Countertop Organics
Organic produce is gradually becoming more accessible in our local grocery stores, but it’s still hit or miss in our rural NB villages. I am looking forward to the day when we have full scale organic Community Supported Agriculture available!
I’m not much of a gardener myself, yet, but I have been contemplating various ways and means to grow my own food.
And then I realized I was overlooking one of the simplest and easiest ways to grow my own organic greens: Sprouted Seeds.
I had last grown sprouts way back when I still lived in Florida. I had wrestled with gallon sized jars, covered with cheesecloth held on with rubber bands. Florida is generally hot and steamy, so seeds sprouted rapidly and would turn sour fast if you didn’t rinse them numerous times a day.
The cheesecloth got soggy, trapped the sprouts in the mesh, and had to be changed with every crop. And those pesky rubber bands had a mind of their own!
For my new agricultural endeavor I used some new tools. One liter canning jars are plenty big enough for sprouting, and I had several on hand. Don’t you just love projects where you don’t have to go out and buy a bunch of new stuff just to get started? I bought a couple of dollars worth of nylon screen from Hector at BMR (which, incidentally, I discovered that I didn’t even need that much as you can re-use the nylon screen until it wears out) The screen is held onto the jars easily and conveniently with regular canning lid rings.
Okay. Now I had my tools, but no seeds to sprout. Although I am absolutely adamant about supporting our own local merchants, exceptions must be made upon occasion. Not being in the mood to drive to Fredericton to buy a few seeds, I knew just where to find what I needed closer to home: Bread of Life Bulk Food & Specialty Store in Presque Isle.
Owner Cheryle Matowitz carries a whole whack of great products you simply can’t find anyplace else locally. The store focuses on organic, vegan, ethnic and gluten free merchandise.
If you need miso or palm sugar or some other esoteric ingredient for your culinary adventures you can usually find it at this shop.
I bought several kinds of seeds: Alfalfa, radish and fenugreek.
I put one tablespoon each of these seeds together in one jar to make a tasty mix and filled the jar half way with water to soak the seeds overnight.
I drained them the next morning, covered them with the screen and set the jar at an angle in a bowl so it could drain. I rinsed them a couple of times a day and watched them grow. As it was quite cold that week they were a little slow to get going, but then they took off. Five days later I had a jar full of delicious, flavorful and crispy sprouts.
Rinse the seed hulls off, drain and store in the fridge for truly fresh homegrown organic salads!
Stephanie Kelley
