taste is what determines they are done, and that will be a bit different for everyone. The taste of sprouted lentils reminds me of peas so you could use these in salads and soups where you would normally use fresh or frozen peas. They would also be great in stir-fry.

Mung Beans: The trick to sprouting mung beans is to do them in the dark. Instead of letting them sit on my counter, I actually put them in a cupboard with the door closed. If you don't sprout them in the dark, they are very bitter. I soak and rinse them just like the other sprouts, I just let them sit out their 12 hours in complete darkness. They take 2-3 days like the lentils do and taste very similar to peas as well. I use them interchangeably with lentils or put both kinds of sprouts in the same dish.

Alfalfa: 2 Tbsp of alfalfa seeds will end up filling your entire jar. They grow for 4-6 days. You want their leaf to appear. In order to get the most nutrients from your alfalfa, you need to let the chlorophyll develop. Because they grow into such a tight ball in the jar, it is easiest if you spread the sprouts out on a couple of plates or larger tray the final few hours. 

Here I have moved them into the sun from our skylight. I only leave them here an hour or so and then the leaf turns a deep green color. If you leave them too long in the direct sunlight, you will fry your sprouts so be careful.

Alfalfa requires one final step that the other sprouts do not, you need to rinse the brown seed covers away so the sprouts will store longer. Place your finished sprouts in a bowl of water and mix them up a bit with your hand. The brown seed covers will rise to the top.

I then just skim them off the top and discard them. This is a bit of a process and you can never get them all off so just do your best.

Storing Sprouts: Drain well after the final rinse. Place a paper towel in the bottom of a storage/tupperware container. Transfer sprouts to storage container. Cover and refrigerate for 1-2 weeks. Change the paper towel anytime it feels wet.


Uses for Sprouts: Sprouts can add nutrition to many dishes. Use alfalfa sprouts in place of all lettuce and other salad greens. They are delicious mixed with other vegetables to make a salad or placed on a sandwich or hamburger. Mung bean and lentil sprouts taste like peas so they also work well in salads. Try adding them as toppers to your lettuce salads or stirring them into pasta salads. They also taste great in stir-fry or as part of the filling in wontons or egg rolls.
Wheat sprouts can be used in breads and muffins or chopped into smoothies or other sweet treats.





Shelf-life of Sprouting Seeds: Most seeds will store 4-5 years when kept in a cool, dry environment. You can dry pack beans and lentils to lengthen their shelf-life. Seeds, such as alfalfa, are more tender and stay better if just sealed in an airtight bag with a food saver if you have one. 


Most sources suggest that you purchase only organic seeds meant for sprouting, but I have found great success using my wheat that I store for making flour and also buying lentils and mung beans just out of the bulk bins in our local grocery store.


Recipes: Here are recipes I have tried and enjoyed using the sprouts I have grown. You'll have to pick up a few seeds and try your hand at it. If you come up with a recipe that you enjoy you'll have to comment and share it with us.

	Hawaiian Cole Slaw
4 cups shredded cabbage		Raisins, optional
1 cup crushed pineapple, drained		Coconut, optional
1 cup 2-day sprouted wheat		Mayonnaise, to taste
Combine all ingredients and mix well. Adapted from  Natural Meals in Minutes by Rita Bingham
Overnight Whole Wheat Pancakes
2–3 cups water		2 Tbsp sugar
1 cup whole wheat berries		½ tsp salt
¼ cup powdered milk		1 Tbsp baking powder
1 ½ cups warm water		1 tsp vanilla
1 egg		Dash of cinnamon
2 Tbsp oil
Soak wheat berries in 2–3 cups of water for 8–12 hours. Drain. Combine soaked wheat berries, milk powder and warm water in a blender. Blend on high for 3 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients to blender and blend for an additional 2 minutes. Cook on hot griddle. If you don't blend long enough, your wheat grains will remain crunchy. VARIATION: Add ¾ cup cooked pumpkin, applesauce, mashed squash or sweet potatoes in place of ¾ cup of the water. Add additional cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice to taste. Add a little more water to adjust the moisture level as needed to make the batter the right consistency. Source: All Things Provident by Tamara Price Pineapple Orange Freeze 2 cups pineapple juice 1/2 cup frozen orange juice concentrate 1 1/2 tsp vanilla 2 cups plain yogurt 1/4 cup sprouted wheat 1/2 cup dry milk powder 1/2 cup frozen apple juice concentrate Chop sprouts very small. Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend for 2 minutes. Serve immediately or freeze in ice cube trays. When ready to serve, blend cubes,  adding water or fruit juice to make a thick, creamy shake. You can substitute mixed fruit juices for the pineapple juice and sprouted sunflower seeds for the wheat sprouts. You may need to divide the recipe into 2 batches to fit in your blender. Adapted from  Natural Meals in Minutes by Rita Bingham Oatmeal Raisin Sprout Cookies ¾ cup brown sugar 1 cup whole wheat flour ½ cup peanut butter ¼ tsp baking soda 2 eggs ½ tsp baking powder 2 tsp vanilla 2 cups rolled oats 1 cup chopped alfalfa sprouts ¼ cup water ½ tsp cinnamon 1 cup raisins Cream together brown sugar, peanut butter, eggs, and vanilla. Combine water and raisins in a small saucepan. Bring water to a boil and remove from heat. Allow to sit until raisins have absorbed all the water. Add remaining ingredients to the creamed mixture. Stir until it forms a stiff cookie dough. Form into cookies and place on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 350° F  for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on wire racks. Makes about 2 dozen. Macaroni Salad 8 oz  macaroni or shell pasta Frozen peas, thawed Carrots, grated Cheddar cheese, grated Black olives, sliced Salad dressing (mayo type) Dill pickles, diced Lentil or mung bean sprouts Lemon pepper, salt, onion powder, and garlic to taste Cook pasta until tender. Drain and rinse in cold water. Mix vegetables and cheese with pasta. To make dressing, place about ½ cup salad dressing in a bowl. Add a little dill pickle juice to thin it and the seasonings. Stir to combine. Stir dressing into salad and adjust seasonings as needed before serving. You can use dehydrated carrots, just rehydrate them first. There are no amounts for this recipe because I never measure. I just mix it until it looks and tastes good.  Source: All Things Provident by Tamara Price

Counter Top Garden - A.k.a. Sprouting

I'm giving you the sneak preview of what I have been up to the last couple of weeks. We are also preparing for a wedding that will be at our home this weekend so I have been very limited in my blogging time. I will fill in the super easy details of how to grow your own sprouts as soon as I get a chance.

Inexpensive Springtime fun

We had a slew of cousins over recently - the bulk of them are from the ages of 2-11. We pulled out our bucket of sidewalk chalk and let them have at it.

You can see that our driveway was full of color! Our house sits back from the road so everyone was safe.

They started tracing each other's bodies and coloring creative clothing on the cement people.

I saw some pretty creative poses going on.

In your preparations, don't forget to keep a few items around that can turn into quick and easy fun activities.

Homemade Fruit by the Foot

Here is a great family experiment that turned out fabulously!

I mixed sugar free jello with applesauce. I did about one quart of applesauce to one small box of jello, but really you can just do it to taste.

I then spread the mixture onto parchment paper as thin and uniform as I could get it right on my dehydrator racks. (I have a huge, old dehydrator that takes a while to get things done, but lets me do huge batches.)

I fit three quarts of applesauce in. We did three different flavors - raspberry, peach, and strawberry-banana.

Here is my big, behemoth! Without a thermostat, it doesn't do as well with evenly drying so I have to rotate the racks, but I can sure get a lot done. I had to leave these in all day and over night.

Here is my more common sized dehydrator with a thermostat. It probably would have dried a batch in about 6 hours so I could have completed just as much in the same amount of time I just would have had to refill it a few times - and worry about getting up after only 6 hours of sleep to turn it off. It also has round trays so the parchment paper would have had to be trimmed and it wouldn't do the long "fruit by the foot" I was imagining. I opted for the big behemoth.

When it was thoroughly dry and leathery, I cut it in long strips.

Rolled them up.

And packaged them all ready for school lunches. So easy, no sugar added, rolls of sweet goodness - 

The kids have been loving them!