Blog / soaking methods

QUESTION: Hi Linda, I just discovered a bowl of almonds I was sprouting on my counter has mold on them. I soaked them starting Friday night, drained them Saturday night and put a towel over them until tonight (Sunday night) to put them in the dehydrator but they are moldy! Should I throw them out? What did I do wrong? Thanks, P. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ANSWER: Hi there P.! You should soak almonds for about 8 hours, drain/rinse and then fill up with water again and stick in your fridge until you are ready to use them - they'll last 5 days this way but you'll want to drain/rinse/fill with fresh water each day. When you are ready to use the almonds, you'll want to drain/rinse the almonds one last time. OR you could soak them for 8 hours and then rinse, then put them in a bag in your freezer until you are ready to use. It's not as ideal but it's a great way to have soaked nuts ready for use whenever you are ready to use them! It sounds like the conditions were right to start some bacteria to grow on them. I wouldn't use them, I'm sorry to say and that's a bummer. Sounds like you have a warm kitchen! :-) Take care and hope that helps, Linda +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Ask Linda! Please feel free to submit your questions to linda AT vt-fiddle.com. Questions don’t have to be completely raw food related but please bring questions on health, recipes, diet, weight issues, nutrition, parenting, nursing, pregnancy, spirituality or whatever it is you’d like to ask. I’ll do my best to answer and will most certainly learn from this as much as I can give.

QUESTION: Linda, Can u tell me if it is ok to use the kefired soaking water from soaking seeds and grains and such? Do I keep reusing it adding fresh water each time or do I toss it with each batch? Thank you so much! I am looking into takin one of your workshops to get a better sense of all this sprouting ;) Warmly, T ANSWER: Hi there! To be honest, I’m very knew to the kefir world. I’ve just made my first batch of coconut kefir water and fermented coconut meat pudding. I don’t use dairy products so I’m not going to make any kefir creams. Kefir is a culture that is added to water and sometimes sugar/honey is mixed in to feed the kefir culture. Here is a link for kefir: http://www.bodyecology.com/kefirinstructions.php If you are soaking grains for making rejuvelac, it is the fermented water that you use for making your cheeses or soups or smoothies. You sprout the grains for a few days and filter out the grains (remembering to catch the fermented water in a bowl) then add fresh water to the grains to make a second batch of rejuvelac. Let the water stand for a couple days to ferment and then use that soak water as the rejuvelac liquid. You can get a coupla batches from the grains. Here is a link for rejuvelac: http://www.ehow.com/how_2320602_make-rejuvelac.html - My friend Natasha has some good rejuvelac instructions in her book SimplyRaw Living Foods Detox Manual. You can pop in anytime and check it out. Typically though, as far as regular hydroponic sprouting is concerned, you always want to rinse grains/seeds/beans and not reuse the soak water. The only time I’ve ever used soak water is when I soak raisins or dates or sun dried tomatoes. But not for sprouts (unless it is rejuvelac!) If you are just sprouting grains or seeds to have them to eat, you would always rinse out the water and not keep them in the water for sprouting. We have a link on how to easily sprout with our nut milk bags: http://www.vt-fiddle.com/rawfood/how_to_sprout_using_nut_milk_bag.php#sprout - the idea is to keep the water away from the sprouts so that they can grow their little tails. You want to rinse the sprouts so that they will be kept clean. The rinse water goes down the drain for this type of sprouting. Hope that helps! Happy sprouting! Linda +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Ask Linda! Please feel free to submit your questions to linda AT vt-fiddle.com. Questions don’t have to be completely raw food related but please bring questions on health, recipes, diet, weight issues, nutrition, parenting, nursing, pregnancy, spirituality or whatever it is you’d like to ask. I’ll do my best to answer and will most certainly learn from this as much as I can give.

here's my sweetie cakes recipe 2 cups golden flax seeds 1 cup soaked and/or sprouted raw buckwheat 1/2 cup raw agave 1 tsp lemon oil a pinch of himalayan sea salt 1 cup filtered water In a dry Vitamix pitchers, blend 2 cups of dry golden flax seeds in order to turn them into flour. Pour into a bowl. Then take 1 cup soaked raw buckwheat and blend in the Vitamix pitcher along with the agave, lemon oil and sea salt and pour into the bowl with the flax. Then add 1 cup filtered water and hand mix until well combined. Pour on a dehydrator sheet and spread evenly with a rubber scraper. This recipe is for one 14 x 14 dehydrator tray only. This should be thick on the tray. Score into the shapes/sizes you want and dehydrate for 6-8 hours at 105 degrees. Then flip the sheet and take off the dehydrator sheet and see if it needs anymore dehydrating. These cakes should remain pliable and chewy. NOTES on soaking and sprouting raw buckwheat For this recipe, you want to start with hulled raw buckwheat. You do not want to use the buckwheat seeds that you use for sprouting in soil that have the dark hulls still on them. You also don't want to use kasha - that is toasted buckwheat and it will turn to mush as soon as you soak it. To soak the buckwheat: Put a slightly rounded 1/3 cup of buckwheat in a bowl and cover it with fresh water. Let it soak overnight. The buckwheat will plump up in size considerably. Pour buckwheat into a colander and rinse under the tap. Soaked buckwheat will turn the water slimy so keep rinsing until the water goes clear. They are ready to blend now unless you want to sprout them. To sprout the buckwheat: After you've rinsed them, put them back in the colander and keep the bowl underneath to catch the water. Cover with a clean kitchen towel. Continue to rinse the buckwheat two more times on that first day: once in the evening when you get home from work and then once before bed. In the morning, rinse again and repeat rinsing in the early evening and night before bed. After about 2 or 3 days (depending on the time of year) you will have sprouted buckwheat. Now you can use them to make sprouted recipes. Using sprouted grains are much more digestible for people and the yields are good, making this a very economical way to eat! (By the way, buckwheat are not a gluten product!) Happy sweetie cakes! Linda