soaking grains

[mommy65]

o.k., could someone go step by step, exactly the process of soaking grains? like, for example, quinoa or oatmeal? i'm sure it's probably not that difficult but i'm a little overwhelmed, since i'm new to this. any special tips from your experience? and do i really need that little piece of window screen? thanks!

[quietserena]

nak

soaking and sprouting are not the same thing - i'm assuming the piece of window screen is there for sprouting to keep the grains back.

i soak oatmeal almost every night when i don't have baked oatmeal made. i put half cup oatmeal, cup of water and a spoonful of yogurt in the pot that i cook it in and leave on the counter over night. in the morning, i just cook as usual.

and here's a link to baked oatmeal thread, i make mine by gardenmommy's recipe using coconut milk and oil.

welcome to the forum! read trhough it, there are some neat things.

and you can sign up for Gale Forces phytates lessons here.

[Rachel J.]

Here's a link to lots of info about sprouting grains; has a list of grains and how long each needs to sprout:
http://www.godsdirectcontact.com/vegetarian/sprout.html

I usually use a piece of cheesecloth with a rubberband and a large mason jar. I've also soaked in a bowl and then placed the seeds on a cookie sheet lined with a damp towel and covered the seeds with another damp towel. This works especially well for buckwheat as it's prone to molding. I mostly just soak grains/seeds for grinding so I don't worry so much about getting tails. For just soaking, most grains/seeds are fine after about 12 hours. Buckwheat shouldn't be soaked for very long, maybe 3 hours at most? I found that a quick google search gave me plenty of info when I first started looking.