B is for Brussels Sprouts- And an Anipals “A to Z” Addition!

B is for Brussels Sprouts, or “BS”, one of my favorite vegetables EVER! (Although you’d be hard pressed to find a vegetable I don’t like.) Now, now, before you go off complaining and whining about how gross they are, just hear me out.

BS on vines of stalks at a Farmer’s Market:


The sprouts are from the same family as cabbage, so they definitely have a yucky, smelly flavor if not cooked correctly. I’m going to sound like Alton Brown here (shame on you if you don’t know who he is!), but the biggest reason why people don’t like BS is because they are not prepared correctly. Whatever you do, DO NOT OVERCOOK THEM.

Glucosinolate sinigrin has a sulfurous odor, and that is what gives the poor sprouts that nasty, farty odor. Gross. That farty smell is usually the reason why people say they don’t like the poor green buds. I assume they believe it will taste farty if it smells farty. Moms all over try to hide the fartiness by drenching the poor perfect sprouts in cheese sauce, melted butter, and what not, and I say to them, “Leave my BS alone!”

I believe boiling or steaming the buds can accidentally overcook them if you’re not careful. Many people don’t take the time to cut an “x” in the center of the stem, which allows for the center leaves to reach a high temperature faster and ensure each bud cooks evenly throughout. If you don’t cut that “x” in the center stem, you’ll continue cooking them, and cooking them, and cooking them….waiting and waiting until the middle is cooked. That takes too long and leads to the aforementioned fartiness. Beware!

BS are sprout buds that actually grow on a stalk, but we usually see just the buds at our grocery stores.


If you can, buy them on the stalk. Amazing flavor! My favorite way to have them is roasted. I make sure to pick out similar sized buds for even cooking, peel off the top 2 or 3 leaves, slice a sliver off the stems, cut an “x” into them, and toss them in a large bowl with good olive oil, kosher salt and pepper. You just want a very, very light coating of olive oil on the buds.

(Hint: If you take the time to toss vegetables with the oil in a bowl first before roasting, you will use waaaay less oil than if you were to try to toss them together on the roasting pan itself. Less oil = less calories. :-)

I roast them at 400 degrees for about 20 to 25 minutes, or longer if they are larger buds, and then serve them in a bowl for snacking or as a side dish. When they’re first out of the oven, they are sooooooooooooooooo good!!!! Crispy and slightly salty on the outside, and tender and juicy on the inside. OH MY GOD. I love them this way.


When I cook them for a dinner, I always make about 10 extra because I’ll eat those before the dish ever hits the dinner table for our guests. The outer leaves will roast heavily, so if you don’t like them that way, just peel back the browned outer leaves. There is still yummy goodness on the inside!



Ed gets all worked up when I serve up a bowl of my roasted BS at our little gatherings. He says no one likes BS and no one will eat them. I’m happy to report that I have never, ever had anyone complain about my roasted BS. Except Ed, but hell, he married me so he has to put up with my BS for life! (Bwuhahaha!) By the end the bowls of BS are always empty. Try them this way and let me know what you think!

Anipals on the letter "B"

Hello there Blogistan! Woof, woof, wag, wag!!!....Milo, Laverne & Shirley here. (And Captain Morgan too!) We would like to offer our "fur and feathered" version of favorite foods, from A to Z!

We asked our Mumma if we could participate in A to Z Mondays along with everyone else. It is about our favorite theme. FOOD! Mumma replied, “I don’t know, we’ll have to see how Jen feels about it.” Well, Auntie Jen, how do you feel about it? Prrrrrease!!!???

We missed letter “A” and that would have been perfect for one of our favorite snacks, apples! But, Mumma said we could cover it somewhere else. We dunno what she means about dat, but dat Mumma of ours, she knows like a gazillion languages, so we thinks she will help us write about delicious apples in a "foreign" tongue. Whoa!

This week, B is for Bananas. (We like Mumma’s Brussels Sprouts just fine, but we prefer a banana for a snack.)

Laverne & Shirley: “Sometimes we wake up our Mumma before dawn for one of our delicious ‘naners. We simply can’t wait! “

Shirley: “Yup, yup, my sista Laverne tells me to climb up on Mumma’s bed and “comb” her hair ever so gently with my paws. Sometimes I'm not so gentle cuz me is very excited, and Mumma gets upset because I “scratch” her and it hurt, but she ruvs me and wakes up anyway.”

Milo: “Uhhh, my little sistas are a wee bit nutty. They have yet to appreciate the art of sleeping in late. I much prefer my ‘naners after my evening walk. Thank you.”

Laverne: “Mumma says something called “potassium” in the ‘naners is good for our tummy and our muscles, especially after she and Papa give us our daily exercises. And it has made my waistline come in ever so nicely!”

Captain Morgan: “Harumph. Hello world. I am grumpy. I’m with my Papa, don’t like dem Brussels Sprouts. Yuck. And I never get enough bananas. A little slice while the fat Golden beasts of the house hoard the rest for themselves. I want a whole banana to myself. Someone get dat message to dat Mumma lady. That’s all I have to say about dat.”

Yay for Bananas!

Until next week Blogistan….all our ruv and kisses to you and yours.
XOXO
Milo, Laverne & Shirley.
And Captain Morgan (I am a grump, I want my own signature line) too.

____________________________________________________________
Thanks for tuning in to the human and anipal versions of letter “B” today. For more A to Z Mondays, check out Jen’s blog at http://unglazed.blogspot.com/ to see what other Blogistanis are doing with “B”!

Ta ta for now. :-)