God, I love brussels sprouts (and I always thought it was brussel sprouts). This is odd considering I am a person who can count with one hand the foods I don’t especially care for, and they use to be on the countdown. That all changed about a year ago.
I was making a special dinner for my partner’s birthday and I had planned on a side dish of Cheesy Baked Artichokes from The South Beach Diet Cookbook (yes, I confess to spending some time at the beach to drop a little Christmas weight). I couldn’t find frozen artichoke hearts at Kowalski’s grocery store, but the brussels sprouts called out to me…they seemed special, worthy of a birthday dinner.
This recipe called for squeezed lemon, ground pecans and Parmesan cheese on top and bake at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes. Heaven! I continued the love affair, often times just tossing the little green balls with olive oil and broiling them on high for about 10 minutes forming a pleasing crunch as you bite in.
So what the hell…I thought I would give growing them in the garden a shot last summer. I tell you, they take up a fair amount of space in the plot, but the waxy blue/green leaves are so pleasing to the eye, I would consider mixing them into the perennial border next year. I cut off the tops and used them as cut flowers at the Thanksgiving table. They need a good frost before they are ready in the fall.
Hail the sprout!
