Sprouts

Sprouty sprouting sprouts!

So, here's the thing, sprouts are on the Warning, warning, do not eat!  list that a pregnant women is handed as soon as her belly starts to round out. (And with some validity. Mass-produced sprouts are a common harborer of gnarly bacteria).  But I love sprouts. I've diligently avoided those from the salad bars, but after re-reading Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle this past month (in which homegrown sprouts are mentioned) I realized that I need not deny myself any longer. I can sprout my own sprouts safely at home.

A quick visit to Jung's and I had a giant packet of sprout-able seeds (1/2 lb, which seems a scant 2 cups. At 1 Tbs per sprouting session, that's sure to last me until infinity and beyond).  I bought a seed mix that includes alfalfa, broccoli, chinese cabbage, mung bean, and radish seeds. Mmmm.

The recipe for home-sprouted seeds is relatively simple:  put seeds in a jar, soak them overnight, drain, rinse 2-4 times a day for 3-4 days, eat when sprouted. But the Jung's packet had a scary notice on it:

[We] do not guarantee that the seed is free of seed-borne organisms. The customer take full responsibility for the disinfecting and sprouting of this seed. If this is not satisfactory, the see may be returned for a refund. 

Their preferred method of disinfection? Bleach. Cover the seeds in a solution of one part bleach to nine parts water, soak for ten minutes, rinse, and then soak overnight.

Now, if you know me, I'm not a bleach person. I'm a vinegar person. I'm a tea tree oil person. A boiling water/steam-cleaner person. But bleach? Yuck. And on food? Yuck times twenty-two. But...

Seed-borne organisms. 

Customer takes full responsibility. 

Warning, warning, do not eat!  

It all seems so... serious. They're sprouts. Nevertheless...

I did it. I used the bleach soak. I felt seed-pack-pressured into it. And so far, I'm still alive and unscathed. But whether I overcame the dangerous seed-borne organisms or survived the bleach I haven't yet decided.

Soaking in bleach water, Die evil seed-coating organisms, die!

Rinsed & ready for the sprouting jar

24 hours and not much going on...

Third day---sprouts!

Uli (and Jerry) helping me de-hull the sprouts.
Uli needed her own bowl, obvs.

De-hulled and ready for draining and, most importantly, eating!