Well, I am part Belgian, after all.

[miladycarol]

When we went to Saturday Market today, we passed a man selling Brussels sprouts. G had never seen them on a stalk before and he asked me what they were. Then he asked me if they were any good. I explained that I have never met a Brussels sprout I liked. I figure, as a vegetarian, I’m allowed to not like a couple of veggies. No one can accuse me of not making an effort to eat my veggies, after all. The vender overheard us and asked why I didn’t like them. When I explained, he offered me a deal. He said he would give me a $3 stalk of fresh, organic Brussels sprouts, the instructions on how to prepare them his favourite way, if I promised to return the next Saturday I was able, to tell him how I liked them.

Have I mentioned how much I love Eugene?!?

I can’t remember the name of the farm, but the man’s name is Pat. He sells the Brussels sprouts, artichokes and a few other veggies on the side street where the corn truck and plants are sold. He is very cool and, if you’re in the market for Brussels sprouts and artichokes, I highly recommend him.

How’d it work for me, you may ask? I heated a bit of olive oil in the skillet, washed and peeled the first layer of leaves from each sprout, then cut them in half. I chopped onion and garlic, and then tossed everything into the oil. I use very little oil, so they were more steamed than stir-fried. I tried one, and then added a bit of ground pepper and Braggs. I served them like that just to see how I liked them and, while I didn’t jump up and down proclaiming my great love for them, I didn’t dislike them at all, either. I think that the next half of the stalk I cook will be done a bit differently. I would like to steam the artichokes in a bit of lemon juice. Then I’ll stir fry the onions, garlic, Braggs, pepper, a bit of wine and some rosemary together, then add the sprouts at the last moment, and serve. I really think they cry out for lemon and rosemary, for some reason.

So, naudiz, while I don’t see myself popping frozen Brussels sprouts in my mouth like popcorn any time soon, I have now eliminated the last of the veggies I knew I didn’t like. Even peas have been raised from a Ten Pea Limit to a Twenty-five Pea Limit, if they are cooked correctly. Dag nabbit, I can’t think of a single vegetarian food I dislike enough not to eat at all (providing it’s cooked appropriately or not at all). Well, there are my food allergies… but that’s them disliking me, not the other way around. Hey… I was happy eating them. They decided to pick the fight, not me. They started it! MOM!!!

Comments

[biomekanic.livejournal.com]

Anything vegetable stir fried with olive oil, onion, garlic, and a little bit of soy saucishness is probably going to taste good, merely by associating with the awesomeness that is fried garlic.
IMO, he's cheating.

[rainbow.livejournal.com]

I don't think I've eaten them but once, as part of an airline meal. You can guess how good they weren't....

And I think I was all of 11, then.

What do they actually taste like? Cabbagey? (I've always assUmed they're brassicas, but I honestly have no idea if that's true...)

[gwyd.livejournal.com]

Yes. Like cabbage only greener tasting and more intense.

Most vegetables taste good fresh and properly cooked. Most taste icky fozen or canned.

[miladycarol.livejournal.com]

When they are overcooked, I remember them tasting like overcooked cabbage. When they are lightly cooked, they have a far sweeter taste with a bit of bitterness toward the end. The texture is fine, the taste is okay. I suspect they would pick up a lot of whatever flavour you cooked with them. They bear more experimenting.

[red-frog.livejournal.com]

They're not my absolute favorite thing ever (mostly because I kept trying to eat them whole as a child and they gagged me) but any vegetable, IMO, can be brushed with olive oil and lightly salted before broiling a bit.

Might have to try this preparation, though.

[miladycarol.livejournal.com]

Hi! *hug* It's good to hear from you!

I should try the broiling method, as well. I tend to default to the pan method because I have this wonderful electric skillet that takes up so much less energy than my big oven. It's always a bit exciting when I realize one of the veggies I hated as a youth actually tastes good when prepared reasonably. But, then again, my life isn't exactly full of thrills and chills, either. *grin*

[red-frog.livejournal.com]

Do you have a toaster oven? I may have to get one for things like this. Broiling doesn't take long, but it would be nice to use less energy, and it's one of my favorite ways of preparing vegetables. Any vegetable, really--root veggies just take longer.

[miladycarol.livejournal.com]

No. No toaster oven. If you could see the amount of kitchen implements I have spread across my limited counter space, you'd understand my hesitancy to acquire yet more. Especially the type that require electricity.

I do take the extra time to broil my eggplant and my capsicums when it's not 90 degrees outside. I rather like them that way. And broiled eggplant makes the best baba ganoush! Mmmmm!

[ame-chan.livejournal.com]

Oh wow. Saturday Market. I <3 Eugene Saturday Market. That was my weekly treat when I lived there. I lived in the old Holt orphanage in Creswell, which at the time I lived there, was a commune and llama farm at the time.

Miss the Saturday Market. Is the berry lemonade lady still there? OMG. Lurved that.

[miladycarol.livejournal.com]

It's an institution. Usually, there are younger college age people working the booth, though.

[lurkitty.livejournal.com]

I adore ze sprouts of Brussels! Lightly steamed (or zapped in a pinch) with butter and black pepper, even. I have to cook them when T isn't home because he says they stink *pout*. I once put an exhausted stalk on the compost heap and it grew....

I have to agree. Nowadays it is no longer a question of me disliking the veggies, but veggies disliking me, sad to say. I mourn the day carrots started their war with me. Ahh, carrots, what did i ever do to you.....

[miladycarol.livejournal.com]

I don't understand warring foods, either. I mean, I grok the leaky gut syndrome, but WHY!?! Can't my body find something better to do? *rolls eyes*

[cathaus.livejournal.com]

I don't think i've ever had them prepared very well - overcooked at Thanksgiving, for example. We always had a small pitcher of wine vinegar to douse them with, which made them palatable. Enough so that I perversely decided that I liked them just because kids were supposed to hate them. Must try this cooking-with-other-tasty-bits thing sometime.

[miladycarol.livejournal.com]

Yeah. This first batch was an experiment. I'm sure I'd like them tossed in with lots of other veggies, as well. But I really just wanted to see if the flavour and texture were as reprehensible as I remembered. Fortunately for them, this was not the case. *smiles*

[indiecowboy.livejournal.com]

I LA-LA-LA-Love Brussel Sprouts!

[miladycarol.livejournal.com]

I always knew you were a phreak. *sly grin and giggle*

[winnett.livejournal.com]

That is cool. What a friendly guy! I like most of those kinds of veggies... and I do just that, I steam them a bit and then fry them with olive oil or butter and garlic and onions. Yummy stuff.