The Apartment Garden: How to Take Cuttings to Propagate Mint and Cuban Oregano

Using a bunch of store bought mint and a beat up Cuban Oregano in a cup of water

Ever wondered if you could take cuttings from a bunch of fresh herbs bought at the market, or if you could propagate without any fancy shmancy greenhouse stuff?  I did, so I gave it a shot.

And it worked!  At least with peppermint.  Which practically grows like a weed anyway.  I also decided to take some cuttings from a scraggly Cuban Oregano (a variety of mint also known as Mexican Mint or Oregano) from last summer, and that's worked out nicely too.  

I think this would be a super fun project for kids, too, as they can actually see the roots develop. 

Veggie Wraps with Sprouts and Cabbage

Gluten Free Asian Rice Wraps

Gluten Free Asian - style Sprout Wraps
a.k.a. cheap wraps, grow your own sprout wraps
gluten free, dairy free, egg free, nut free, sugar free (optional)

This might sound strange to some of you, but I always keep a head of green cabbage in my fridge.  Always. No exaggeration.  I slip it into all kinds of dishes as a cheap filler, like the wraps shown here. These wraps are a standard in my house and my fiance was actually around the corner nibbling on the other ones while I was photographing these. 

I also love these wraps for traveling.  With so many food allergies, airport food offers very little in the way of options so I always pack a ton of food with me (more on packing food for traveling later).  The last thing anyone wants is to be sick on an airplane, or better yet, miss your flight because you're stuck in the bathroom!  I've found that taking lots of fresh veggies and rice cakes really helps to stave off that "I'm so gross, bloated, dirty, yucky, shouldn't have eaten that whole bag of chips" feeling from spending a day traveling.  These little wraps are a staple in my traveling lunch bag.  They hold up really well and I actually feel good after eating them, even if I am stuck on a smelly bus on the way to the airport. 

Ok, so on Saturday I suggested to my followers on my Facebook page and on Google+ that you all stock up on cabbage, as it's on sale right now for St. Patrick's Day.  I promised to give you recipes that had to do with cabbage!  (Here's a thank you to Rogene whose post on Gluten Free and Loving It reminded me about buying cabbage for St. Paddy's Day, therefore inadvertently inspiring me to post on cabbage).  Cabbage is always a good deal, even when not on sale, and is extremely versatile.  It can be used for everything from British to German to Asian to Indian cuisine and everywhere in between.  It can be raw, cooked, boiled, baked, or anything else you like.  It also stores well in the freezer, and can be taken out to use for cabbage rolls and wraps, or shredded for stir fries and curries. So to kick off the cabbage fest, I'm posting my recipe for gluten free Asian rice wraps. 

Mung Beans

So this recipe that I developed a while back uses cabbage, along with one of my favorite things - Home Grown Sprouts.  Those of you who have been following along with me for a bit know that I seriously love sprouts and have been working on incorporating them into everything, including Sprouted Green Lentil Bread and Sprouted Red Lentil Bread.  Well these wraps are actually based around two types of sprouts that you can grow at home, Mung Bean and Alfalfa.

Of course, you can just buy the grown sprouts in almost any market, but I prefer to grow my own.  It's cheaper, of course, and I just love to sprout.

Mung beans can be found in many markets that have a bulk section or an Asian section, or they can be found at an Asian market.  They are often used in soups, stir fries, or in mung bean noodles.  They're like little green, oval pea-type things with a white dot (see the picture to the right).   Alfalfa can be found in health food stores, or some enlightened markets ;)  Both should be very cheap, and you only need a very small amount to make about a dozen of these filling little wraps.

Ready-grown alfalfa is easy to find, but if you can't find sprouted mung beans, or the seeds, you can substitute sprouted soy beans (or sprout soy beans yourself) or most other pea or bean mixes.

Alfalfa sprouts

Note: If sprouting these yourself you'll need to plan about 5 days ahead, as the alfalfa take a few days to grow green leaves.  If one or the other of these sprouts is ready to go ahead of the other, you can refrigerate them.  Rinse and drain once per day until you are ready to use them.  They will keep in the fridge up to 4 days.

Ingredients: (makes about 10-12 wraps)

2 Tbsp alfalfa seeds (or about 2-3 c alfalfa sprouts)

4 Tbsp mung beans (about 2.5 c mung bean sprouts)

Shredded cabbage, carrots and mung beans

2-3 medium sized carrots, peeled, shredded or julienned finely*

approx. 2 cups of packed green cabbage leaves, then shredded or finely chopped (cut out the hard white centre)

1 Tbsp fresh ginger, chopped fine

1 clove garlic, chopped fine

1 Tbsp oil for stir frying

approx. 12 rice wrappers, available in the Asian section of most markets

Sauce:

3 Tbsp Gluten Free Soy Sauce (I use Bragg, widely available in markets - in Canada in Save-On or Choices) or GF Tamari sauce*

1 Tbsp rice vinegar

1 Tbsp honey or brown sugar

1/4 c warm water (or veggie stock)

Directions:

1. If sprouting alfalfa and mung beans yourself, start with the alfalfa.  Soak for 5-6 hours, then drain.  Continue to rinse and drain 2-3 times per day (see here for more details on sprouting).  On the third day, once little tails have begun to grow, set the alfalfa seeds in a sunny spot.  On this day, you can begin the mung bean sprouts.  Soak overnight, or 8 hours, then drain.  Continue to rinse and drain 2-3 times per day.  When the alfalfa sprouts have little green leaves and the mung beans are about 1" long (really, you can use them anytime once they begin to sprout, but I like them a bit longer for stir fries) they are ready to go.

2. Heat a wok or large pan over medium heat.  Mix together the sauce.

3. Add chopped garlic and ginger to pan and cook 1 minute to release their fragrance.

Figure 1, laying out the veggies

4. Add cabbage and carrots, along with the sauce.  Cook until softened and cabbage begins to change colour.  This will depend on how you've chopped your veggies, julienned and hand sliced will cook a little bit longer.

5. Add mung beans and fry another 2-3 minutes, stirring to ensure the beans are cooked through.  Remove from heat and cool until easy to handle. 

6. In a large bowl, pot or plate, soak 2 rice wrappers at a time for about 1 minute (you can leave one in the pot while you work with the first one).  The wrapping is only a little tricky, but might take a couple of practices to get tight enough.  I've added some step by step photos to help. 

7. Lay out one rice wrapper on a flat surface (I use my cutting board).  Add a couple of spoonfuls of the cooked veggies to the end of the wrapper closest to you, leave a 1" border around the veggies.  Fig 1.

8. Using a fork to pry them apart, add a thick layer of alfalfa sprouts, about 1" high worth. Fig 2.  (Here you can see my set up - large pot for soaking rice wrappers, bowl of alfalfa sprouts, and off screen to the right, a plate for the finished wraps)

Figure 2, Adding alfalfa sprouts

Figure 3, wrapping the veggies

9. Fold the end of the wrapper up over the veggies, tucking it under them slightly and pulling it tight.  Fold the the right and left sides over this, creating an envelope.  Fig 3.

10. Keep rolling towards the end, pulling the veggies towards you as you go to wrap them tightly. 

11. Repeat with remaining veggies and wrappers.  How many wraps you get depends on how much filling you put in them.

Serve plain or with a little bowl of  dipping sauce, such as more Bragg and rice vinegar, or tamari sauce.

These little wraps are deceptively filling.  You can eat them as soon as you're done wrapping, or chill them in the fridge.  They also last a day or two in the fridge (honestly mine all get eaten within 24 hours so I can't say for sure how long they last).  As I mentioned, they also pack really well into a plastic baggy or container for traveling snacks, too.  So there you have it, wraps that are filled with cheap cabbage and sprouts, the fruits of your own hard labour, out tilling the soil in the hot sun, breaking your back, praying for rain... oh wait, it's not that hard at all!  Just spoon a couple of tablespoons of seeds into a jar and away you go!

What do you do with your cabbage?  I'd love to hear your ideas, and stay tuned for more of mine!  

*OAS Info: Carrots are high on the list of OAS foods.  The cooking process here *should* kill the allergen proteins and make the carrots safe to eat.  However, if you are very reactive you could try boiling them first, or eliminating them altogether.  If you have a problem with soy sauce, you could try substituting coconut aminos instead, or fish oil. 

This recipe is linked to the following wonderful sites:
the Gluten Free Weekly Meal Plan on www.musingsofahousewife.com,  Made From Scratch Mondays on www.allergiesandceliac.blogspot.com,  5 Dollar Dinners.com, Sugar Free Sunday on www.flipcookbook.com Fresh Bites Friday 
 

Blender Green Juice (No juicer required! Just a blender)

Green Juice

In honour of St. Paddy's Day this coming weekend - something green.  This enchantingly emerald nectar has taken on an almost spiritual essence for me!  It's such a beautiful colour to look at, the flavour is light and smooth, and afterwards I always feel refreshed.  Plus, there's a secret ritual around it.

This green juice is naturally gluten free, but I've added it here because the bulk of my diet consists of naturally gluten free foods.  While I love me some cheap gluten free bread (like my sprouted lentil breads)I try to get the bulk of my calories from fruit and vegetables.  The greens I use in this juice, like kale and Swiss chard are super greens that are packed with important vitamins and nutrients.

So here's the ritual.  First, I clear a spot on the counter and put out two small glasses.  They're about the equivalent of a double shot glass (they were soy candles at one time.  When the candles were done, I melted the wax out, cleaned them, and now they serve as glasses).  Then, I pack my regular, cheap-o blender full of greens and other goodies.  I run it for a minute or two until the liquid looks almost clear.   

Finally, I fill the glasses and call my handsome partner in to the kitchen.   We each sprinkle a couple of grains of sea salt onto the frothy tops.  We pick up our glasses and make a toast.  We toast to something simple, and to accomplishing small things that are manageable, like "to having alkaline blood."  This is manageable, because by drinking green juice we are balancing out the acidity in our blood and making it more alkaline.  Because I make about 4 cups worth of juice, we are able to repeat this ritual 4-5 times right then and there.  We toast "to having a productive day," or "to enjoying a movie tonight," "to having a nice walk in the sunshine" or "to having a good sleep and waking up feeling refreshed," and various other little things we want to make happen.  That 5 minutes or so of toasting and drinking a healthy, refreshing and tasty juice is such a boost!  Not only is the juice itself a healthy blast, but taking the time to appreciate all the little things that can make a day better feeds our souls a bit too, and motivate us to make good things happen.  So go ahead - try some of this and toast to all the good, little things that can happen in your day!

There is nothing new about green juice; everyone seems to have their own version.  Mine changes depending on what's in the fridge, but there's a basic structure I follow, mostly green veggies, a piece of fruit for sweetness, and about 2 c water to smooth it out.  Also, I don't use a juicer.  I've had them and I've returned them.  I know they're great, but a) they're much more expensive to buy than a blender and b) I hate that so much of the produce ends up in the garbage (or hopefully the compost at least) once the juice is squeezed out.  It's more expensive to juice than blend, as it takes so much more produce to get a shot of juice. I don't mind the slightly pulpy juice my blender produces.  The longer I blend, the smoother it gets, especially with added water.  In the above photo, the juice is frothy because I had just blended it, if you let it sit for a couple of minutes, the forth settles a bit. 

This can actually be fairly filling, so make this in between meals as a shared snack, or as a meal supplement. 
Oh, and I call this nectar because that's what it is, literally.  Nectar comes from the Greek words necros and tar, meaning death-overcoming.  Pretty fitting for a juice that is utterly packed with nutrients and goodness. 


Ingredients:
2 large leaves of Swiss chard (or 1.5 c of spinach)
2 leaves of kale
4-5 leaves of romaine lettuce
1 apple or pear (if you, like me, have Oral Allergy Syndrome, use 1/4 c applesauce or pearsauce as the processing helps kill the allergen proteins)*
3-4 springs parsley (if you have OAS blanch this for a minute in boiling water)*
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 c cool water
1/4 c sprouts (optional) 
salt to taste (optional)

Directions: 
* Remove the thick stems from the kale and chard (the chard stems can be saved for soups or stir fries, but the kale is too tough)
*Pack all the ingredients (minus the salt) into a blender and pour the water over top.  This should fill a 6c blender.  Blend on high for a good minute or two. 
* Sprinkle with a couple of grains of sea salt (or regular salt), if desired.
* Toast your partner, your kids, or yourself, and enjoy your day knowing that you have given yourself a shot of nectar. 

What do you like in your green juice?

*OAS Info: See the notes within the recipe for substituting and making this safer for OAS folks.

Grow Your Own Bread - Sprouted Lentil Bread

Grow your own gluten free bread for under $1

a.k.a. gluten free, nut free, dairy free, egg free Ezekiel or Essene Bread

a.k.a. healthy bread on the cheap

Sometimes in gluten free baking, as in life, a little rain must fall.  I’ve been doing a ton of experimenting this past week, and the result has been some near hits (i.e. garbanzo bean bread, burnt crackers, beet chocolate cupcakes and sweet potato muffins) and epic misses – i.e. a sprouted lentil socca bread in which the recipe did not note specifically that the sprouted lentils were supposed to be dried, ground and used as flour.  The result: a somewhat tasty lentil mush, but definitely not bread.  *Sigh*  However, it inspired me to keep trying and make sprouted bread that wasn't complicated or difficult.  Read on for the recipe! The result - a really easy, incredibly cheap bread.  Read on...

While the beet chocolate cupcakes and sweet potato muffins were tasty and edible, they were a bit too moist (I probably used too much applesauce in my zeal to cut down the sugar and oil), so I’ll be fiddling with them again and you can expect the recipes to come soon.  I wanted to try using beets and sweet potatoes in baking because they’re one of the few vegetables available at the farmers markets right now (yeah, I’m a locavore ;) 

But the one real hit this week – such a hit I’ve made it twice already – was this sprouted lentil bread that I concocted modeled off of Ezekiel bread, which is a bread made simply from wheat berries.  Sprouted wheat berries are very trendy right now, and you’ll find them in smoothies and in bread.  However, celiacs and gluten intolerants beware!  Notice the “wheat” in the word?  While there is some notion that the sprouts don’t contain gluten, that the gluten is only in the kernel, I would be very cautious as I haven't seen any research to prove that the sprouts themselves are totally safe.  Plus, in Ezekiel bread the whole thing gets mashed together, kernels and all.  Then the mash gets formed into a bread loaf and baked (or for you raw foodies, dehydrated) on low heat for a long time. 

Lentils, sprouted about 1" long

So last week I was craving bread, and wanted to make some, but I hate that gluten free bread is always so expensive, either to buy or to make.  The ingredients aren’t cheap.  I wondered if it wasn’t possible to simply use other sprouts to make Ezekiel bread.  I searched the internet but couldn't find anything that didn’t require dehydrating the sprouts and grinding them for flour, or that didn’t require 10 different kinds of sprouts.  Well I happened to have a bunch of overgrown lentil sprouts and figured it would only be a loss of about 50 cents if it didn’t work.  

And it worked!  So well that I made it again last night.  This bread literally costs less than $1 to make, and it is filling and hearty.  The taste is a bit earthy, but you could add other things, such as seeds, dried onion flakes, raisins or dried fruit.  Then slather with honey or jam or anything else you like.  I’ve been eating it with some homemade sunflower seed butter). 

Dough made with lentils ground in coffee grinder

Note: You’ll have to sprout the lentils about 4 days in advance 

Ingredients:

¾-1 c dried lentils, soaked overnight (8-12hrs) and sprouted for until 1” long (about 3-4 days) see sprouts for directions.  This will make about 3 – 3.5 cups sprouted lentils and will totally fill a large mason jar.

4 Tbsp ground flax seed

½ tsp salt

1 Tbsp water

Directions:     

1.    Spray a baking sheet with oil and lay a sheet of parchment paper over it.  
2.    Either in a food processor or coffee grinder, grind the lentil sprouts until they form a paste. In a coffee grinder you will have to do several batches, and it will be lumpier.  (See the photo of the dough) This is fine.

3.    Preheat oven to 250 degree.

4.      Mix all ingredients together for 3 minutes to make a sticky lump.  If adding fruit or extras, now is the time to do it.  Let the dough rest for 10 minutes while the oven heats up.

5.      Wet hands with water and form an oval or circle flat bread shape with the dough and lay out on the baking sheet.

6.      Bake for approximately 1.5 - 2 hours, checking every half hour or so.  Baking time will depend on the height of your bread, the higher it is the longer it will take.  The outside will get crusty and brown fairly quickly, but the inside takes longer to bake.  If you want to do this as raw food, you could do this in a dehydrator at a lower heat for a longer time - I'm no raw food expert so I can't give specifics but I'm sure you could follow directions for regular Ezekiel bread on this one.  I have a dehydrator, but little patience! 

Notes: The second time I made this I ground up 2 Tbsp of sunflower seeds and added that.  I also added 1 Tbsp of poppy seeds, and ¼ cup of raisins.  The bread is nice and sweet now, with a slightly nutty flavour.

If you try this, please let me know if you've added anything!  I'd love to hear your suggestions :)

UPDATE:  for another sprouted lentil bread, check out my Sprouted Red Lentil Bread!  Another fabulously cheap gluten free bread.


*OAS Info: Lentils are a common OAS food.  The sprouting and baking process may help to destroy the allergen proteins and make this safer for OAS folks to eat, but it's no guarantee. If in doubt, check with your doctor

Have you checked out my gluten free pasta book

 Recipes for Unusual Gluten Free Pasta: Pierogis, Dumplings, Desserts and More! ?  

Get yourself a copy and start making some GF won tons, pierogi, dumplings, or orzo today :)

This post was shared on the following great sites: Waste Not Want Not Wednesdays,
  

Growing Sprouts

So it's winter time and it can be kind of gloomy and cold.  One of the comforting things, though, is that I'm able to grow some edible green stuff inside to not only add some colour to the apartment, but to add some major nutrients to my salads.  I've been sprouting seeds like mad :)  Sprouts are a super cheap way to get some extra greens.  I use them instead of lettuce in sandwiches or on rice cakes, in salads, soups and Asian style wraps.  Sprouted lentils actually make for a really tasty snack just on their own. I usually have 2-3 jars of different kinds going at any time and really love watching them grow. 

I've been growing my own sprouts for a while now, and more so since I discovered the co-op near my fiance's Wisconsin apartment has all kinds of seeds for sprouting.  The Willy Street Co-op has seeds for sprouting in their bulk section!!  They have your standard alfalfa, but all kinds of others like broccoli, radish, mustard, mung beans, peas and chia (yes, it's the same chia you smeared on a Fred Flinstone chia pet head as a child.  It's incredibly healthy for you!).  I've had good success with all of these so far, and have even done well sprouting chick peas and lentils. 

Because of the energy expended in the early stages of growth, sprouts have many more times the nutrients than the fully grown plant.  Some of these little guys also have a surprisingly strong flavour!  Mustard and radish sprouts can be quite spicy, so I grow them together with alfalfa to temper them and use it as a "Spicy Salad Mix". 

 You need so very little to grow sprouts and most of the tools are things you probably have kicking around your house anyway. 

* A glass jar

* Cheesecloth, or metal screening or a sprout screen available in stores and online.  Cheesecloth is the most commonly used and accessible form of screen. 

* Elastic band or the screw on lid of the glass jar

* Seeds (preferably organic ones, as seeds treated with chemicals are less likely to grow)

1. Now, place your seeds in a jar and cut a piece of cheesecloth to cover the lid.  If using really small seeds, double up on the cheesecloth so they don't slip out when you drain the jar.  Secure with an elastic band.  

2. Fill with water and rinse and drain the seeds 3-4 times to get rid of any dust. 

3. Now fill again and let the seeds soak.  Small seeds like alfalfa, broccoli, radish and mustard only need 5-6 hours of soaking.  Lentils are best left overnight.  Mung beans need about 12 hrs, and chickpeas 1-2 days (change the water every 12 hrs or so).   Chia is a different story and needs a growing pad or medium, so I'll explain how I go around that one separately another time. 

4. Drain the jar and leave it on an angle so the water can drain out. This works well on a dish drying rack or in a bowl.  Rinse 2-3x / day until little sprouts appear.  If you want green leaves, like with alfalfa and salad greens, move the jar to a bright area so the leaves can green.  

Some seeds you may want to eat once they get sprouts.  Lentils are good just after they've sprouted.  Mung beans are nice and sweet then too, but are also good longer in stir fries. 

I've added a photo of my little glass jar garden - From left to right there's alfalfa, lentils, broccoli and mung beans.  The jars are from various things, like capers and salsa and plum sauce ;p

I'd love to hear how other people use their sprouts! 

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