A New Roasted Vegetable

Old friends are awesome.  Old friends are special, and rare, and sweet.  Old friends take you to big-town grocery stores, where you can find things like this:

What a dear, sweet vegetable (not as dear and sweet as long-lasting friendships, but special nonetheless).  Why in the world has this little green gem gotten such a bad name for decades?  I think it's because of a deep cultural inability to do more than boil it into tasteless mush.  So sad.

I haven't yet told you what it is.  I'm going to hold out a little longer.  It's just so cool-looking and tasty, I don't want to negativize the relationship you're forming with the little guys just yet with any of your preconceived notions.

Here's what Longest-lasting Friend and I did with the grocery store find:

1.  Remove the little sprouts from the stem by snapping them off.  Cut off any tough parts of the stem that stayed on the sprout, and remove any small, yellow leaves.  Wash thoroughly.

2.  Give Little Girl a kitchen cabinet full of tupperware to occupy her, and thank Longest-lasting Friend's Mom for having a child-friendly kitchen.

3.  In a bowl, combine vegetable, 2-3 tablespoons olive oil or melted butter, 1 tsp. coarse kosher salt, 1/2 tsp. black pepper, and 1/2-3/4 tsp. dried rosemary.  Stir with a rubber spatula until fully coated and delicious looking.  Spread onto a baking sheet or roasting pan.  Have you figured it out yet?

4.  Roast in a 400 degree oven for 20-30 minutes or until browned on the outside and soft (but not mushy) on the inside, stirring every 10-15 minutes.

5.  Enjoy the New Kind of Roasted Vegetable.  See, Little Girl likes them too.

Are you ready?  Brussels Sprouts.  There, I said it.  But they are delicous!  Give them a chance.