A true favorite of mine when I lived in Redmond, WA in the 1990s was a snack called "Munchies and Crunchies." I could get these yummy little gems at the Safeway across the street from my apartment. They were basically a mix of peas, adzuki beans, and lentils with cute little sprouty tails on them. I loved them! True to their name, they were very crunchy and awesome for munching. I often craved the fresh taste and snappy texture, so it was with great sadness that I came to the realization that they were not available at any markets in New England after Fuzz and I moved here in 1999. (The time following was not without beseeching Google about "Where can I buy Munchies and Crunchies in Massachusetts?" / "How do you make munchies and crunchies?")
One of the discussions that I remember on a list years ago, was about "sprouting." There was this small faction of folks who'd fanatically proclaim to us all, "I'm sprouting! Oh yes indeedily-doodily, I love to sprout...Because I'M A SPROUTER!" I never really understood what "sprouting" was, though it seemed complicated and weird to me (I guessed they were alfalfa sprouts which required complicated tools and exotic hard-to-find supplies, as well as a large expanse of backyard in which to garden), plus I found their almost cultish enthusiasm more than a little off-putting. So I deleted those emails and moved on with my life.
Years later (about 3 weeks ago, to be exact), as I searched for ideas about what to feed my elderly pet rabbit in order to fatten him up after a bout of nasty health issues, I came across an online forum about making sprouts at home for pet birds. One of the things they suggested using were lentils. I thought, "What the hell!?" and poured half a cup of lentils (a bag which was supposed to go into a chili that I wound up being too lazy to make) into a big bowl of water to soak.
In the morning, I drained off the water as best as I could, rinsed the beans according to the instructions, and left things to settle. That was the night Fuzz and I went to see The Damned (who, by the way, gave an awesome performance! I especially loved how offended the youngsters were by their dirty jokes. Guess you can't make fun of pedophile priests in front of a Bostonian audience without ruffling a few feathers!)... by the time I'd given the lentils their final rinse, it was 2 a.m. and the little tails were starting to pop out. In just a few hours, these dormant dried lentils had come to life! I could hardly believe my eyes. These were a key component of Munchies and Crunchies, and I'd just made them! By myself!The next day, the sprouts were even better! I rinsed everything and put them in an old pasta jar. I also did some research about how to keep the sprouts, and made some mesh tops for my jars -- yes, jars. (Fuzz brought me some whole peas a couple of days later so that I could make the most of my new experiment.)
It wasn't long before those lentils and peas had been eaten with gusto, and I was already starting in on my next batches. I'd gotten a bean mix from "seedmart" on eBay, and Fuzz surprised me with a bag of black turtle beans which turned out beautifully. My favorite are still lentils, which are the easiest of all (and great for beginners, hint hint!), and whole green peas. Best of all, I just finished my first bag of dried lentils after 3 weeks -- a bag which originally cost me just 80 cents! The peas were 95 cents, so this is an excellent pastime for anyone who wants to eat super-duper fresh produce and spend very little money. Plus, the best part is that you can make exotic salads and nonchalantly/proudly mention that YOU MADE the sprouts. It feels vaguely godlike -- I can see why those sprouters of years ago felt as if it were a religious experience.
EASY LENTIL SPROUTS FOR BEGINNERS:
Ingredients/Equipment:
1 very clean jar (save a pasta sauce jar and use that to start)
1 rubber band
1 bit of cheesecloth, mesh fabric, fishnet, whatever, etc. big enough to cover jar opening
1/2 cup dried lentils
about 2 cups cool water
Before placing lentils in the jar, rinse them in a strainer or a bowl big enough to allow you to stir them up well. Then, place lentils into your jar and fill the jar up with water. (Your half-cup of lentils will absorb water and become 2 to 4 times bigger!) Put your fabric over the mouth of the jar and secure with rubber band. Leave the lentils alone and let them soak for 8-12 hours.
After enough time has elapsed, dump the water (through the mesh) and add more, shaking the jar gently to rinse all the lentils. Dump the water again, and rinse a couple of times each day to avoid the growth of mold. The lentils will burst into life, and grow little sprouty tails! When you're satisfied with the size of the sprout, you're done!
(You can eat them as soon as the sprout grows as long as the bean. The ones I did, pictured, got a little too long, but were tasty and healthy anyway.)A few brief words of warning: Raw kidney bean sprouts are TOXIC. They will make you very sick, or kill you, so cook kidney sprouts before you eat them. Other sprouts, such as lentils, peas (whole peas only; split ones don't sprout), adzuki beans, and chick peas are safe and yummy raw. Also, do not feed sprouts of any kind to your pets until you're 100% sure they're safe for the animal to eat. Ask your vet or favorite animal expert. (Apparently bunnies like lentil sprouts, but I wanna check with my vet first!)
Sproutpeople.Com also has a ton of information. You can also get more exotic bean mixes there, as well as fancy supplies. :)
If you want to see videos about sprouting, check out these awesome folks! First, have a look at these wacky New Zealanders' video, which explains it perfectly!
...And, there's also this adorable Canadian girl showing us how to make broccoli sprouts from little seeds!
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