Yesterday was a windy day. Remembering the farmer's instructions at the threshing bee, I dragged Chad and the kids outside to winnow our grain.
The first method we tried was pouring one bowl full of grain into an empty bowl, allowing the wind to blow away the chaff. After pouring the same bowl twenty times, I decided it wasn't working as well as I'd hope. Especially after finding yet another three inch long piece of stalk in my supposedly clean grain.
The second method was pouring grain onto a clean sheet and then gently tossing it in the air, letting the wind blow away the chaff. While horribly unsuccessful, this was the most fun for the kids. Joseph and Elizabeth sat under the sheet laughing and reaching while we lifted and tossed the grain. We decided that we were two people short with this method. We just couldn't get the sheet tight enough for the wheatberries to bounce.
The third and final method we tried, Chad dubbed Grain Zen. It consisted of us sitting on the sheet we'd previously used to toss the wheatberries, pouring a couple of bowls for each of us and four small bowls for the kids to play with, and then...hand picking the bits of straw and chaff out of our bowls.
After an hour of conversation, picking and trying in vain to keep Elizabeth from filling her mouth with raw wheatberries, we stopped. I looked at the large mixing bowl of clean wheat sitting in my lap and at the equally large bowl sitting with Chad.
"Wow! How much more do we have? This is really starting to go quick."
Chad stood up and went to the grain bucket. "Ummm...yeah. We haven't even made a dent."
"What?!" I jumped up and walked over the bucket. Sure enough, it was nearly as full as it was when we started. We called it a day and went inside where I dumped the clean wheatberries into three quart jars and two ziploc bags.
We'll work on the rest another day.
But I have to admit, I liked Grain Zen. It was very...relaxing.
I'm also wondering if we'll end up with wheat growing in our front yard.
4 comments:
i'll bet you have some "surprises" in your lawn... kind of like the area underneath the bird feeder.
thanks for the wheatberries... sprinkle on cottage cheese + fruit? (instead of my usual slivered almonds)
Just make sure you wash, soak overnight and cook them first. :D
Here's one that I bet you and John would enjoy:
http://www.food.com/recipe/spicy-wheatberry-salad-353551
Maybe try folding a sheet in half or thirds? If you can each very easily reach the corners of whatever size you fold it to, maybe you can pull it tighter.
Zannie - We'll give that a try. We also thought a table cloth might work better. We need to figure out how to clean it before I can mill it. :D
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