Texas may be known as a beef state, but that don’t
bother at least two folks who live there (and who prefer to
be known only as Kim and Sam) none at all. The couple eats
quite high on the bean sprout with vegetarian dishes that are, in
their words:
We love to cook and — using nothing but sprouts,
grains, and canned or fresh foods — seem to invent a
new vegetarian dish almost every day. Here are a few of our recent
experiments — and all the whole grains and beans used
in the originals came from Arrowhead Mills.
Breakfast Salad
Sam came to the window one morning after chopping wood and
said, “Fix something really good for breakfast that’s
nutritious and different too.” So I did.
1/4 cup of chopped nuts
1/4 cup of raisins or currants
1 large chopped apple
1 chopped banana
1/4 cup of wheat sprouts
1 tablespoon of mayonnaise
Mix the above together in a big wooden bowl and then beat
together the following with a wire whisk:
1/4 cup of powdered milk
1/4 cup of honey
2 tablespoons of cold water
Pour the topping over the salad, place small squares of
cheese around and on top of everything, and serve.
Beans and Bread
Sam’s beans and Kim’s frybread, we feel, are just right for
each other. The bean recipe yields enough to serve several
people, so make plenty of bread!
1 cup of pinto beans Water
1 quart of home canned tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, and
green beans
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 pound of chopped cheese
Cover the beans with enough warm water to keep them
submerged as they swell, and soak them overnight in a large
pot. The next afternoon, add the juice from the canned
vegetables. Bring the mixture to a boil, then salt, cover,
and cook over a medium heat for 1 1 /2 hours or until very
thick. Add the canned vegetables and bring the concoction
to a boil again. (If you canned your tomatoes alone, the
other vegetables can be cooked separately and added in.)
Add the cheese, stir, and put the lid back on the pot for
one minute. Serve atop the following frybread:
3 cups of whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 tablespoon of powdered milk
1 tablespoon of honey or molasses
Mix the above ingredients together in a large bowl. Then
add enough warm water to make a soft, easy-to-handle dough
and knead the sponge until it’s smooth. Separate the dough
into balls and roll them out flat with a rolling pin. Then
deep-fry the circles in hot fat or oil. Brown both sides,
drain, top with Sam’s beans and accompany with a cup
of hot spearmint or rosehip and catnip tea.
Squash Casserole
We conjured this up one night when we wanted to do away
with some leftover bread, a quart of canned squash
(organic, from our own garden), and some extra sprouted rye
we had on hand. It’s really a meal in itself and this
recipe serves four.
3 small bell peppers
1 potato
1 onion
1 quart of canned squash
1/4 cup of rye sprouts
1/4 cup of soy and oat flour
1/4 cup of powdered milk
1/4 cup of oil
1 tablespoon of mayonnaise or 1 egg
Herbs (celery seed, marjoram, basil) to taste
3 pieces of whole wheat bread, crumbled
Sliced, grated, or chopped cheese as needed
First, chop the peppers, potato, and onion and put them in
a big wooden bowl. Then drain the squash (taking care to
save the liquid), add the squash and sprouts to the bowl,
and stir in the flour.
Second, mix the milk, oil, mayonnaise, herbs, and one-half
cup of the liquid saved from the squash together in a
smaller bowl.
Third, oil a loaf pan or casserole and layer in the bread
crumbs, vegetables, and cheese until it’s filled. Put lots
of cheese on top too.
Fourth and finally, pour the liquid mixture from the small
bowl over all and bake immediately at 350 degrees F for 45
minutes or until firm.
The rye sprouts give this loaf a meaty taste that is really
complemented by the herbs.
Sprout Cabbage
We have cabbage almost every week and I constantly sprout a
lot of our organically grown beans and grains. This is a
good way to use both. The recipe serves four.
Oil
1/2 cup of water
1 onion
1/2 head of cabbage
1/4 cup of soybean sprouts
1/2 cup of wheat or rye sprouts
Chopped nuts (optional)
1/2 cup of cooked brown rice (optional)
Pour enough oil into a skillet or frying pan to just cover
its bottom. Add one-half cup of water and place the pan
over the flame of a small fire. Then cut up the onion and
cabbage and cook them, covered, in the skillet until
they’re tender (about 10 minutes). Sprinkle the sprouts on
top and cook the dish for another five to seven minutes.
Chopped nuts and one-half cup of cooked brown rice make
great additions to this recipe. If you include them, stir
either or both into the other ingredients during the last
two or three minutes of cooking time.
Oats ‘N’ Honey Candy
These magical candies are good to make on a cold winter
morn. Stoke up the stove and munch ’em all day long.
They’re so easy to prepare and so good for you!
1 1 /2 cups of honey
1 1/2 cups of peanut butter
1 1/2 cups of powdered milk
1/2 cup of nuts
1/2 cup of raisins
1 cup of flaked oats
Mix the honey, peanut butter, and powdered milk together.
Next add the nuts, raisins, and oats. Then roll the mixture
into small, bite-size balls, place them on a lightly
greased cookie sheet, and chill until very firm.
You can leave these candies outside overnight and have them
for breakfast the next day (things made with honey usually
taste better after they’ve aged for a few hours). But, if
you do, be sure to cover them because the honey they
contain will absorb odors and moisture from the air.
