TOGE (Mung Bean Sprouts)

Para ke Loree H. Love you!

I had plenty of mung beans; thanks to my online friends who sent me several packages. Because of this abundance, I once again had that tendency to experiment with them. I thought I'd make my own sprouts.



Prepare the baking dish by putting 2-3 layers of paper towel submerged in tepid water that is 1 inch high. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of mung beans to distribute as evenly as you can. Cover loosely with plastic (I use the plastic pouch that came with the traveling bags.) then place on a warm floor (if you don't have a warm floor, use heating pad. Heating pads are used by gardeners when they are starting their seedlings indoors in preparation for spring/summer planting to maximize the warm weather.)

Everyday add 1 cup of water by pouring slowly and carefully as to not displace the sprouts from where they have established their roots in the paper towel (which serves as a substrate much like the soil. Without paper towel, and without anything for the roots to hold on to, the seeds just drown in the water and rot. I know because I tried to eliminate this factor after successful sprouting on the third try, and so failed without it.)

With my experimentations, I came to the conclusion on what were obvious needed factors when sprouting:

1. Paper towel serves as a growing medium like soil.

2. Water to germinate the seeds and feed the seedlings.

3. Plastic to keep the moisture in and the cold air out, not to keep the dust off. (Remember, this is not the Philippines. My area is cold and the air is so dry that humidity levels drop down to 30% in winter time. Without the plastic, the radicle that started to grow after one day just stopped growing. I realized it was because the cold and dry air tended to cool the water enough to inhibit germination and also would dry up the area surrounding the sprouts, making them brown.)

4. Warm floor or heating pad (the optimal temperature would be around 70-80 deg F, which would sound ridiculous for someone living in the PI, where temperature changes are not noted so much because they are pretty much stable, so in PI, one can place this anywhere in the house).

See...I am really learning about gardening.

Harvest these sprouts on the third day. Rinse well and refrigerate. Consume on the same day of harvesting. I am guessing that light promotes greening of these sprouts and formation of leaves, but I am not sure. I have done these at least 5 times successfully, and ate these. They tasted good and not at all bitter. I even tried to taste the raw brownish root tips, and they had the pleasant taste of raw greens.

What to do with toge?

Sauteed with ground beef (you may add julienned carrots and 1/2 cup of beef broth), you may eat this with plain rice, or make spring rolls out of them (adding strips of sweet potatoes is also desirable for me)...



I even used it in leftover tortilla from a taco kit dinner...

I also add it to shredded leftover beef pares.(I reheat the leftover, then sprinkle the sprouts and just get them to the point of blanching.)

So for those of you who like bean sprouts, just give it three days. As long as you store mung beans, you will not have to go to the grocery store to buy mung bean sprouts.

Nutritional value of mung bean sprouts, taken from nutritiondata.com:

The Good
This food is low in Saturated Fat and Sodium, and very low in Cholesterol. It is also a good source of Protein, Thiamin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Pantothenic Acid, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus and Potassium, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Riboflavin, Folate, Copper and Manganese.

The Bad
A large portion of the calories in this food come from sugars.

Detailed nutritional information can be seen here.

I Found 3 Sites Useful to the Wise Consumers

Ang mga Pinay, parang si Lumen -- wais!

Have you always wondered how you can make your own mixes for Sloppy Joe, tacos, white sauces, biscuits, banana bread, and the likes? Not only is it more economical if you can prepare them yourself, you also have a peace of mind knowing what exact ingredients you put into them, right? If you think the same way I do, then you might be interested to see Saving Money With Homemade Convenience Mixes. A printable PDF version is also available.

If you want to extend your economical ways of preparing food, you might find Recipe Ideas for Thrifty Families useful (I do find it extremely interesting!), also with available PDF version. It contains such recipes as Mac&Cheese, Salad Dressings, more sauces, guidelines for cooking vegetables in the microwave.

If you are a vegetarian or with teen-aged children who want to be/remain vegetarian, you might want to see Teen Vegetarian Recipes, also with PDF printable version.

All of these were prepared by Nutrition Specialists. More information centered on family life here in Maine can be found here. Click on any of those topics of interest. I got the above links through the topic Food Safety then Food Safety FAct Sheet Online.

Deviled Eggs

Pasensya na sa tagal ng post ko. Excited pa ako sa trabaho eh.

Deviled eggs are a common item in wedding receptions, and basically any gathering here. I liked it, so I researched for the recipe. It was not hard to find it. Just type "deviled eggs" into the Google search engine, click on the first link in the list, and you will get the recipe below (which I am posting here for your convenience; other tips on eggs can be found in that site). My kids loved them, though I discovered that my husband did not really care for boiled eggs (Malay ko ba! Eh di nag-hotdog sandwich sya!) My boys and I ate them with rolls. It is almost like our Egg Sandwich, only richer with eggs.

Classic Deviled Eggs

Serve for any occasion, whether it be a wedding feast, a picnic in the park, or for lunch or dinner!

Items Needed: (for 12 Deviled Eggs)

6 hard boiled Eggs (large)

3 tablespoons mayonnaise or salad dressing

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon mustard (honey mustard is great!)

1 teaspoon vinegar

salt & pepper to taste

paprika (optional)

To boil eggs, place eggs in enough cold water to cover completely, bring to a rolling boil over high heat.

Reduce heat to a lower MEDIUM BOIL and cook an additional 12 minutes.

Promptly chill eggs so yolks stay bright yellow.

Remove shells from eggs, and halve lengthwise with a knife.

Carefully remove the yolks, and place in a medium bowl.

Mash yolks with a fork, and add remaining ingredients.

Very carefully spoon mixture back into the egg white halves. Garnish with a light sprinkling of paprika (optional).