pea and sunflower shoots - variety in vegetables [moved from Kosher board]

[AdinaA]

We had pea shoots for diner tonight. Have also had sunflower shoots recently. I like both very much, I swirl them in a very small amount of olive oil, then put the lid on and steam. You can only get them during this brief season at the farmer's market. But they make a really nice spring side dish.

[ephemeral8]

corn shoots are my obsession right now. they are....overwhelming, to say the least. it's as if an entire corn cob was contained in wee inch and a half little sprout!

[kristenhinman]

hi ephemeral8, this is the Wash Post writer here. saw your mention of corn shoots - intriguing! i haven't tried any. where do you get them?

[EWSflash]

Kristen, pls post the date your article is published if Chow allows it. I'd love to see it.

[ephemeral8]

i work in a restaurant and we feature them on a halibut dish. i've seen them at farmers markets, but i would probably just sprout my own at home, they tend to be expensive. i really enjoy the mindfuck aspect of eating this tiny thing that could've potentially been a 6ft stalk of corn!

http://www.sproutliving.com/store/products/pop_corn_shoots.html
http://www.oregonlive.com/hg/index.ss...

[kristenhinman]

thanks for replying! which restaurant? in dc?

[ephemeral8]

nah, i'm in denver. i always get a little sad when i see plates where people have pushed the corn shoots to the side. they really don't know what they're missing.

http://www.cholon.com

[pdxgastro]

I didn't even know there was such a thing as sunflower shoots! Thanks for the edification.

[goodhealthgourmet]

they're *wonderful* as a raw salad tossed with your favorite vinaigrette or creamy dressing.

[DuchessNukem]

Adina, they're both easy to grow indoors at home, year-round. I don't know how dietary law would apply to obtaining/growing the seeds but it might be worth looking into.

[AdinaA]

There are certainly no obstacles to a kosher home growing its own pea shoots. Some of us, alas, lack the ambition to garden.

[DuchessNukem]

LOL, I understand about gardening, I try and fail each year. I do sprout all the time, though, in the kitchen, and it's only a 5-7 day commitment, on a small scale in small sprouters/mini-trays. Daily time required is less than a minute twice a day for rinsing/draining, then 10 minutes worth of trimming at "harvest time".

If you ever get curious, sproutpeople.org has wonderful seeds and small sprouters/trays.

I apologize if I come across strong, I'm just very enthusiastic about sprouts of all sorts! Sunflower shoots are a huge favorite here. I'll have to try them steamed now. :)

[kristenhinman]

Dear DuchessNukem, I'm a writer for the Wash Post food section and I'm getting started on a story about sprouts and shoots. Would love to chat with you about your home-growing. Hope you would be keen! Email me offline [e-mail]? best, Kristen Hinman