Tonight is my monthly farm dinner with Lands's Sake Farm in Weston. And for the first time in a while I was struggling to create a menu for the event.

Maybe it's because there is two feet of snow outside and it's four degrees with the windchill. Maybe it's because I'm tired of serving squash and what little root vegetables remain in the cellar. Or maybe I just needed to find some good inspiration.

When the local farm produce is scarce I usually turn to local meats, cheese, jams or jellies. But even that avenue seemed stale to me. I was looking for something different. Not suprisingly I eventually found it on You Tube.

It was a short demo on growing your own sunflower sprouts anytime of the year. A concept that is creative, delicious, healthy and so easy to do that I have no reason not to.

The fact that I found this new avenue to explore is what excites me. Sprouts are good but the idea of growing my own sprouts in winter is great. They will make an excellent garnish to any dish including the cured salmon I intend on serving at the upcoming dinner.

New England is a hard place to live when you want to eat or cook using fresh local ingredients year-round. Sometimes I find I have to step back and assess what that idea means to me. Although everything I am serving might not be grown within a 10 mile radius, I am satisfied that I am doing the best that I can with the resources at hand.

Here is the link to the video that inspired me, and that I hope inspires you as well.