i’m a farmer!

has anyone of you ever tried to grow their own alfalfa sprouts?
i started this a few weeks ago with a mix of mung beans and radish seeds and have alternated these with alfalfa seeds every other week. this is the bean sprout mix:

it’s fairly easy. i have a plastic tube with screened lids to screw onto both ends, but you can use a mason jar with holes punched into the lid or some gauze stretched over the top with a rubber band. you soak a tablespoon of seeds or beans in lukewarm water for a couple of hours, then you drain them and tilt the glass so that excess water can dribble out, onto a plate or into a bowl, somewhere in a reasonably clean corner of your kitchen at room temperature.
you have to rinse and drain the seeds or beans with hand-warm water twice a day for the following days, and after a day or two (depending on what you’re trying to grow) little sprouts appear. alfalfa is the most amazing thing. it grows so fast you can practically watch. from a tablespoon of seeds within a week you get about three cups of neat little curly sprouts that are delicious on a cheese sandwich (i prefer them on top of cream cheese and tomatoes) or in a salad. you shouldn’t eat them before the seventh day because the seeds protect themselves against herbivores with the amino acid canavanine, but the last traces of that amino acid are broken down by the seventh day, so they are then safe to be consumed.

alfalfa sprouts keep in the fridge for a few days, so you don’t have to eat them all at once. try them in soups, or on burgers, or in stir fries.

start your own alfalfa sprout farm today! it’s really fun and a delicious addition to your meals.

~ by bine on November 8, 2007.