Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Brussels Sprouts and M&Ms

When I was a kid, my parent’s told us that every once in a while, you might find an M&M inside of a brussels sprout. The only way to find one, of course, was to eat all of your brussels sprouts. Now I know what you’re thinking – didn’t you catch on after a while when these elusive candies never appeared? Ah, but my parents were tricky. Just often enough to keep us hooked, they would slip an M&M on to our plate and exclaim “Look! One of them must have fallen out!”. I eventually wised up and caught on to their scheme, but I never really cared for brussels sprouts – as a kid or an adult, candy or no candy.

Then last year, a stalk of them arrives in our Angelic Organics box. First off – a stalk?!? I honestly never knew how they grew; it was a revelation. My next thought – brussels sprouts, great... what am I going to do with these? But, I did some research and experimenting and found out that I actually really like them when they’re roasted. They become a completely different beast – sweet and caramely without a hint of the funk that the raw (or for that matter, canned) ones have.

When I saw these at the Green City Farmer’s market today, I couldn’t pass them up. Iron Creek Farms was also selling them in convenient pints, already cleaned and off the stalk – but what fun would that be? Now is the time to enjoy them while they’re in season. Of course you can find them all year round in the grocery store, but they don’t look like this!

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

they look like palm trees!

macati said...

oh I was surprised too... I thought that they were like other cabbages but smaller... loved your parents' scheme! clever
:)
manela

the fruitfemme said...

That picture is brilliant! Almost as brilliant as your parents!--the fruitfemme

Victoria said...

They are beautiful! I had no idea that they grew that way.

Judy Merrill-Smith said...

Try dipping your sprouts in balsamic vinegar -- yum! My eight year-old will even eat them that way.

Diana K said...

This is so timely! We had NO idea that brussels sprouts grew on stalks until we moved out here to San Francisco - they sell 'em like that at the produce market down the street. It's like a wielding a giant medieval club (which is awesome). Very tasty roasted - we had them for Christmas dinner last year.

Katherine Gray said...

I'm so glad you posted this because I might not have recognized the brussel sprouts at the farm this weekend! I'm steaming and freezing about half. I'm hoping their curious look will intrigue my four-year-old.

Anonymous said...

nice legs...

Ted Smitts said...

You must soak them very well in salted water, it will kill any pests. Cut them off the stalk, and score an "X" in the bottom, then let them soak in warm water salty as the sea.