Delicious veggie shots taken at our local Market District grocery store just this afternoon.
True confession time. I like the idea of vegetables much more than I actually like the real thing.
Don’t get me wrong, there are so many that I like…spinach, broccoli, lettuces, peppers, asparagus, beans, peas, squash, cauliflower, tomatoes (don’t start with your fruit talk), etc, etc. But I have spent much of the past, oh, DECADE, in a veggie rut. I buy the same ones over and over and I prepare them exactly the same way, time and time again.
I’m bored. Bored to tears with veggies. The vicious cycle must stop.
I am on a mission to eat more veggies. To teach my daughter to love them. To help my husband look forward to them instead of seeing them as the blasted things that take up plate where more meat could be.
A few years ago, I bought this awesome book called World’s Healthiest Foods. It covers all the most nutrient-rich (but still readily accessible) foods on the planet, and most of them are veggies. It truly is one of my favorite books in our collection. Each weekend, I’ll be using that book, some Google searches, the humor and wisdom of good friends and faithful readers, and my own trial and error experiments to bring you Adventures in Veggies.
At the end of each post, I’ll ask for your insight, stories and simple recipes on the next week’s vegetable I’ll cover. Hope you’ll chime in to help. With that in mind, friends, tell me all about:
BRUSSEL SPROUTS!
Their gross!!!
Liam can’t get enough of these. We just had some leftovers for lunch and they were even better today than last night. Brown some bacon, just a piece or two, (we used 365 from Whole Foods),in skillet. I like cast iron so you can get those good chunky bits going and not ruin your pan. Add in some shallots chopped or diced. No shallots? Use onion and garlic. Brown some more. Dump in your brussel sprouts, 1/2 cup of broth. Cover and simmer until sprouts are done. Course salt and pepper. Second day it all mellows and blends. Just a little bacon for flavor. Keep it healthy.
Okay, Tink, I’m trying this tomorrow night for dinner. You can’t go wrong with bacon, right?
This is all a true story… I promise! So, these green vege’s have been one of my favorite vege’s since I was a toddler! My mother loves to tell the stories of me and “hulk-heads!” I begged for them. She would tell you I would prefer these to a candy bar at the store. (I won’t deny that I was odd when it came to food– I also used to eat lettuce by the head– plain!) Once we were at the grocery store and I caught a frozen package of these from the corner of my eye in the freezer section. I threw a major tantrum when my mother would not buy them. I was crying “I want brussel sprouts!” all through the store. At some point, the manager approached my mom and said “Is she crying for what I think she is crying for?” My mother responded with “Yes- she loves brussel sprouts.” He then handed us a couple frozen packages with a note and said “these are on me– I hate them and you couldn’t pay me to eat them!”
My favorite recipes are simple: 1– steam them and serve with sea salt and a little butter or 2–grill them in olive oil with some fresh herbs. YUM!
Did you continue with your adventures in veggies? I recent, inspired trip to the grocery start spark this same idea. I am wondering if you stuck with it and how it went. Any lessons learned?