Nancy Gort | Thursday, February 4, 2010 at 2:00AM Today, I became a member of the Honest Weight Food Co-op in Albany, NY. My mother has been shopping there for local vegetables, cheeses, meats, spices and organic products for years, but until recently had never thought about becoming a member. We decided to join together and today I signed us up! What is a food co-op, you ask?
Julie Platt | Tuesday, March 17, 2009 at 2:00AM I've found that the older I get, the more I AM turning into my mother. But I'm also realizing this isn't as terrible as I once thought. My mother is a great cook, enough said. Being from Louisiana, food is the center of life. It brings family and friends together, and also makes life that much better. And as I am realizing who I am and what nurtures my soul, food is a large component of that. It helps me decompress after a long day at work, it's something my boyfriend and I love to do together and it just brings a lot of joy to our apartment. There is no better smell than a pot of red beans and rice cooking on your stove for hours. So needless to say, food is an important part of my life and cooking is something I love to share with others.
One of my favorite things to do on the weekends is grab my canvas tote and make my way to the green market. I like to buy what is in seasons and fresh, and I will cook around that. In a perfect world, I would wake up and go to the gym or yoga class and then go to the market to buy fresh, each day. but for now, the weekends will have to do. (Do men love going to the market too, or just once it makes it on their plates?) There is one trouble thought - the market makes me want a garden of my own or a farm even, with freshly laid eggs for weekend breakfast (this is probably because I just read See You in a Hundred Years
Which finally brings me to the heart of my post: sprouts. This is my version of a garden right now. The city/small apartment version of a garden. Do you like sprouts as much as I do? They add that crunch to a salad or sandwich, and just taste so fresh. One particularly slow day at the office gave me time to do some research on sprouting, and by the end of the day I had a sprouting kit heading my way. You can buy the exact same one here.
6 days later, there she was. She is the perfect size and stackable for saving my precious counter space. I started with the typical mung bean and alfalfa sprouts provided in the kit. Basically, by simply rinsing and draining some seeds i a small pan (and of course nurturing them with love) you will have your very own homegrown load of fresh sprouts 3-4 days later. I think the fact that they are homegrown makes them taste that much better.
But, I had much higher sprouting expectations ahead of me. My second round of sprouting consisted of a "broccoli mix" in one tray and "hot and crunchy" in another. I had NO idea that you could sprout broccoli or mustard seeds, organic seeds nonetheless. The broccoli sprouts were a beautiful green color and the hot and crunch (which is a mix of radish and mustard seeds) sprouted into a beautiful array of pink, yellow and green sprouts. PERFECTION in a sandwich, if you like a little kick. Check out some popular mixes at the Sprout House.
The best part about sprouting is the research I found about the nutrition in sprouts. These are two sites among many out there. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprouting and http://www.isga-sproutsorg/nutritio.htm. Because sprouts continue to "sprout" or grow until you literally take a bite, they have a high concentration of nutrients. Most of the produce we eat is picked, harvested and then transported or sitting on a shelf for days before it reaches our plates. It's nice to know that you can layer in some nutrients that are truly fresh and loaded with vitamins and enzymes that other vegetables may lack. Not to mention that they are wonderful and easy to put in soups, wraps and curries. There are loads of recipes out there. One of my favorites is below:
Curried Lentil Sprout Salad
Serves 1 as a main course, or 2 as a side dish
1 cup of lentil sprouts or peasant mix
1/2 cup of chopped parsley
1/4 cup of mayonnaise (I use lowfat sour cream too)
1 tbs. ketchup
2 tbs. olive oil
1/4 tbs. dill weed
1/2 of a small red onion, diced
1/2-1 tbs. of curry powder
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 tomato, diced
Prep:
Mix all ingredients together. Sprinkle diced tomato on top and serve.
I chose to write about food and gardening because as women we should embrace our nurturing nature and the healing powers in food. Nurture your body with fresh and wholesome produce. Nurture your mind by always challenging yourself and trying new things. Nurture your soul by sharing your ideas and thoughts (and maybe your sprouts with other women. Happy Sprouting!
**If you have any questions about sprouting, or anything else for that matter, feel free to contact me at juliecplatt at gmail dot com.
Julie is from Baton Rouge, Louisiana but has lived and traveled all over the world. New York has been her home for 5 years. She is currently in the middle of planning a 2 week vacation to India. Julie loves live music, traveling, reading, exercising, eating, cooking, watching the Food Network, going out to eat, reading food blogs and just general city life. Oh yea, and she works in finance.
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