Wanted to comment briefly on some recent postings/questions.

* recipes. There is a file with recipe book reviews in it on the old
veg-raw ftp site:  ftp.intergate.net, cd users/quinoa/vegraw. Check
file recrev.inf.  There are lots of raw food recipe books available,
and those interested in recipes might find some of the books useful.
Note: list members are encouraged to post recipes to veg-raw.

* raw grains. The way to eat grains raw is to sprout them. Unsprouted,
they are too hard to eat. Grains can be soaked and then eaten, but it is
much better to sprout them. Similarly, one can eat sunflower seeds, sesame,
nuts, that are raw and unsprouted/unsoaked, but they are much better if
soaked/sprouted.

* fenugreek. Fenugreek grows very quickly and is an easy sprout to grow.
If you let it turn green it can be rather bitter, so you might prefer it
ungreened. One person reported trouble growing fenugreek, but their
description (spoilage) was insufficient to identify the cause. Most
spoilage comes from: over-watering, under-watering, bad seed (too low
germination rate), exposing the seeds to light before they are big enough
to stand it (direct sunlight on jar can overheat the seeds in the early
stages of sprouting), lack of cleanliness, failing to sterilize media
when a previous batch spoiled, and so on.

* increasing amount of sprouted grain in the diet. Some suggestions:
1) make sprout milk using sprouted wheat and/or oats. Oat-almond sprout
milk, flavored with honey and vanilla bean, is delicious! There is a
file on sprout milk at the old ftp site (address above). 2) eat mixtures
of grains if you get tired of eating individual grains, 3) add seeds
to sprout mix for flavoring: mustard, radish, fenugreek, fennel, cumin,
coriander, dill, etc. 4) make different sauces or dressings for the
sprouts (for variety), 5) use seasonings: seaweed, ginger, hot pepper,
whatever you might want.

One simple sprout dish is: rye sprouted with a bit of fennel seed added,
eaten with honey. It's a very nice combination!  At the last potluck, I
tasted a nice salad based on sprouted quinoa -> quinoa, about 2-3 days old,
mixed with veggies (will try to get recipe, but can't guarantee it).
Sprouted buckwheat can be mixed with dried fruit, fresh sweet fruit, honey,
to create very tasty sweet dishes.

Tom Billings
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