a jar of spring... in january

Come January, I'm aching for fresh vegetables from my garden. The only green thing growing around here is ME... with envy for my blogging friends around the world who are experiencing summer right now. I came up with a solution last week. Sprouts! We've grown them in previous winters, but somehow it had slipped my mind until I saw this handy device at my co-op (health food store). It's a stainless steel mesh disc that fits into the ring of a mason jar. Ingenious in it's simplicity. In the past I've used cheesecloth or an old (clean, of course) stocking with a rubber band. This is messy. I love my disc and found an on-line supplier for you. Click here. I liked the sound of their name: Sprout People. I also loved their vast experience... in ten years they grew over 200 tons of sprouts! They have a great selection of organic seeds and wonderful tips for growing. I'm planning on trying sunflower seeds next. Here's what I did with broccoli sprouts:

Add a few teaspoons of seeds to the jar. Give them a soak over night in one cup of water.


I had to share this picture of the dark and cold winter day we started our sprouts. Those are our icicles outside our sun room window. Now, you can see why I needed a little bit of spring!


The following morning, drain seeds and rinse them. Set them upturned in a dish drain or bowl until the next morning, when you repeat the process. In two days you will see little sweet tails growing!

We had so much fun watching our sprouts grow big, and everyone wanted a turn rinsing them with our easy drain disc. On the final day (day six), our jar was full, our sprouts were almost ready. We put them in a window to catch a little sun and then harvested them for a huge salad. They've been our topper to everything these past few days. Just what we needed!
So much fun... oh yeah, they're good for you, too!