Buying Wheatgrass in the Puget Sound area

I’m totally excited to have found a supplier for wheatgrass in my neighborhood! The supplier is Indianola Organics located in Indianola, WA. Just south of Kingston. They have a website, indianolaorganics.com, so you can see all the items they offer (not much) but it does include the equipment that goes with making the juice. When I talked to Teresa (I guess you could call her the wheatgrass lady), she mentioned that the best way to get the product was to order it on farmstr.

Wow, farmstr.com! What another great resource! Here is a site that brings together small farmers and consumers like myself. The concept here is that the small farmer delivers to known locations once, twice or more, times a week and the customers come pick up the merchandise. For wheatgrass, she just drops it off with your name on it and, within a few hours, you pick it up. It’s really pretty simple.

Note that the bottom of the farmstr page has a link to the pickup locations. Check to see if your city in on the list. Issaquah is not far from here.

It’s a small world! It turns out that the Redmond pickup location, KIS Farm is owned by a wonderful lady that attends my Wednesday morning yoga class. I got the best tomatoes and Pellegrini Bean starts there! If you haven’t had Pellegrini beans yet, you’re missing the best green (well yellow) beans that grow in the Puget Sound area! Nothing else compares.

Back to the Wheatgrass. A friend ordered up a few flats of which we juiced some together. This stuff was much better than the grass I’d been growing. It’s sweet and rich in flavor; genuinely smooth on the pallet. The price is totally reasonable too!

Ok, to sum things up.

Buy Wheatgrass from IndianolaOrganics via Farmstr and if you pickup at the KIS Farm, take a look around and maybe pick up some dirt! They sell the best topsoil this side of the Cascades.

One last thing. If you haven’t read Why Suffer by Ann Wigmore, it’s a great simple read. In just a few short hours you can learn a significant part of the back story of wheatgrass!

Green day!

The Wheatgrass Shutter

Have you ever experienced that uncontrollable shutter you get when you take a shot of wheatgrass? I can get that shutter if the juice simple touches my skin. There’s something about it that just sends – what feels like – bolts of energy up and down my spine making my body uncontrollably shutter.

What’s funny about it is that it happens to just about everyone. At least, everyone that I’ve ever seen drink the juice goes through the same sequence of events: apprehension – as they hold the juice in their hand, bravery – as they shoot it down, and then the uncontrollable shutter – as the body accepts what it’s just been given.

If you haven’t experienced the wheatgrass shutter you’ve got to give it a try. Why? Well…

This morning, I juiced some new grass and religiously took my two shots and promptly performed my own shutter. Two more ounces I poured into a to-go cup to take to a friend. Fifteen minutes later, I delivered the fresh juice to my friend and she promptly drank it down. I was standing across the room from her and noticed that when she shuttered, I shuttered!

This time, I thought it strange in a curious way. I wasn’t in contact with the juice, I wasn’t drinking it. And yet, her shutter made me shutter!

After thinking about the experience a bit more, I decided to share what I felt with Lori. She quickly discounted the feeling as a sympathy shutter. She said that it would be like the feeling that you might have when someone else is sad or happy.

I thought about that for a little while, but couldn’t quite relate. The shutter doesn’t really come across as an emotional energy, but some other type of energy. It’s almost as if act of taking a shot of wheatgrass makes a person bloom.

The more I thought about this, the more I started to relate that the shared shutter is more like an orgasm. It’s not an actual orgasm, but has a similar characteristic. That is, if you are sensitive, and you’re having sex, you know when you’re partner is in the process of ‘blooming’ and their ‘blooming’ makes you bloom at the same time!

The shutter effect on your body, after taking a shot of wheatgrass, is completely uncontrollable (much like sex) and that energy flow radiates in such a way as to affect others that are in close proximity. It’s as if the juice is so powerful that the body immediately recalibrates its energy flow and the recalibration reverberates into the environment aligning or recalibrating everything else!

There’s some magic in wheatgrass that is powerful enough to change others that are close by. I’m going to pay closer attention to this energy to see if I can pinpoint more details.

Its little things like this that really brings out the philosopher in me!

ORMUS based Rejuvelac – it works!

It’s alive!

Turns out that it’s not as hard as it first appears to make Rejuvelac! Mainly just takes time for there is very little work involved. And the taste, well, it’s not bad! It definitely doesn’t have the impact on me as the Kefir Apple juice has on Natasha from Raw Radiant Health! It’s pleasantly yeasty, with a little tang. This is something that’s actually doable!

As evidence, here is what it looks like:

Notice the light white color and the bubbles at the top. When this is brewing, you can see the motion in the water. When you touch the container, the bubbles all kick loose and rise to the top. My second batch looks to have a bit of a darker color to it.

Here’s what I did.

Recipe:

  • 1 cup hard red winter wheat
  • Couple quarts distilled water
  • 3 Tablespoons ORMUS (Sea Salt Precipitate)

I followed the common sprouting instructions for the wheat. That entails soaking the wheat for 8 or so hours, rinsing and letting sprout for another 48. I’ve got a standard quart size mason jar with a sprouting lid that works just fine. (I’ve got a picture of the sprouting jar here.) Then, after rinsing them a last time, I poured the seeds; roots, stems and seeds into a two quart jar for brewing. Using an eyedropper, I measured about 3 tablespoons wet ORMUS onto the wheat and then covered with distilled water. I believe the last time I tried to do this I used regular tap water – which most likely was the reason for the bad tasting finished product. You basically want to make sure you don’t kill the wild yeasts on the wheat by overdoing any chlorine. Once the jar was full, I lightly placed the lid on and set it on top of the fridge to brew. When I felt like it, I gently turned the bottle to mix up the water just a little.

After brewing for 48 hours or so, I stirred lightly and poured most of the water into the serving container that I could store in the fridge. I purposely left some ORMUS that settled on the bottom and some extra fluid to turbo-charge the second brewing. I figure that shouldn’t take but 24 hours.

One of the better descriptions that I found for brewing can be found on the Superfoods~for~Superhealth website in their Rejuvelac Recipe page. The only thing that I did differently is that I didn’t blend it before hand. That just seemed like too much work for this simple drink. And, because it has ORMUS in it, I really wanted to see how it would be absorbed by the micro organisms.

I wish I’d taken a picture of the mixture an hour or so after I set it up to brew. The ORMUS that was in suspension settled out on the top layer of wheat giving it a ghostly – snowy look. As the yeast went to work, the ORMUS thinned out and nearly disappeared. A small layer ended up on the bottom of the jar, but I’d guess the rest went into solution – which is exactly what I set out to do.

Now comes the second half of the experiment – the consuming of the tonic! So far, it’s not bad. Actually, it’s pretty good. In a couple weeks I’ll update the story, but for now, it seems to agree with me.

Oh, as a side note, the probiotics that I’ve been taking, well, I set out to test them. I found that, because they are yeasts (just like Rejuvelac) they will grow in a sugar water mixture. Well, that is, if you have a good – living – probiotic!  At the same time that I started the Rejuvelac, I also mixed up some sugar water and placed the contents of a probiotic capsle in it. The Rejuvelac is done, and I can’t see any growth what so ever with the probiotic starter! What really makes me feel bad is that I spent 33 bucks on that jar and I know it’s all just simply dead. Looks like I’ll have to try to get my money back.

Hope you find the motivation to start and make your own Rejuvelac!

Oh, a thought just came to me! I’ve been meaning to make some raw seed cheese, well, I know have the rejuvelac that I can use as a starter. Looks like I’m going to have something else to do this next weekend!

Take care.

How to grow wheatgrass

Once again, it’s time to blog about wheatgrass. This winter I’ve found myself in an abundance of grass, so much so that I’ve even made posts on facebook to give it away! I love having extra flats around for the grass is so vibrant. When it comes to harvesting, it’s now a simple 10 minute process. It probably takes more time to ‘synchronize’ with the juice than it does to make it and cleanup.

If you haven’t ever had a sip of this stuff, you don’t know that it moves you so deep that it will make your whole body quiver. I guess the closest feeling is a shot of pure tequila, but there is no burning sensation. So, each time I press an ounce or so to drink, I pick up the shot and let my body harmonize with the juice before I down it. During that time, while I’m holding it, I’ll notice my body preparing. I might get the sniffles, saliva might start to flow or my stomach might growl or turn (in a good way) so I’ve learned that this is a process by which my body synchronizes with this powerful substance.

I’ve you’ve experienced the quiver that you get after taking a shot of wheatgrass, you might want to give harmonizing with the juice a chance before downing it next time. I’m sure that if my body can adjust by simply holding it in my hand, you’re can too.

Growing Wheatgrass

It was many years ago that I was first introduced to growing wheatgrass. When I did, I grew it for the seed rather than grass. Today, I like the grass better than the sprouted seeds and the grass is pretty easy to grow.

Through the beauty of YouTube, I’ve found a video by Paydes36 that really does a good job outlining how it’s done. So, rather than trying to type out the process, I’ll just include her videos here.

From Paydes36’s Channel:

Part 1:

Part 2:

I love her casual approach to sowing these seeds. She scoops and dumps the sprouted seed without a second thought or concern. Most people would be a little more careful, but as she demonstrates, it really doesn’t matter. What matters is that you – just do it.

Let’s review her steps through.

Step 1: Use organic wheat

It seems obvious, but to grow wheatgrass you have to get the type of wheat that will grow! So, you have to ask yourself, why did she make this comment? As it turns out, if you were to buy wheat somewhere, you’d probably find it as wheatberries or cracked wheat. The common use for these whole grains is in cooking – thus it doesn’t matter if the seed is alive or not. Well, to grow it, you’ve got to find living seed.

But don’t worry about it too much for any relatively ‘new’ seed will be alive and willing to grow. Most whole grain grocers carry living seeds and it’s pretty easy to test them. To do this, simply buy a small amount and start the growing process by soaking them and getting them to start sprouting. If the majority of them grow, chances are you’ll do fine with those seeds.

If you find yourself growing so much that you’ll being nickeled and dimed at the health food store, try a feed-store. And, look for Hard Red Winter Wheat. That variety seems to hold up pretty well.

Step 2: Soak Wheat

Here she recommends soaking for 12 hours, I’d lean more towards 8. Sensitive seeds tend to drown if soaked too long. You don’t want to start out with a bunch of dead seed.

Now, she breezes over the ‘sprouting’ process that happens in her bowl. She says to keep them covered and rinse them twice a day. This is good advice, but it’s a process where the most damage can be done to the sprouts.

To me, the most important thing to do is to make sure that the seeds never sit in standing water. If they do, they will mold (drown). If just a couple seeds go bad, it changes the entire batch. So, no standing water and shake them off the best you can.

I’ve always used sprouting jars. One mason jar can hold about 1 cup dry seeds (to start) and by the time they are ready to plant, you’ve got a full jar (4 cups that she talks about). With the jars, you have to use screen tops (or sprouting lids) so the air flows and when you rinse, you have to make sure to shake out all the extra water. One note of caution, don’t let the sprouts go too long in the jar for they will fill it tight. So tight in fact that you’ll have to dig them out. The seeds can take a lot of abuse, but that’s just a little too much.

Ok, she stopped counting her steps.

Next Step: Soil, use good compose

I’d have to agree. Use the best that you have and when you’re done with your tray of wheatgrass, recycle what you’ve used. But I wouldn’t necessarily recommend buying the soil. If you have some, use it.

Also, an inch deep is a good recommendation. What she’s showing in the video is not an inch of soil. Don’t skimp.

Oh, and the Azomite powder, not sure if it’s really needed. If it helps keep the mold down, great. But ultimately, the grass is going to feed off its own energy sources for the first 10 days or so of its life so what you add to enhance things might not give you the desired affects.

Next Step: Planting

I love her smile when she mentions it’s time to plant. It’s at this point that the ‘work’ behind growing the grass is done. From this point out, you kind of let time take over (and simply water).

Her advice about not being skimpy is – good advice! You’re taking all this time to grow the wheat, you might as well get a really good finished product.

Also, what she says about buying flats that are ‘shallow’ really are disappointing. You want to get 15 ounces juice from your tray, I’ve bought trays that barely product 8. That’s just a downright rip-off.

Next step: Watering

I like her advice of simply taking them outside and hosing them down. But be gentle, for those little seeds will wash away.

Next step: Covering

When I first saw that she used colored ink paper for covering your seeds, I thought that they were the funnies and it made me smile. Upon closer inspection, it simply looks like ads.

But if you’re not into giving your grass ads to read while it’s in its first couple days of growing, consider a brown grocery bag or paper towels. The plastic cover is a good idea.

Next step: Growing under paper

When she says cool dark place she really means dark place where the seeds won’t get roasted. It you place them in a really cool place, it’s going to take forever for them to start growing. If it’s warm, they’ll virtually jump out of their seeds.

Her summary:

When she says it take seven days from planting to harvesting, she means that it probably takes 10 days from soaking to harvesting. She makes this clear when she says ‘here’s planting’ as she holds up the tray of seeds that she just covered with plastic and ‘here’s harvesting’ as she places the tall wheatgrass tray on top for demonstration.

By the way, her demonstration tray looks absolutely beautiful! Don’t expect your trays to look this nice until you’ve practiced for a while. And, like she says, you don’t want to grow your grass too long. You want to catch it while it’s still converting carbohydrates (stored energy in the seed) into simple sugars. Thus, the grass will taste sweet rather than bitter. You simply won’t be able to drink much bitter juice!

Oh, harvesting – use scissors. Knives just don’t ‘cut it’.

In conclusion:

If growing wheatgrass isn’t in the cards for you, if you ask around a bit in your community, you should be able to find someone that already grows it. If you do, I’d expect that you’d find it offered for under 1 dollar an ounce. In other words, if a tray produces 15 ounces juice, you should find it for no more than 15 bucks. If you’re buying larger amounts, you should be able to find it for 8 to 10 a flat.

For me, I’ve been blessed with a source – my father! My abundance this year is directly correlated to my dad’s industrious behavior. Earlier this year, he said that he was going to grow twice as much as last year. Well, last year I felt I got a great amount. This year, the trays are piling up! At this rate, I’m going to have to teach more people about the power of wheatgrass so they’ll want to come over when I offer up ‘free shots’.

So, if you’re going to grow wheatgrass, you’ll probably find that it’s easier than you think and when it comes to juicing, you’ll find that the taste will probably be superior to what you buy at a place like Jumba Juice.

Zucchini hummus (and Raw Tahini)

Now that we’re at the end of the summer, the zucchini plants in the garden are in full production. It’s hard to keep up with all the fruit that they put out. Twice now, I’ve given away a number of large zucchini and I’ve even made zucchini chips!

But what I really wanted is to make the fruit into something that I can have as a lunch food – hummus – and not have it heavy like what’s made form sprouted garbanzo beans. And, as it so happens, today is a great day to try Zucchini hummus!

I poked around the internet until I found something that looked reasonable.  As it turns out, a video posted by RawFoodFamilyLife caught my eye.

Look!  Kids are eating it and actually having fun. I’ve got to say, from my point of view, these kids have no idea how well they are being taken care of!

In any case, I paused the video part way through and typed out the recipe.

Recipe:

  • 3 to 4 zucchini pealed
  • 2 to 3 teaspoons tahini
  • 1 squeezed lemon
  • 1 little glove garlic
  • 1 tablespoon of cumin
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • Tiny bit of salt

From the looks of it, they just blend until it’s smooth and enjoy.

But it wasn’t that easy for me. I didn’t want to run to the store and pick up some tahini, so I surfed around a bit more to see if I could find a reasonable tahini recipe.  As it turns out, I found one that fit the bill:

Making Raw Tahini

This one was from GeekGoneRaw. I stumbled across a Creamed Sesame tahini dessert that I figured I could use the tahini part for my hummus.  I’ve copied his recipe here.

Raw tahini:
Sprouted sesame seeds
Raw and unfiltered honey, to taste
Cold-pressed coconut oil and sesame oil
Himalayan salt
(water)

Soak sesame seeds for 8 hours. Drain water, rinse thoroughly and sprout for another 8 hours. The seeds won’t actually grow, the idea is to get rid of the enzyme inhibitors, so that the calcium and other nutrients are better absorbed. Once this is done, place the seeds in a food processor or blender, add honey. Then blend in 50:50 coconut and sesame oil. Add salt. Taste and adjust. I like my tahini with a nice balance of savory and sweet. If you find that cold-pressed sesame oil is too strong in flavor, substitute for more coconut oil.

So the challenge is to get the tahini going so that I can make the hummus. If you read the recipe closely, you’ll see that it takes a while to get the sesame seeds to sprout. Thus, while I’m letting the zucchini grow, I started the sesame seeds.

After a day, I was ready to go.

Just so happened that I had everything that he called for the in recipe and, because there really wasn’t any measurements to follow, I simply added two cups sprouted sesame seeds, 1 Tbs coconut oil, 1 Tbs Olive Oil and 1 Tbs Honey. Followed by a little more than a pinch of salt.

Started with two cups seeds.

Added everything else to it and blended. I didn’t want to make too much, but I probably should have made more. It’s hard working with so little in the blender.  In any case, it turned out great!

I had company visiting that I got to try it. I offered up a small pinch, about the size of a peanut. She placed it in her mouth and the expression turned to pleasantly sweet . after a few seconds the bitters from the seeds kicked in and her eyes widened with an “Oh My God!” For a second, she thought that she’d been tricked and then realized that it was really good. Shortly thereafter, she was rattling off different things that would be good with it.

Me, well, I just wanted to add it to the hummus!

And I did.

Turned out a little runnier than I’d expected, but it’s got really good flavor. I love the cumin. I’m looking forward to my lunches this week.

Enjoy!