Sprouting!!

Are you missing your garden yet? The food transition that we have to make in fall/winter can be tough on those of us who like fresh, local food - often right from our backyards.

Luckily, you can continue to grow good healthy food right through the winter, in your kitchen... in a jar.

Sprouting is one of the easiest ways to get a whole lotta nutrition into your meals. Sure, you can buy them, sprouted, at the health food store and there are plenty of excellent sprouting companies out there.

• Uncle George's - http://unclegeorgessprouts.com/
• Toronto Sprouts - www.torontosprouts.com

But you can easily grow them yourself right in your kitchen. All you need is a jar, some cheese cloth and a little patience.

Almost any seed, bean or grain will sprout. They are all, afterall, seeds waiting to be planted and grow. They are full of life and vitality and just need a little water to release their nutrition.

Here's how you do it.

1. Pick a seed you would like to sprout - mung, lentil and alfalfa are good ones to start with.

2. Find an empty mason jar, remove the lid and replace with screen or cheese cloth. You can secure the cloth with an elastic or the screwy part of the lid.

3. Add 2-4 tbsp of seeds and fill the jar with cool, filtered water.

4. Leave the seeds to soak for 6-8 hours. Bigger seeds need more time.

5. Drain the water really well and leave the seeds to sprout.

6. Rinse the seeds twice a day, always making sure to drain the water well.

7. In 3-5 days you will have beautiful, delicious sprouts. You can store them in the fridge in a sealed container for several days.

Sprouts can be added to salads, sandwiches even smoothies. They are full of vitamins, minerals, protein, fiber and flavour. Once you have mastered sprouting in a jar you can graduate to seeds that require soil to sprout properly such as wheatgrass and sunflower.

To order large quantities of seeds you can contact Mumm's www.sprouting.com

Happy sprouting!

Your heart is full of fertile seeds, waiting to sprout.
Morihei Ueshiba