The Brussels Sprout Diet

I suppose that, by now, some of you out there in Readerland are wondering, "Just what the hell is Aaron doing with his time, given that he currently has no job and has not penned a single entry to this outstanding blog?" (It's more likely that you're not wondering that. Unfortunately for you, I'm going to tell you what I've been up to anyway). Well, he has been developing an exciting new nutritional plan: The All-Brussels-Sprout-Diet. Will it make you ride faster up mountains? Will it make you run faster and further than you ever thought possible? Will it make you more attractive to the opposite (or same, we are in the Bay Area, after all) sex? I cannot guarantee any of these things. What I can tell you is this: Brussels sprouts are damn delicious, and boy are they cheap in California.

What you see above is a stalk of the delectable sprouts in their wild form. For me, this was an incredible discovery. For the first thirty years of my life, I thought that they grew in freezer bags or in miniature cabbage patches. But no, they actually exist as some sort of Mother Nature's ninja attack weapon. The stalk itself is roughly two-and-a-half feet long, and I would say that it contains at least 50 individual sprouts. The cost of this beauty? $2.95 at the local Berkeley Bowl market. And, they're organically grown. We have also purchased the tiny cabbages at the Temescal Farmer's Market. It's a five-minute walk from our apartment, in the parking lot of the DMV. Here is what the walking path looks like:

The path is beautiful, if fraught with runaway children like the one pictured above. I don't know how many times we have nearly tripped over a wayward child or narrowly escaped being trampled by a parent's desperate dash after a child headed straight for the small ravine next to the path. It's a dangerous trip, but worth the risk for the aforementioned Brussels sprouts and other assorted goodies.

You can also buy these at the Farmer's Market, but we haven't done so yet. We learned our lesson living with Mara and Stu.

We have experimented with Brussels sprouts in several forms: pan-seared in the style of the 112 Eatery, roasted, and finely chopped and sauteed. While we have not yet embarked on an all Brussels sprout diet, we may have eaten our weight in the fine vegetable over the past two weeks. (At the risk of sharing too much, I think that my stomach started to rebel against all of the fiber this morning). They are delicious as a side dish, a main course, or on tacos. (And what of tacos? We have a blossoming addiction to them, thanks to their versatility and the proliferation of great tortillas at the grocery stores here.)

Tonight's dinner was a galette of roasted vegetables with a side of shredded Brussels sprouts. (Recipe courtesy of Eating for England. Lil' A, if you're reading, I highly recommend the linked post for her thoughts re: MPLS) A smashing success and great team effort, this is a recipe that we will try again for sure.

If it appears that the galette dough contains chocolate chip cookies, that's because it has olives in it. A stroke of genius.

And finally, the star of today's post: the glorious sprouts in their final form.

I know not how far down the path toward an All-Brussels-Sprouts-Diet we will go. I will happily update you all regarding future adventures in Sproutsville and other culinary locales. Until next time...