I'm going nuts!

Well, not really. But I spent the day soaking, sprouting, rinsing, and drying various nuts. I bought walnuts, pine nuts, pecans, and almonds, and have soaked them in saline solutions to activate the enzymes that neutralize enzyme inhibitors (read = better digestibility, more nutrition). Then, to preserve their life, because soaked nuts means living nuts, which means they can get rancid quickly, I dry them in my dehydrator until they are nice and crispy. Walnuts and pecans don't have to be soaked for very long - they won't sprout - but they do benefit from being soaked overnight in warm, filtered water with high quality sea salt.

All you need to start sprouting is a jar or bowl, a strainer, and some TLC. Pack those nuts in your vessel, and pour warm, filtered water over them. Add sea salt, stir, and let them sit. Every 12 hours or so, rinse them (more frequently if you are doing small seeks like chia or fenugreek or poppy). You'll know when they are ready by the sprouts that appear as small white appendages.

I then do a final rinse, pat dry, and put on my drying trays. The pecans and walnuts I just dried took about 6 hours, and the pine nuts will be done earlier. Almonds can take up to 12 hours, depending on how many you put in a tray. Once they are completely crispy, store in an airtight container in the fridge (walnuts and pecans) or cool storage (almonds, pine nuts).

I also soaked chickpeas for 24 hours using warm filtered water and lemon juice, and then boiled them for about 5 hours, and they are soft and delicious! I am going to safe some for salads for the week, and use the rest to make hummus. To go with the hummus, I made some soaked whole wheat crackers, which are currently drying in the dehydrator. Recipes to follow!