Sprouted, Dehydrated Raw Almonds

Sprouted, Dehydrated Raw Almonds are one of the most nutritious snacks around. They have a satisfying "pop" when you crunch into them. Raw almonds that haven't been sprouted just don't have that "pop."

Start by finding some raw, unpasteurized almonds. You can get these from your own trees or from almonds growers directly.  You are not getting unpasteurized almonds at your local health food store or at Costco. They can sell them as raw, but do to government regulations, they have been pasteurized. Since pasteurization kills the living "seed", you can not sprout pasteurized almonds. Look for almond growers at your local farmer's market.

Soak 1 part almonds to 4 parts of water overnight (12 hours). Drain water and rinse soaked almonds.
Put your soaked almonds into a sprouter or mason jar, rinsing 2-3 times during the day. Rinse again and leave to sprout overnight. The almonds will have a tiny bulge at the narrow end. That is the sprout. These are ready to dehydrate or use to make almond milk.

Dehydrate for 12-24 hours at 105*F. This will dry the almonds but they will still be a living plant. I store my sprouted, dehydrated almonds in ziplock bags or mason jars with lids until I am ready to use them.

For almonds milk, use 1 cup of freshly sprouted almonds and 4 cups of water. Blend thoroughly in your vitamix or other blender. Strain in a nut milk bag, squeezing all of the nut milk out. I use a jelly strainer bag. They are inexpensive, and you can buy them online or at your local kitchen center.

Sprouting nuts, seeds and grains is beneficial.  The nutrition makeup changes once the stored energy source (seed, nut or grain) changes to that of a plant (sprout) in its initial stages of growth. The carbohydrate and fat decreases, and the vitamin and mineral content increases.

Today's Harvest: Lettuce, Tomatoes and Swiss Chard

I love going out to the garden every morning to see what is ready to harvest. Pictured below is one of the cherry tomato plants that I got this year at Costco. They are about 3 feet tall now, and the tomatoes have slowly been ripening the past 2 weeks.

Cherry Tomato Plant in container

Today I was really pleased to be able to harvest some lettuce (black seeded Simpson lettuce). Those plants just keep on giving! I've been harvesting some every week.

Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce

I washed it all and gave it a spin in my salad spinner. I had enough to fill a gallon ziplock bag.
Isn't it beautiful? It will be perfect for green smoothies (this variety has a sweet taste) and for salads. Next, I took the scissors to a pot of Swiss chard.....

Swiss Chard growing in a pot

After cutting off the stems (I use the stems in smoothies and stirfry), I washed it and spun it dry (lettuce spinner, again!) and had enough to fill a gallon size ziplock bag. There is such a feeling of satisfaction being able to harvest product from your own garden. I grow everything organically; no pesticides.

Swiss Chard

OK, and then on to my mini harvest of tomatoes...

Red Cherry and Yellow Pear Tomatoes

Don't these look delicious! I remember the first time I picked a cherry tomato. It was in our neighbor's garden in Escondido, California. I was 4 or 5 years old, and our neighbor let us come over and pick some to snack on. I will never forget how good those cherry tomatoes tasted. My lifelong love of gardening started right then! Anyway, there is nothing better than popping a cherry tomato fresh off of the plant into your mouth. Heaven! I did just that while picking these and I can say that these are fantastic.
I also have some sprouts growing. I usually have 3-4 different sprouts going on the counter every week. This week I sprouted lentils, peas, garbanzos and broccoli. Here is a picture of the broccoli sprouts....

We've been eating sprouts at every meal this week. Great taste, nutritious and a perfect addition to whatever we're eating. This particular broccoli seed has been some of the best I've ever sprouted. You can order some at  www.sproutshop.net .  Click here for the broccoli seed page.

Today's Harvest: Beets

Today's Harvest is beets! May 22, 2012

The beets that I thinned awhile back are ready for harvesting. The thinnings that I planted are still a ways off. So, now I get to decide what to do with these beets. I guess I could bottle them, or slice them with my mandolin, and bake them for beet chips. I've been cleaning and organizing today, and saw Rachael Ray make a salad with some sliced beets. Think I'll do some googling and see what else I can come up with! When I've decided, I'll be back with the results!

Beets (right) growing in one of my large pots

Pug in the Garden

Today pug got his summer haircut. About 3 times a year we have Pug shaved. It is good for him during the summer because it keeps him cool. Pugs overheat fairly easily. We love to hold him and snuggle with him after he is shaved because he is so smooth and soft! I also love that there is a whole lot less hair in the house.

Here is Luigi greeting Pug after his grooming session with the Dog Mobile!

One of my cherry tomato plants in really getting big.

Close up of some of the tomatoes on the plant.

The yellow pear tomatoes are really coming on and getting big.

And finally, the celebrity tomatoes.

Tomorrow, I'll try to get a chance to load some of the pictures I took of the the herbs and other plants.

How to Make the Perfect Green Smoothie

General Guidelines for Making Green Smoothies

Green smoothies are a great way to get more fruits and vegetables in your diet.  Experiment with ingredients to find your favorite smoothie!

 

·         STEP ONE:  cover the blades of your Vitamix or blender with liquid. This can be water or juice. It will help the blending process.

·         STEP TWO: Add fruit. Green grapes, pears, apples/applesauce or juice of any of these are sweeteners. Bananas, pumpkin, peaches, etc. can be used as thickeners. This is a good time to add yogurt if you are including it.

·         STEP THREE: Add any supplements, like chia, while blender is on and mixing, and before you add the greens. It seems to get incorporated into the mix better this way.

·         STEP FOUR: Add greens. Spinach is mildest, followed by Napa cabbage, bok choy and young Swiss Chard. Full grown Swiss Chard and Kale have a more noticeable taste as does celery.

·         ADD ICE: Ice gives your smoothie a nice texture after blending, and is very refreshing. You can add frozen fruit at the end instead of ice for the same effect. I like adding frozen strawberries or blueberries.

Vegetable Class at Dixie State College

Tonight is my first class of teaching vegetable cooking/preparation through Dixie State College Community Education.  You can find the brochure for summer classes here.  I'm looking forward to the class. I'm be covering all of the various ways of including vegetables in the diet, from smoothies to salads and sandwiches to cooked vegetables. Loading up my car for the class is going to take some effort. My refrigerator is chuck full of vegetables right now. I'm almost afraid to open it! I'll take some pictures during the class and post them this week.

The picture of the red pepper is a tribute to the Red Pepper Soup Recipe that I'll be making tonight. You can find my original post on that recipe here.

Today's Harvest: Lettuce

I've been enjoying lettuce (Simpson Black Seeded Leaf Lettuce), Swiss chard and beet greens from my garden over the last several weeks. Above, I cut enough to fill a heaping amount that came way over the top of my large Tupperware mixing bowl.

Leaf lettuces are considered greens. They are a good source of vitamin A and C, calcium and fiber as well as essential minerals such as potassium. Here I am chopping up some washed lettuce for a salad. I also will add some of the Simpson Black Seeded Leaf Lettuce to smoothies. It has a sweet taste.

After washing the lettuce, I like to use the lettuce spinner to remove any extra moisture before cutting it up for a salad.

After washing and spinning the lettuce leaves, I store whatever I'm not using in a dish towel, and then placed in a air tight plastic container. The leaves are then ready to go when ever I am ready to chop them up for a salad, or put them into a smoothie. They will stay good for 10-14 days this way.