Sunday, March 22, 2015

Using Beans

Beans can be ground into a flour and used to replace a small amount of flour in bread.  The book Country Beans has a lot of information about using beans.  I can't find mine.  I may have given it away.  Anyway try replacing about 1/3 of a cup to start with for each loaf of bread.

Ground Pinto beans can be made into refried beans by adding 1 cup of bean powder to 1 cup of water.  You can adjust the consistency to whatever thickness you prefer.

Beans are really easy to can.  They have to be done in a presser canner. Place 1 1/4 cup of beans in a quart bottle.  Add 1 teaspoon of salt.  Fill bottle with water leaving 1 inch of head space.  Process at 15 pounds for 90 minutes.  This is for 3500 to 4500 foot elevation.  Adjust to your elevation.

My Recipes are on another blog.  You can click on the links to find them.
The blog is http://simplifyitexemplifyitrecipes.blogspot.com/

Pinto Bean Fudge.  Click HERE

Baked Beans.  Click HERE

Sprouting Wheat and Growing Wheat Grass

I have spent the last 6 weeks trying to sprout wheat twice and grow wheat grass once.  It didn't work.  I tried sprouting wheat several years ago and it didn't work then either.  My wheat is Red Hard Winter wheat that is about 18 years old.  Maybe that is the problem.
The wheat sprouts just got soft and mushy.  The wheat grass never sprouted, but the pot grew a lot of white fuzz. I didn't take pictures.  I'm saving you from seeing the ugly sight.
My wheat makes wonderful bread, so I don't know why it won't sprout or grow.  If "they" can grow two thousand year old wheat from Egyptian tombs why can't I grow mine.  Well maybe if I knew who "they" were I could find out what is wrong with mine.

If you want to give it a try yourself here is how you do it:
Sprout wheat the same as any other sprouting seeds.  The only difference is that the wheat sprout will only be about half of the wheat kernel length or slightly more. Go HERE for other sprouting pictures and details.

If you want to grow wheat grass here is how:
Soak wheat kernels in water for about 12 hours before planting. Use a soil-less mixture of 2 parts peat moss, 1 part perlite, and 1 part vermiculite, or other soil if you prefer.  Place a couple of inches in a container, cover with wheat seeds. Cover container with paper towels, cloth, or something to keep it dark until the wheat starts sprouting (3 or 4 days).  Keep the wheat moist the entire time also.  Cut the wheat grass off near the kernel when it is at least 3 inches tall.  It is possible to get a second crop.  You can also pull the entire plant from the ground, rinse the soil off of the roots and eat the entire thing.  Don't forget to keep it watered while it is growing.