John Davidson

The Magic of Sprouts John Davidson

Publisher Marketing: The Magic of Sprouts Table of Contents Introduction The Nutritive Value of Sprouts Suitable Sprouting Seeds How to Use Sprouts Buying Sprouts Why Are My Sprouts Inedible? How to Make Sprouts Sprouting Lentils in Colanders Making a Sprouting Bag Readying Seeds for Germination How to Grow Wheatgrass Sprouts Sprouting the Seeds Beforehand Watering Wheatgrass sprouts/seedlings Harvesting Mung Bean and Rice Pancakes Author Bio Publisher Introduction Nobody is quite certain when human beings decided to make sprouts a part of their daily diet. Not only were they healthy and nourishing, but they are also an unusual contrast to other vegetable and fruit items in matters of texture and flavor. But it is a well-known fact that millenniums ago, people of those cultured civilizations knew everything about adding germinating seeds to their daily diet, and did so regularly. In olden days, people of many such civilizations worshiped the Gods and Goddesses of Harvest by offering them a handful of sprouted grains, before the first spring sowing of the year. So in one way they were appeasing the gods, and asking their blessings for a bountiful harvest. In another way, they were making sure that the seeds that they intended to sow in their lands were capable of producing plants through successful germination! So one could say that two birds were knocked out with just one stone. Sprouting is the process of germination in which seeds, which are edible are allowed to grow into little plants. These are then eaten raw or they are cooked. Sprouting is an integral part of East Asian cuisine, where traditionally nearly every meal had sprouts in some form or the other, either raw or in cooked form added to the platter. Luckily, this healthy habit spread throughout the world, and more and more people began to know all about the benefits of eating sprouts to gain nutrition and enjoy good health. Contributor Bio:  Davidson, John John Davidson was born in Barrhead in Renfrewshire in 1857. He spent his childhood years in Greenock, and after working as a pupil-teacher and briefly attending Edinburgh University, taught in schools in Glasgow and Perth. In 1989 he moved to London where he made his living as a journalist and critic. Several dramas had been published while he was still in Scotland, but in the 1890s he turned to poetry, and published several collections which were very popular: In a Music-Hall (1891) and Ballads and Songs (1894) amongst them. These were poems which chronicled urban working class life, and his sense of outrage at the poverty of the ordinary man, as expressed by the much-anthologized 'Thirty Bob a Week'. At the beginning of the new century he moved away from the lyric and began writing in blank verse which incorporated much scientific language; this series of Testaments were not as successful as his earlier ballad style, though Hugh MacDiarmid was to pay tribute to Davidson's attempts to combine poetry with scientific ideas. Despite the early popularity of the poetry, financial difficulties constantly plagued Davidson; he had had no choice but to continue with the journalism he disliked in order to support his family and other dependents. Sadly the money worries, combined with ill-health and depression, drove him to committing suicide in 1909.