Rockin' Fresh Radish Sprouts!

So I can get super crazy gushy over fresh sprouts. I mean, I can literally have a couple of sprout trays going at any given time. But when you grow fresh sprouts, you can prepare batches over the course of a few days or all at once, to ensure a stable and consistent supply of sprouts for the family that will last at least a week. Depending on how crazy your family is about sprouts. Mine, eh, not as much as I, but then again, it's a bit of a food-scientist, self-sustaining hobby for me; growing your own food isn't something most people think about on a daily basis. But I do. :)

That's why I usually keep my gardening style posts for RoofGrown, but I find this topic sorta belongs right here, too.

I mean, growing sprouts can actually fulfill two passions at once in that you are growing for near-immediate consumption something that you might pay a pretty penny for in an organic grocery store and the instant gratification comes with the added bonus that you know what you are eating and can do it organically for next to nothing. For the whole family. No shortage of fresh greens when you can do the same with baby lettuces, broccoli, mung bean, all manner of peas and herbs, as well as onions.

Instead of paying a pretty penny, why not do it yourself for pennies? For one, one of the easiest sprouts in the world to grow are radish sprouts and they also tend to be one of the quickest to sprout. A handful of sprouts on a sandwich or salad cannot be beat as it still adds the same type of radish heat from fully grown radishes but in a compact form of a nutritious sprout.

A half tablespoon of radish seeds or less will yield an entire litre size container of fresh radish sprouts that are grown so compactly together that you can "harvest" sprouts right out of the batch while the others continue to grow, filling in the space you just harvested with new sprouts.

I buy organic sprout seeds from Amazon. There are a lot of great options for purchasing seeds for sprouting online. I also get them from my favorite seed catalogs if I see a good deal.

Some of my favorites:
Mix baby lettuces
Radish
Split peas
Mung beans
Fenugreek
Alfalfa
Onions
Kale
Sunflower
Wheat

Since I began growing sprouts, I've experimented with various sprouting gadgets and devices. My all time favorite depends on what type of sprout I'm growing. For everyday use and single batches, I have two of the cup sprouters I bought a zillion years ago on Amazon.  And for larger seeds or multiple batches of wheat grass, mung or sunflower, I will always opt for my FreshLife sprouter.

Rangpur Habanero Pico de Gallo

(Xni-Pec)

• Any chili you have, de-seeded (yes, important)
• White or yellow onion, finely diced
• Citrus of any kind
• Tongue of steel and gut of iron

This, basically, is a really freakin hot salsa...  In Mexico, my hubby and I have often requested this version of salsa. I tried to wiki it but there isn't an entry, surprisingly. However, if you google it, you will see loads of recipes, sites, articles etc. This salsa is traditional in the Yucatan Peninsula region of Mexico and it delights and surprises the Mexican staff when we ask for it because most Americans want a "Pace" version of salsa, no heat, etc. But, we think of salsa in a different way. Maybe it's my Southern roots, but salsa isn't salsa unless it has a bit of a kick. I once saw a Tabasco billboard here in MN that was hilarious. It read "Dear Minnesota, Ketchup is not a spice. Love, Louisiana"  I JUST LOVE THAT. To me, Tabasco is Mother's Milk and not only do we use a good deal of it at my house, but we keep the institutional size on hand and a spare in the pantry.  For emergencies.

These chilis I use are nothing short of dynamite, though, and have more heat, typically, than even the habanero although they are close relatives. The bevvy shown above though are from my perennial chili "trees" because as long as they don't get too cold, chili plants will live for years and years. Even before the greenhouse came into my life, I would cart these kids indoors for the winter and put them under a cheap fluorescent shop light you can get for under $10 at the hardware store.  They loved it and didn't care one bit that they were indoors. My hubby put in a shallow ebb and flow tray, put the whole thing on a timer and they produced peppers the whole winter. Semi-hydroponic. Inside. In the living room. (Yes, hubby is very tolerant and quite an enabler so when he gets a bit huffy when it gets a big jungle-like, I just have to point out his brilliant handy work and feign total innocence. It's his problem after all, that he is such a genius... :)

To make the salsa, simply mix everything together in a bowl, squeeze in your citrus juice and mix well. I cover it with plastic wrap, put it in the fridge so the flavors can marry and then keep it until it runs out. It keeps amazingly well, for weeks, if covered well and stirred occasionally.