life with monkey

every time i go to whole foods for produce, i pass by the handy pantry sprout display. it always reminds me of the early 80s, when my mom got on an alfalfa sprout kick, and she grew her own at home using a mason jar and a green plastic mesh lid. i’m also reminded of how much i dislike alfalfa sprouts. blech.

this weekend, i decided to stop and check out the display. holy moly, did they ever have a variety of seeds and beans! the seed packets seemed pretty cheap, for the most part, so i picked a pack of mung beans, and made a mental note to try sprouting radish seeds if the mung beans worked out. i would’ve purchased one of their sprouting jars, but $12 for a plastic-lidded mason jar was a bit much.

i brought home the beans and followed the directions. i used a mason jar and cut a piece of plastic canvas to fit inside the lid ring. perfect! i started the process on sunday and here’s what was waiting for me this afternoon:

i think i may have let them grow a day too long. it looks to me like they’re starting to grow leaves, which apparently is a no-no according to the package. i’m getting conflicting information on different websites as to whether or not the sprouts need to be exposed to sunlight after their final rinse. in any case, i think i’ll just go ahead and throw these guys on my salad tonight and start a new batch.

i tried out a few and they’re good. crunchy and fresh. nothing like those yucky alfalfa sprouts i hated as a kid.