To Brussels, with haste!

Today I had a case of the Mondays. I almost hit a car leaving the parking garage this morning; then my headphones broke on the platform while I was waiting for the train. I got to work to find the WiFi broken. The Ethernet connection was not working either. The script I had to read was bad. So on and so forth.
So when I got home, I knew at least what was going to lift my spirits: making something awesome for dinner. One of my new favourite things…. Are you ready for it? Brussel sprouts!

2011 is turning into the year of trying things I thought I hated and realizing I actually have been missing out. For example, wearing casual dresses. All the seafood I sampled in California. White wine…annnnnnnnd brussel sprouts! I know everyone hated and dreaded them as children, but friends, they are AWESOME.

It started when I was grocery shopping, and saw that they were on sale… It was something ridiculous like 99 cents for a pound. Could I resist such a deal? No, I could not. Despite my kiddie hang ups about the itty bitty cabbage doppelgangers, I remembered I had seen a recipe for ROASTED brussel sprouts and decided to put it to the test. To make a long love affair short:

LIFE. CHANGING. They’re salty, crunchy on the outside, colourful and fairly healthy. (Fact: they contain cancer fighting compounds!) It’s as tasty as you’ll ever find ‘em without cooking them up with bacon fat, another traditional method. So without further pomp and circumstance, I present to you, a revelation:
Roasted Brussel Sprouts
(serves 1…but it’s really easy to double, triple should you feel the need….cough.)

6 or 7 brussel sprouts of a similar size
olive oil
kosher salt (or table salt or rock salt. Find some salt, okay?)
pepper (optional)

First thing’s first. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Pop dem sprouts into a colander and rinse them off. When they’re dry, trim off the ends.The best part of these beauties is the roasted delicious toasty brown flavour. How do we get as much as possible? Split your sprouts in half! More surface area = more yum. I find it’s easiest to cut them on the vein, follow the line with your knife.

Toss the halves in a bowl. Drizzle with approximately 1 tbsp of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. However much you want. I usually find a generous pinch does it. Toss to coat evenly. I had a picture of this step but it was icky.

Lay out on a baking pan, preferably lined with parchment paper.


Bake for ten minutes on one side. Take them out and flip sides to increase browning action. Bake for another 5-10 minutes.

Remove from oven, plate with other food, or just dive in. Devour the goodness.