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03/25/11
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October 21, 2011
Humorist Dave Barry masking his real fear with a little humor:
“We kids feared many things in those days — werewolves, dentists, North Koreans, Sunday School — but they all paled in comparison with Brussels sprouts.”
More feared than even the turnip.
Or the cauliflower.
Just the memory of it permeating through the house, and the neighborhood — if even a window was open a smidge — is enough to cause nightmares.
No, they are not cuddly looking.
More like an extremely shriveled cabbage, which is not unusual, since they are the same species that includes cabbage, collard greens, broccoli, kale, and kohlrabi.
They are cruciferous, which means they are a specific family of vegetables known as ‘Super Vegetables’ because of the amount of vitamins and minerals that they contain.
Like vitamin A, vitamin C, folic acid and dietary fiber.
You just have to eat them.
Brussels sprouts, as we know them now, were grown as early as the 13th century, and spread into most of Europe.
Truth is, if they're done right, steamed in a little butter, okay a lot of butter, or roasted, they're quite good.
However, it must be reported that tales are told of an amazing Brussels sprout recipe from the Momofuku restaurant in NYC — so amazing, in fact, they were removed from the menu, simply because every table ordered them and there would be a mass panic if they ran out.
This story may be apocryphal, but I reprint the original recipe.
You'll let me know how it turns out.
Ahhh, this takes me back to the late 70s. Every month when the rent was due, my husband, child an...
Oct. 21, 2011 12:51 AM
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Good. Right off the bat, this being World Series time, we can get right to the favorite topic of the Village -- food.
No need to be afraid of that.
Ahhh, this takes me back to the late 70s. Every month when the rent was due, my husband, child and I would hop in the car and drive up the coast to pay the rent in person to the landlord and his wife, John and Olga Colombini, who lived and farmed right on the coast with a beautiful view overlooking the Pacific Ocean. They grew Brussels sprouts and artichokes.... and always, with great ceremony, gave us a couple of stalks of sprouts. We'd hand them a check, they'd give us the sprouts, thank them and be on our way. Once home, we'd wonder what to do with them and then try to find someone else to give them to. I don't know why, but they never gave us artichokes. Those we would have gobbled up.
more on the honor rollI'm happy to say that my tastes have matured and I really like Brussels sprouts now. I saute them, either shredded like cabbage or cut in half, with fresh garlic in olive oil. Simple...either way is delicious. I've also roasted in the oven with lemon juice and garlic.
Hmmm, I do a cauliflower soup,with carrots,and chicken stock- - steaming the cauliflower and carrots intill soft enough to fork mash, and then adding saltless canned chicken stock (for lazy me), bring to simmer,use that grinder thingy that you put in a soup pot, (or any blender/grinder thing you have access to)and season ... wonder if the same technique would work sprouts...sure it would! and then add 'shrooms! and maybe 3day old sourdough (baked into croutons)....cheese? optional! cheese is always optional (heck, I 'd have cheese with my skittles)
I love Brussel sprouts, but only if steamed lightly and dripping in butter, it seems. This defeats the purpose of eating a vegetable, which would otherwise be 'good for you,' but I have been known to hog an entire bowl of Brussels sprouts, lightly steamed, dripping in butter, sprinkled with a fragile coating of mint. If the mint is fresh and is permitted to accompany the sprouts as they steam, the flavour permeates their tough little shells, such that their resistance to accepting a flavour not their own is vanquished, until they become pliable and tasty miniature cabbages. Even better to add Summer Savory. No one seems to add either mint or Summer Savory to much of anything, I've noticed.
Does anyone have a good brussel sprouts receipe?
I always thought that brussels sprouts were letteuce or cabbage for elves and Barbie dolls.
AMGunn: Glad to see you ... You can have my entire share, Lifetime, of Brussel Sprouts ...
I love Cabbage, any way it comes, but Sprouts taste to me like the smell of the old yellow Celophane that used to be hung up in Store Windows as a Sun shade, to stop the Display Clothes from Fading ... First thing one could smell walking in the Stores, except for Woolworths ... that always smell'd like freshly made Popcorn and warm Milk Chocolate ... but, that was back in the late 40's and early 50's ... Only one as old as I would possibly be able to understand what I am talking about ... People who cannot remember when there was not a PC in every home, can't even conceptualize the acrid stench of dried out Celophane ...
The description Given up Top is not quite accurate, well intention'd as I know it is ....... It is not mention'd that Cauliflower IS actually, a Flower ... NOT a Vegetable, but safely edible, Nutritious, and inexpensive(Great with White Cheddar Cheese Sauce and a lite spritz of Lime juice)
There is an amazing number of Flowers, that are completely, safely edible, including every thing on a Rose Bush, except the Roots ... Rose Petals in Barley, boil'd in Chicken Broth, with bite-size chunks of Roast Lamb ... is a marvelous Dinner-Time Nosh, especially accompanied by a Dark Rose', chunks of Acedero, and either Rye Krisp or Bagel Chips ...
Off to Bed Now .......
Y'all have a Good Morning !!!
Jalopkin-You should have been a food critic or resturant reviewer.
Good morning kids! I love when you talk about food..................it gets me all...............excited & hungry for more............... I do enjoy brussel sprouts.........
JULIA...............I want to become a cannoliatarian..............................mmmmmmmmm............
JANE................what a nice image I have of you driving along the PCH................must bring back great memories..................did you ever see The Ides of March?
When I shop for vegetables, Brussels sprouts are just one of those things that are off my radar. To me, they're "okay", nothing to get excited about. There are enough other veggies out there that are above "okay", things the kids and I actually enjoy. Salad nights in this home are a grand affair with somewhere between 10 and 15 ingredients in the mix, so I have no worries about us getting our roughage and vitamins, no Brussels sprouts required. They sure do have interesting-looking flowers according to that picture up there, though.
AMGunn ~ Me too, I always loved them. But the funny thing is, being a city girl, I was shocked when I saw them at the Farmer's Market and realized that they grew on stalks! Whatever was I thinking? That they came in that Green Giant box in the freezer? I like them cut in half and roasted, but mostly, just cooked in a little water, add butter and salt when they're done.
No holiday meal was complete without Brussels Sprouts. The fact that only my father liked them "they look like little cabbages" was irrelevant. To the rest of us they tasted like little nasty little sawdust balls dripping in b utter. When my Dad died in 2002 the first holiday meal without him was Thanksgiving. Shopping for the feast I found myself unable to skip the Brussels Sprouts. Imagine my surprise when 3 other people showed up carrying Brussels Sprouts!
Since then we have learned to love them. My favorite is roasted in a hot oven with onions & garlic, but shredded and sauteed with cumin and tomatoes is always a hit. Split in half and steamed is reliable but split in half with some salt and butter and microwaved for 5 minutes is also delicious. Creamed Brussels Srpouts--delicious especially with some zing in the sauce like tabasco.
Biggest surprise about Brussels Sprouts...roasted and then combined with chicken stock and pureed. Add heavy cream & seasonings & OH yeah!
HAZEL--Welcome back!! Hope today is the day!!!!
AMGunn--Welcome to the Village.
The stalks of smaller than I had ever seen Brussels sprouts at the Union Square Farmer's Market were a surprise to me too.
Our mom bartered her canned tomatoes for local ones, split them, steamed them and browned the cut side in butter and reduced chicken stock. They were very tender and tasty.
The Beauty's late mother steamed a whole head of cauliflower and poured butter-browned cracker crumbs over it. Looked pretty and tasted terrific.
A funny chill came over me when, talking to somebody I had not known to be failing, he mentioned: "Their cole slaw isn't what it used to be… they must be cooking it differently."
A smart, thoughtful and distinguished man, he was on the slippery slope into what was at that time not yet widely known as Alzheimers.
Long after he recognized no one, he would stroke the silky ears of our Gordon setter in his lap for almost an hour while listening to recorded sounds of kids playing in the schoolyard near his long time home.
People would comment that they wanted to know what was going on in his mind. I, watching his expressionless face, would have been scared to.
The bitterness is a turn off for some and amazingly people tend to form a lifelong opinion based on a single childhood experience. Brussel Sprouts are tremendous with cheddar cheese with or without bacon but as I have discovered lemon is almost the perfect way to enhance the bottom line taste experience without what essentially is a dilution to disguise. I started out with broccoli that way, too. First with cheese and then now just steamed with a squeeze of lemon. Fresh & crisp and more expansive including fish dishes. Also the beauty of garlic to enhance most every dish is yet another option.
Brussels sprouts = pigmy cabbages.....
Bert ~ cute
Cooking brussel sprouts gives me an excuse to light all those scented candles that, for some reason, I keep buying and never using.
Growing up in a family that came from large families preparing filling meals and new to the country, trying very hard to make ends meet, I was not familiar with the more exotic vegetables: brussell sprouts being one. I knew about things that went in chicken soup: celery, carrots, onions; I knew about potatoes (mashed mostly -- though my mother did do this thing where she cooked the potatoes and carrots together and mashed them together -- it was good), tomatoes and sometimes, lettuce. Corn was from a can, as were string beans. I didn't know about other beans or this thing called chili until I began to read cookbooks and putting things together. I found that though I hated lima beans unless they're very tiny, I do like so many of the other kinds that I didn't evem know existed. I do remember shelling peas though.
I didn't learn about the delight and wonder of fresh (sometimes frozen) vegetables until I was an adult and experimenting with cooking on my own My mother thought that made me "gourmet" and would chuckle with tolerance about it.
Back to the subject at hand -- I could, and have at times, cooked a whole box of brussel sprouts and had them for lunch. I've occasionally toyed with being a vegetarian, but sometimes you just want a cheeseburger or steak and I don't want to put myself in that box.
And so Dave Barry, as much as I like you and as funny as you are, I simply can't agree (but yes, my husband definitely would....sadly if it doesn't have ketchup on it, he's not happy).
I know, you'd think this place were a national landmark as often as it comes up but until now, I hadn't known that their delicious Brussels sprouts are braised in beer.
http://www.thecometcafe.com/COMETmenus.html
The beet and spinach salad is good too.
Andy ~
One of my older brothers ate plain rice with ketchup… still does.
My bride loves brussel sprouts meaning we "enjoy" (her words) them once a week on bad months. Every now and again, she'll fancy 'em up by coring a small hole and packing in a garlic clove (quartered lengthwise) slather it in butter,sea salt and fresh pepper, then wrap it in bacon held together with a toothpick. Bake at 400° until bacon is crispy. You then have two choices:
1. Eat the brussel sprouts (actually quite good).
2. Chuck the sprouts and eat the bacon.
When I was getting acquainted with my in-laws way back when, my mother in law introduced me to fresh turnips. I mean the big ole honkin hard as a rock "fresh" kind. I asked if I could help in any way and she handed me a bowl of turnips as big as a softball and a dull knife, barely suitable for slicing butter and duller than an unsharpened pencil. I recognized immediately, say, halfway around the first turnip, that this was a challenge from maw-in-law to future SIL. I peeled all eleven of those fresh chunks of granite. I swear, my knuckles were raw and wrists sore, the knife I was using looked like Andy Dufresne's well worn rock hammer post escape.
I hate turnips to this day.
Good morning, everyone. Timely discussion. I happen to have a pound of Brussels sprouts in the fridge. Yesterday I confessed to being a vegan, which leaves all dairy produce off my menu, including butter. However, to add to the horror I confess to using zero added fat in cooking.
Dr. Dean Ornish has a pretty interesting recipe for Brussels sprouts. He boils them in water, and then pours maple syrup over them, and seasons with salt and pepper. He claims the recipe is elegant. (I think he must have some English ancestry in him, as they either boil everything to death in salt water, or whatever doesn't need cooking or is leftover goes between two slices of bread and is called a sandwich.)
My favorite cookbook author is Jack Bishop. I am especially a fan of his Pasta e Verdura cookbook which goes to show that you can make pasta sauce out of anything, starting with artichokes and ending with zucchini (and the recipes are listed alphabetically by vegetable).
His Brussels Sprouts sauce calls for shredded Brussels sprouts, with orange and almonds. I ignore the olive oil for frying and fry instead in water (white wine works, too--a substitute would be apple juice--as well as bouillon cubes).
He first blanches the sprouts and then slices them. Next, he sautes the onion, adds a teaspoon of grated orange zest, the shredded sprouts, salt and pepper, and 1/4 to 1/2 cup of orange juice. Add sliced almonds, preferably browned in a dry skillet, and toss with hot pasta--his choice fusilli or other short, curly shape.
When I buy oranges, I peel them with a potato peeler, bag the strips and freeze them. That way I always have orange (and also lemon and lime) zest on hand--I generally snip the frozen strips with a pair of kitchen shears. I also freeze the juice in an ice cub tray and then transfer the cubes to a freezer bag. It should be obvious that I am cooking for one or two only.
It was a character building event.
Why are they "Brussel's" sprouts?? Was that where they originated?
I love them and always have...just steamed, not overcooked (they get too mushy and slimey), but still al dente, and with a little onion and butter. Good and good for you!
It has been pointed out that arroz con salsa de tomate is not plain rice.Well, okay.
VeraM ~ potato peeler for oranges! Great idea. I've been having so much trouble starting them, especially navel oranges -- great idea. I'll give it a try. And, those saved peels.....great to put in drinks ? or do they change in texture?
More sprouts, Vicar?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sjo01l_fksU
Momofuku for some reason
just piqued my curiosity. I'll provide a brief summary of my findings so y'all
can stay in the recipe zone. Momofuku Ando is the inventor of instant noodles.
I would have guessed Lipton. Born in Taiwan, moved to Japan. Momofuku is a
Japanese reading of his Chinese name Wu Pai-fu, The restaurant is partly his
namesake but it is the brainchild of an American chef of Korean descent, David
Chang. According to ChefChang Momofuku means Lucky Peach.
I found nothing regarding the proper pronunciation. I would expect
that would not have been an issue for Richard Pryor and that Foster Brooks would
have given it a rendering all his own.
Brussel Sprouts - I absolutely adore them but that mess above looks like it has already be eaten and not settled well!!
Ivan - I beg to differ but I think I am older than you. Old yellow cellophane! I had sort of forgotten about that but you brought it all back. So long ago but an interesting time. Thanks for the memories.
Have gotten "used" to brussel sprouts. They're good for you soI'll try every way of cooking them I can find. Next try will be with apple cider and hazel nuts.
Love the dear Vicar, Paolos. Did you know the program was taken from a real person? She was one of the first women ordained in the Anglican Church of Great Britian. Bet Hazel could tell us more. Can't wait till she is back.
I have read with interest all of the proposals for making brussel sprouts
palatable. So far my money is on Dr. Dean Ornish. You could smother just about
anything in maple syrup and it would please my tastebuds. No wonder he is both Doctor and Dean.
Rusty ~ One of my favorite episodes was the chocolate fountain. Earlier
this week I overheard our office manager talking about the chocolate fountain at
the local Golden Corral. I emailed her the link to a video of that episode and
just sat back and waited for the howls of uncontrollable laughter to reach my
ears. It did not take long.
HHHHHAAAAAZZZZZEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL...........
GIRAFFE: Smells/Scents are the thing that affects humans most, on matters of Recognition and Memory ... A Good thing, else we'd never had a Population Explosion ...
You too are Bless'd with a Great Memory !!! You are the first person, in a long time, that remembers the Celophane, and that unmistakable, singular smell ... always heighten'd when the Sun was out and blasting thru the windows .......
Glad to know that I am not the only Dinosaur in the Village ... Be 74 in November, working toward another fifty-six years .......
JULIA: One of my first ventures after Retirement was Publishing a Tabloid, aim'd at a specific Market ... I did do, all the Restaurant and Bar Reviews ... A Well Known Slick Publication offer'd me a job, and when I declined, they offer'd to buy my little Rag ... As it was a whole lot more work than I had envisioned, and their Offer was quite handsome, I sold it to them ... and moved on to other things ... The thing I liked best about doing it was, that once in a while I would get a Good Meal, without having to cook it myself ... or do the dishes ... Anymore, in my house, the phrase, "Load the Diswasher" means getting the Maid Drunk .......
My favorite way to fix Brussel Sprouts is simmer them very slowly inolive oil and a pinch or two of garlic then when serving sprinkle with a bit of balsamic vinegar. A decent merlot or other good red is needed in order to stand up to the strong taste. ( A decent merlot is needed and enjoyed almost anytime with or without food.)This is a good day to be talking about food. My wife is in the midst of fixing squash soup using both an acorn and a butternut squash. they grow in the local area and make an excellent fall soup, rich ,creamy and very tasty. A good compliment is a good unoaked chardonnay.
O maligned sprout! May today's mouth-watering post open minds to you.
Like others in The Neighborhood, I can eat a bowl of them all by myself, and often do. (fine thing as, in that, I'm alone in our house). Butter, some days a bit of lemon juice.
Open, though, to new ways to present them, I shall surely use Stoney's suggestions. And his mother's tomatoes (do you make scalloped tomatoes, Stoney? More people request that recipe than any other I have. Must confess JP's recipe for sprouts doesn't appeal on paper; maybe it improves in the fixing.
Fresh sprouts are best, but steam-in-the-microwave ones are good, too -- especially for us who eat them alone.
Aslant, a bit, of today's topic, but not altogether -- I first used the following with artichoke hearts, but it is tasty with Brussels sprouts, as well: Mix chicken stock or broth, lemon juice (to taste) in saucepan, add black pepper; add hearts or sprouts and cook briefly.
On the subject of food, and an excellent subject on any day , this weekend Seattle is having the Northwest Chocolate Festival. Would go but have other plans.
Giraffe -don't know you age but I am older than Ivan so there a at least three of us that can remember when the world was flat.
rw- When I worked your town, I have such fond memories of the Farmer's Market and fresh everything including walking around with a fresh apple and contemplating what regional wine to have with dinner. I bought a unique bolo tie there that I still wear on special occasions. Taking off and seeing those mountains peaks poking up through the low hanging clouds are memories I shan't forget.
Thank you all for your welcomes! How nice!
I must add two things: One, JALOPKIN, I do indeed know what cellophane, both old _and_ new, smells like... yes, I be fairly old, certainly old enough to have direct experience of cellophane ;-) and two, I don't know of any recipes for Brussels sprouts, because I think that, up till now, civilization has (mostly) been in denial that they are in any way "food", or edible, for that matter. So there's a dearth of relevant material on Brussels sprouts, although I'm sure that postmodern chefs are busy coming up with all sorts of recipes incorporating the little cabbage-wannabes.
If you have a lot of spare time on your hands, as I do, you will be able to peruse this page on Wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brussels_sprout
To learn everything Wiki knows about the little cabbage-cultivar (a word I need moments such as this to use).
rwh1: That explains a lot ....... Glad I am not the only Old Timer in the place ...
and rw ... the world is STILL Flat ... So says the Fellow Who created the place, and I Trust Him no matter what "Science" says .......
I'm taking notes on all of these ways to prepare the little B. sprouts! Thanks for the variety! No syrup, thanks anyway, but the others sound promising. Onions and garlic, olive oil and roasting will be tried for sure. Love these foodie topics!
Ivan ~ We were just lamenting the loss of the 5 & 10 Cents Store; Woolworths. The last one we knew of was located in a strip mall not far from here. When my kids were young, the biggest treat was to eat lunch at Woolworth's counter. Just before they closed, our grandchildren were old enough to appreciate it and they too would think it was so cool to sit at the Woolworth's counter and eat lunch.
...............and yes! Cellophane -- crackling, yellowing cellophane.
I must really be getting old to be nostaligic for cellophane :)
rwh1 ~ speaking of festivals and I know it is too far for you to just hop on a bike and pedal, Taste of Atlanta is this weekend. Eighty restaurants showing off their best stuff. Tiny boiled cabbages soaked in maple syrup and much, much more. Anyone within the sound of my voice is more than welcome. HHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAZZZZZZZZZZEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLL
ANDY, IVAN, RWH1, AMGUNN ~ THE SCENT OF CELLOPHANE MEANS NOTHING TO ME. THANK YOU ALL. I FEEL YOUNG AGAIN.
Andy - Not old - NEVER! Mature perhaps, a bit older. Never ancient!!
I do feel a bit ancient as I broke my foot a few days ago and everything aches and minor to what you have just been through. I salute you!!
IVAN - I am 7 months older than you are. Who is actually the oldest Dinosaur in The Village or will anyone really confess.
No IVAN - my mistake - I am a year and 7 months older than you. You are a young thing!
MISS GIRAFFE, I CERTAINLY DIDN'T MEAN TO EXCLUDE YOU FROM MY THANKS. I SHOULD ALSO THANK STONEY, APROPOS OF EVERYTHING HE REMEMBERS.
O bruselsprout
velut luna
statu variabilis,
semper crescis
aut decrescis;
vita detestabilis
nunc obdurat
et tunc curat
ludo mentis aciem,
egestatem,
potestatem
dissolvit ut butyrum.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFxMvABmIYg
I love these sprouts, little cabbages is what they're called in this house. I don't do anything but cook them in a little water, then drown them in butter, and that's all. Unlike Dave Barry, who I love, I liked most all vegetables as a kid, except for carrots. I developed the kid-ability to summon my gag reflex and get that "I'm going to throw up now Mom!" look on my face when the good for me carrot was placed on my plate...but brussel sprouts were okay, brocolli, green or yellow beans (but not those lima faux bean things uh uh) -- all fine with me. Also rutabaga, that my mom smashed up and mixed with mashed potatoes. Good stuff. ..........So how about I'll trade you any of my future carrots for any brussel sprout hater's little cabbages - deal? Sounds like IVAN would be a taker...
I LOVE the little suckers!! My husband goes into convulsions at the thought of them. I roasted them with chopped bacon, some fresh dill, and finished them with a little balsamic and maple syrup...took a perfectly healthful veggie and made it fatty...anyway, he reluctantly ate them, pronounced them "okay", but said he probably wouldn't eat them again....try it, it's a great veggie side for Thanksgiving for all who like the teeny weeny cabbages.
Andy: I have old albums somewhere (probably basement) that have photos and poems and dead and crumbling long stem roses all stuck onto the pages with cellophane tape. And it's yellow and cracking, but it's still sticking - sort of like that ? watch, takes a licking and keeps on ticking...what kind of watch was that? My daughter says I should go through these journals and scrapbooks and make them pretty again meaning get rid of the tape among other things -- but I don't want to. It's not lack of interest, or laziness, I like them the way they are, yellowed cracking cellophane tape and all. ....... Also: those little corner "tabs" for lack of a better name: the kind that held the old photographs, you slipped each corner of the picture into a little pointy "tab" and that held it to the album page...do they even make those nowadays? ...........All of that old stuff , the tape, the picture "corners" the old funny handwriting and printing in pen and in longhand -- is part of the albums' charms to me, and to "modernize" them would be to take away their hearts and souls. .... Or maybe it's my heart and soul that would be lost or rent. Old softie....
And Taste of (tinier yet) Augusta happens as I write.
Andy, we lost our Woolworth's with its lunch counter, too. Kress' had already gone. Articles in the local newspaper told of people who had eaten lunch therein for fifty yewrs, twenty-five years, and so on. Very sad. Three women annd two men cried in the interview. Gone with the proverbial wind are they. WHere are we?
Park4, I grew up loving vegetables, too; so plentiful and fresh were they, we often had 6-7 for supper, and nothing else, depending upon what ladies with wide straw baskets on their heads brought around the neighborhood in offer.
A picky eater, I never appreciated tomatoes -- good as I now know they were -- 'til I was grown, and would eat them only with SUGAR on them. Parents will do anything.... I agree withy you about horrid big lima beans, especially those known as Fort Hood or Hook is it? but baby butterbeans, especially fresh, are another story. Cook very little, add butter (never fake butter or margarine). No resemblance to lima beans at all at all. And carrots I love, raw or cooked. Have you cooked them 'til still crisp, and added butter? Recently found "Parisian Carrots," friozen, in Fresh Market, a first for me. Tiny and delicate, they win recommendation from me.
Look where we got to, from Brussels sprouts. Mr. P, are you bored yet?
smilesforever: hello, and nice to meet you. Your last post: I have tried serving them at Thanksgiving and they sit there, untouched, unloved, embarassed (I'm guessing) to be the only vegetable on the table that nobody wants. For years I have tried to serve little cabbages and I keep doing it out of pure stubbornness but with the same results. This year I might just give up. To my dismay, it seems I raised a daughter who's raising a husband and 3 children all of whom cannot abide the poor little cabbage.
MISS PARK4: Right You Are !!! I'll take that Trade anyday !!! I love Carrots, especially when they are in Carrot Cake, with Sour Cream & Cream Cheese Icing !!!
TG: The whole secret, is to keep getting Older, without ever getting, OLD ... It All Starts with Attitude ... No one gets "Old" until they start patting him in the face with a shovel ...
You are most welcome to the Senior Accolade ... With My Greatest Respects ... In My Family, in My Tribe ... even a Day makes a difference/defference .......
ANDY: " I Found a Million Dollar Baby, at The Five and Ten Cent Store " ... Remember that Tuen ??? Back in the days when Woolworths, Ben Franklin Stores, Wackers, The Dime Store, and all the little, Local Mom n' Pop Variety Stores had Candy Counters and Soda Fountains, and Lunch Counters ... The Original Blue Plate Special was Meatloaf, Mash'd Taters, and Blue Lake Green Beans ... Cost a Quarter ... Best Hamburger in the world was 15 Cents ... and a BIG Plate of French Fries ladled with Sausage Gravy was a whole Nickel, and if a little indigestion occurred, 2Cents Plain would fix a Body up in a heartbeat ...
Not Old Andy ... just appreciative, and dutiful in remembering .......
Ahhhh Sprouts, they are almost impossible to find fresh around here. I usually see them in the freezer aisle. Last summer there was a stall at our gardener's market that was selling them and I picked up 2 stalks and tried the recipe in this video...
http://youtu.be/4GokR2C9wy0
(it is at about the 13 minute mark if I remember correctly)
I have to back up a little bit here...I had never had brussel sprouts before I lived in Ireland about 12 years ago, my mother didn't like them so she never prepared them and tried to force us to eat them. I loved the ones I had in Ireland. When I told my husband that I liked sprouts he nearly choked and then went on a long rant about the pure evilness lurking inside those innocent mini cabbages.
So I took care to bring these home while he was still at work, and got them cleaned and prepared before he made it home (I added fresh shaved parm cheese on top). He ate almost an entire pan and told me I should make some more...before I told him what they were...then he complained that I tricked him into eating something "disgusting". I just smiled and apologized if I had mislead him and let it drop. Sure enough about a month later he was asking for that "bacon brussel sprout salad" again.
Cover it in bacon and cheese and Sir Boyscout will eat just about anything.
It is that time again .......
I Wish Each and Every One in This Village, Newbies included ... a Great and Marvelously Satisfying Weekend !!!
Enjoy Family & Friends, Good Food, Good Wine, Good Golf, Good Bocce, and whatever makes you Happy !!! Be Safe, Be Well and Don't Trust the Line on the World Series ... The Books keep punching different Buttons ...
TO the TRIBE: GOOD SHABBOS !!!!!!!
"When the Work of Creating Was Done, You Chose This Day to Be Holy and Bless't
That Those Heavy Laden with Labors, Find Safety and Stillness ... A Sabbath of Rest ..."
May Our Rest Be Pleasing Unto Him Who Has Brought Us To This Place ...
Blessings Upon You All !!!
IVAN
I was one of those "weird kids" that loved green vegetables (and white, yellow, orange and red vegetables , too) so on the days when my primary school's cafeteria was serving brussels sprouts I'd end up with my classmate's share as well. Today, I prefer to steam them and either drizzle them with some high quality balsamic vinegar with a little sea salt and pepper, or indulge myself with real unsalted butter and a dash of some alderwood-smoked salt. The smokiness of the salt doesn't overwhelm the delicate flavour of the brussels sprouts and keeps the butter from being too cloying. Of course, you should peel away any yellowed leaves before steaming the sprouts so to get the best flavour. I think that I'm going to get some of the sprouts that are in the freezer and cook those along with the chicken and rice I had already planned for dinner tonight. JALOPKIN - thank you for the lamb recipe. That's going to be next Wedneday's dinner! It sounds deliscious. And the reason I didn't pop in and comment the past few days is because I had an accounting trst to study for in addition to packing up my stuff for next week's move. I got 97 on it! I hope everyone has a good weekend
Don't remember cellophane for the windows, but the yellowing sticky cellophane precursor to Scotch Magic tape will never be forgotten. Brussel sprouts are not on the top of my veggie list, but I will happily eat them when served--my other half is not much of a veggie man, so I don't prepare them unless we have company.....
I, too, recall Blue Plate Specials, Ivan -- though my memories are of open-faced roast beef sandwiches at Walgreen's. As a child I thought that elegant fare. Our Kress' was famous chiefly for vegetable soup, chili, and suberp cornbread (with either/.both). though they offered a usual menu. People sat on stools, quite special, then.
Next, someone will ask "Does anyone else feel the romance of trains? Of even a lone train whistle in the night?"
Ever opening another door....
Cherry cokes at the counter, in the old curvy Coke glass, lots of ice, a straw with green and red stripes...
Blessings to you as well, dear Ivan.
Oh! And I LOVED the roasting nuts aroma that was such an essential part of Woolworth's Dime Stores. I absolutely salivated wanting, wanting some of the warm salty peanuts or----when with Grandma--cashews!! And we were living high indeed when we could sit in a booth or the counter stool at "The Dime Store" (as we always called it) and savor a fountain Coke and a sandwich with chips. Fries on the side came later, as I recall. And our Mamma didn't keep chips at home so it was reeeeeeeal special to have them alongside that dill pickle and tomato for our sandwich. One summer we lived with my grandma and at least twice a week she would walk us down to "The Dime Store" where we could look and admire and sniff and dream......and then sometimes with cashews, sometimes not......go to the German bakery and get all manner of great stuff: Gooey butter cakes, crumbcakes, stollen, etc. What a fine summer that was! (We had many food treats, yes, but we also had pop beads-----anybody remember those?)
I'm back! My poor old laptop had a sad death by drowning in a spilled mug of hot coffee with milk and two sugars. All attempts at recussitation failed. Old joke:-
What's the difference between brussels sprouts and bogies?
Kids will eat bogies.
Great to see some new faces in the village.
Thanks, Ivan, for your Friday night blessing upon our happy band. And bless you, too.
There was a man who did a Music Hall act in London by farting the National Anthem. I wonder if brussels sprouts played any f/part in this?
I'm back! My poor old laptop had a sad death by drowning in a spilled mug of hot coffee with milk and two sugars. All attempts at recussitation failed. Old joke:-
What's the difference between brussels sprouts and bogies?
Kids will eat bogies.
Great to see some new faces in the village.
Thanks, Ivan, for your Friday night blessing upon our happy band. And bless you, too.
There was a man who did a Music Hall act in London by farting the National Anthem. I wonder if brussels sprouts played any f/part in this?
I'm back! My poor old laptop had a sad death by drowning in a spilled mug of hot coffee with milk and two sugars. All attempts at recussitation failed. Old joke:-
What's the difference between brussels sprouts and bogies?
Kids will eat bogies.
Great to see some new faces in the village.
Thanks, Ivan, for your Friday night blessing upon our happy band. And bless you, too.
There was a man who did a Music Hall act in London by farting the National Anthem. I wonder if brussels sprouts played any f/part in this?
I'm back! My poor old laptop had a sad death by drowning in a spilled mug of hot coffee with milk and two sugars. All attempts at recussitation failed. Old joke:-
What's the difference between brussels sprouts and bogies?
Kids will eat bogies.
Great to see some new faces in the village.
Thanks, Ivan, for your Friday night blessing upon our happy band. And bless you, too.
There was a man who did a Music Hall act in London by farting the National Anthem. I wonder if brussels sprouts played any f/part in this?
I'm back! My poor old laptop had a sad death by drowning in a spilled mug of hot coffee with milk and two sugars. All attempts at recussitation failed. Old joke:-
What's the difference between brussels sprouts and bogies?
Kids will eat bogies.
Great to see some new faces in the village.
Thanks, Ivan, for your Friday night blessing upon our happy band. And bless you, too.
There was a man who did a Music Hall act in London by farting the National Anthem. I wonder if brussels sprouts played any f/part in this?
Hahaha! A fit of the Bert burps!
P4- I love cherry cokes most of all and glass is a necessity along with perfect ice. Woolworth's in Oak Ridge, the town the A-bomb built, had a lunch counter with the old Jack Sprat Figures and saying above the back of it. They had balloons that you picked when you ordered a banana split and you popped them and inside was the amount you paid for your banana split- 1 penny up to 99 cents. My mom was a waitress and she brought her tip money in and I got to keep the pennies. That was my Saturday money. You need a lot to be rich but not much to be very wealthy. I also loved getting those warm nuts- cashews and mixed nuts at Sears. And Raisinets. Mel Brooks and my favaorite candy.
Haze- You are a sight for sore eyes. I am reaching across the pond with a cyber hug. Stoney- I love beets but if I forget I had them for dinner, the next day I think I have colon cancer. That is some natural red dye in those puppies.
Park ~ I too have those old albums with the black pointy tabs on the corners; black paper and writing in white ink. Those old black and white pictures (probably taken with a brownie box camera), those pictures with the wavy edges.
Okay, not old, mature.....very (3/24/1942) - so if I'm the oldest that means you have to listen to me -- right? I thought it might work here, it never did with my children.
Hazel ~ So good to see you back. You can take comfort in the fact that you were really missed.
Blessings to you ahd yours, Ivan; you'll never know how grateful I am for them.
Blessing to you also, Ivan/ Hazel~ Good to see you back. We've been worried about you!
Just the mention of Brussel Sprouts transports me back to the 50's and early 60's for Sundaydinners in my family's South-Side apartment when brussel sprouts would be served, but after have been marinated in the juice from the roast beef and kinda mixed in with mashed potatoes and gravy. Great memories of simpler times with my Mother, Father and a couple of sisters who were pretty cool in their own way.
My oldest sister and two older brothers had already graduated, served their country, married, and moved on by then..... I an in awe as to how my parents coped raising all us kids in a two bedroom flat over three decades.
I still likes me sprouts,but usually microwaved with a bit of salt and butter. They are good, but not as good as they were seasoned with the sights, sounds, and smells that filled the air of our tiny South-Side kitchen....
Euphoric recall? Probably,....... but I'm just fine with that too.
Peace out.....
P.s., I think it is time for a gettin' to know you for our new adventurers and a welcoming home to our too long absent fellow voyagers and friends in the Club Car. I understand we will be passing by some piles of burning leaves that are eager to deposit their autumn scent on our clothing.
Nos da ya'll....
Hazel--You are a sight for sore eyes, indeed---even if you Berted your way in!! You have been missed, but many of these Villagers are super sleuths and figured out your difficulty. Welcome!
O, Andy~ photos with wiggly edges! Plenty of them in my family album. Tommy~ Big hug back and I'm off to bed soon laughing at your beetroot story. I grew so many of the things one year that I made beetroot wine. Tasted OK, but I was a bit worried when my pee turned red.
P.L. the grandma we lived with in the aforementioned post lived in a "flat" and it's been a long long time since I heard anyone use that term. Hers had 3 bedrooms--one rented out to a lodger---and an upstairs "attic"....actually a very livable (except for extreme summer humid heat) second story that was very roomy and subvidivided into several rooms for sleeping and playing and exploring. She actually had the second story, so that attic would have been third floor, I guess. The landlord lived on the first floor and everyone thought he had the best of it all, but I really tend to disagree....she had loads more space! Yes, more stairs, but loads more space!
Nos da, Peter and all the travellers on the late train.
PeterLake! And thesepia train, swell! (Two exclamation points from my lieftime supply: You knew you mattered.)
See you there in a minute. Can't wait to smell burning leaves, eat Brussels sprouts or anything else on offer.
On my way....
As ever, doing the switching off stuff, I got distracted. Julia Masai asked for a brussels sprout recipie. Trust me, I have tried this one. Baby sprouts, peanut butter and soy sauce. Yummy.
Oh, burning leaves -- not allowed to that any more. But it was THE scent of Fall.
IVAN......................blessings to you & don't sell yourself short, I'm betting on at least 70 more!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You are a delight................
HAZEL..................you rapscallion, welcome back & sweet dreams. NO coffee or tea near your computer....................I mean i!
ANDY..................I have wonderful memories of sitting in a booth at Woolworth's w/ my grandmother & eating the most delicious tuna salad & grilled cheese sandwiches w/ those cherry cokes that PARK spoke of.....................at the bottom of your glass would be all kinds of cherry bits.
GEORGIA......................the smell of warm cashews was just the best perfume..............it was a great place to hang out. Gone, all gone........................
DANCINGK..............congratulations.................I hope you have lots of help on moving day...................I HATE moving & don't do it!
Missed Ivan giving away his age -- so, you all don't have to listen to me, I'm not the oldest :)
Bebe ~ yesssssssss, cherry cokes and tuna.
Just loaded new App- My Bar Napkin- now I can do digitally what I have done my whole life/ brainstorm, flow diagrams, schedules on bar napkins with cheap pens and Sharpies. But I refuse to drink digital Scotch. No way no how!
Carol, we lived on the 3rd floor. Our Janitor lived on the 2nd. I can't imagine how he coped with all of us kids living on top of him.
See you all on theSepia, we have a lot of catching up to do......
"Unpalatable!" exclaims George Bush (Sr), and he is not alone. Brussels sprouts evoke emotions of love and hate.
I confess; I love Brussels sprouts. My love is twofold. I love them with butter, salt and pepper. I also love them when they get me out of a tight spot. I serve them at dinner to houseguests who have stayed three days too long....it's magic... suitcases appear at the front door.
Warning: when I've overstayed my welcome, you'll have to short sheet my bed.
I saw the words "blue plate special" mentioned above, and since that's the name of one of my blogs, I was compelled to paste in the link:
http://blueplatespecialcafe.wordpress.com/
I hope no one finds it too irreverent to be borne, but it does get kinda snarky at times. Not about Brussels sprouts, though.
HAZEL - you are back and all is well in The Village. We have missed you desperately.
Time warp.
Clever, House Guest...good to see you, whether you be past or present. Or future.