Freeing the kernals

Freshly harvested Bromus carinatus

"The most crucial step was freeing the teosinte kernels from their stony cases."

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/25/science/25creature.html?th&emc=th

I've been working on freeing the kernals from the husk of Bromus carinatus, a California native grass seed, and haven't - let us say - gone into full production. It's little by little. I'm researching the machines that remove husk, thresh. Grinding - and then developing recipes - is more straightforward.

Some items on today's food agenda

Soak anasazi beans overnight
Soak garbanzo beans
Cook anasazi beans
Decant sauerkraut from crock
Visit ranch for milk
Feed villi culture

Braised collards are a regular part of our evening family meal. These are the perennial tree collards of which we have a 60 foot row of plantings. Stack the dry leaves and shred finally using a sharp cleaver. Braised in a goodly amount of coconut oil with salt.

The braising seals in the yummy flavor of the greens.

You can brown whole garlic in the oil before you braise the greens.

Curing Sprouts and Pressing Oil from them

Thanks to Cynthia L, yesterday I learned about a website www.seedsofsustainability.org that teaches a less-water intensive way to sprout seeds. And new ideas for how to use them. Most interesting to me is the idea that you can sprout seeds and then dehydrate them. I'm already doing that with almonds and walnuts and sometimes sunflower seeds. They suggest doing that with other sprouts. They call it curing. And the describe how to do it. Great stuff.

They describe squeezing oil out of the raw, soaked, and cured seeds.

Sunflower sprouts

Sunflower sprouts.

Where to find organic sunflower sprouts in the shell to plant in a tray of dirt in the greenhouse. Then clip for lunch.

Served the ones I bought yesterday with avocado and lime juice and salt.

These sprouts taste nutty and delicious.

Soak walnuts over night in salt water. Dehydrate in my Excelsior dryer. Crispy, slightly salty, and raw walnuts. Good with homemade sauerkraut and goat cheddar cheese.