"Sprouts" news and stories

You might want to think twice before tossing those sprouts in your salad. They're the latest packaged food product to be recalled for potential contamination.

Specialty Farms Organic Alfalfa Sprouts Blend (upc 509800108) and Specialty Farms Organic Sprout Salad (upc 8192400024) have been added to the list of sprout products recalled by Specialty Farms, Examiner.com reported. Both have a "best if sold by" date of 8/03/10. The sprouts are being recalled for potential Lysteria Monocytogenes contamination.

Listeria can be especially harmful to children, the elderly and pregnant women as it can cause miscarriage and stillbirth. Symptoms include headache, fever, abdominal pain, stiffness, vomiting and diarrhea.

Specialty Farms issued the voluntary recall on July 29, 2010 after lab tests showed positive results from retail samples. No illnesses have been reported, the FDA said in a statement. The company is working to determine the source of the potential contamination in its facilities and will be immediately remedying problems as they are identified, the agency said.

Hello, St. Louis! After reading about this creamy, crunchy, multitextured sandwich via St. Louis blogger Chris Freeland at countrypolitancooking.com, I wanted to book a flight to get there for the next day's opening of the local Soulard farmers market. Chris mined local producers for both red and white radishes, Claverach farms sunflower sprouts (which some say are tastier than mung, red clover and other sprout varieties and are packed with vitamins and protein), the award-winning Baetje Farms Saint-Genevieve goat's-milk cheese ("like butter but tangy," he says), and Black Bear Bakery's pumpernickel bread. Combining them, in a nod to his radish-sandwich-loving grandfather, Chris creates something completely of its place, something of memory, and something that tastes deliciously of spring.

For more on radish varieties you might want to try at the market, or plant yourself, see this story.

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The Beatles' "Mean Mr. Mustard" may be a good tune to listen to while you're sinking your teeth into this sandwich created by blogger Kimtaro, of steak grilled rare, slapped on some good bread, and topped with avocado, olive oil and balsamic vinegar, mustard sprouts, and a healthy slathering of Dijon mustard. The bite of those sprouts will make regular varieties seem just plain tame.

In France, mustard-making reaches a form of high art, and if you're a lover of the rich yellow stuff you owe it to yourself to sample the seemingly hundreds of French varieties, some with espelette peppers, others with lemon or violet, and one of my favorites, moutarde aux noix, a delicate, fragrant and smooth mustard made with walnut paste.

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Another item in my latest organic basket was sprout mix. While I've eaten them out, I had no idea how to prepare them. Do I cook them in something? Keep them raw? Grind them? When in doubt: salad!

The sprout mix was a great addition to the classic Greek salad above. Tomatoes, cucumber, and onion were mixed up with the sprout mix, feta, lemon juice, garlic, and extra virgin olive oil. The sprouts gave a nice crunch to the salad, and made it a nice, filling meal.

But that's only one option. What would you do with a sprout mix? I've got more waiting to be eaten, and no idea what to do with them!

Several brands of alfalfa sprouts are on recall in western U.S. states over fear of salmonella contamination. Salad Cosmo USA Corporation recalled shipments of sprouts from Save Mart Supermarkets and Lucky Stores across California and Washington Saturday. A day later, Trader Joe's recalled tubs of Nature's Choice Alfalfa Sprouts in their California, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon and Washington stores. The recall only applies to the TJ's sprouts with a "Sell By" date of March 9 or earlier.

Apparently no illnesses have been reported but still better safe than sorry. If you can't find good sprouts try some finely chopped green peppers or a little watercress in your sandwich instead.

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