How many of you grew up absolutely hating brussel sprouts?  I know I did.  I’ll preface this post by saying that I hope my mother isn’t reading this blog as of late, and Mom, if you are, please stop reading now.  Thanks.

Now I’ll continue on…

Brussel sprouts for dinner were one of those traumatic events of my childhood.  It ranked right up there with beets, which I wrote about quite some time ago in this entry.   I vowed never to eat another brussel sprout after I was old enough to make such a proclamation without getting severely chastised.  Then I figured out that the brussel sprouts weren’t the problem, it was the preparation of the brussel sprouts which caused the aversion.

(Mom, you aren’t reading this right?  Don’t continue on if you are!)

When I was growing up, brussel sprouts came frozen in boxes.  Then you boiled them.  Then you served them.  Slimy.  Yes, slimy.  Beyond rutabaga (that’s yet another entry for a different time), brussel sprouts caused the children in our family nightmares.

But guess what?  Fresh, properly prepared brussel sprouts ARE NOT SLIMY.  It’s true.  They are solid, and crisp, and taste great!

Have you ever seen a brussel sprout in the wild?  Go ahead.  Click on the picture to the left.  Most people have no idea what these little orbs of veggies look like in their natural state.  Yes, they look like they grow on mutant dwarf palm trees.  Does it scare you?  It may not, but it sure scared the heck out of Jimbo, my Shiba Inu, who was certain the house was being invaded by alien tropical trees. 

Sure, he looks regal in the picture on the right, but when confronted by wild brussel sprouts, he’s reduced to a whimpering wuss. 

But back to brussel sprout preparation.  First, cut them off the sprout.  Next, soak them in salted water to get any insects out of the leaves that may have called your stalk of sprouts home.  Then slice them in half, toss them with diced onions, garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roast at 425 for 30 – 45 minutes.

(You read this, didn’t you Mom?)

The other day I was browsing through the bulk foods section of Whole Foods and I came across Isreali Couscous. It is much bigger than your typical couscous. This is a good thing, because while I do like to cook with couscous, sometimes the texture is just not what I am looking for – it is sometimes too small, crumbly and dry. This looked like a great alternative.

Mediterranean-influenced flavors are some of my favorites. So I immediately had a plan for this couscous. I had all of the veggiess I needed, so I headed up to the Dane County Farmer’s Market and found some locally produced feta cheese to add to the dish.

I cooked the couscous then added some chopped garlic while it was still hot. This lightly cooks the garlic and takes away some of the bite. Then I set the couscous aside and let it cool before I added the following ingredients: chopped heirloom tomatoes, freshly torn basil leaves, diced cucumbers, chopped kalamata olives, chopped scallions and olive oil.

I crumbled the feta in right before serving so that it would retain its distinct flavor and texture.

A great summer side dish.

Oktoberfest Chicken with German Mustard Potatoes and Colored Carrots

The Oktoberfest chicken is moist and flavorful, having been rubbed with lemon, coated with a butter-based paste of thyme, oregano, garlic and paprika, and basted with Oktoberfest beer flavored with onion and garlic.

The German Mustard Potatoes are a slight take-off of German-style potato salad. Flavored with bacon and mustard, it doesn’t have the tart sweetness of traditional German potato salads, but it does have full flavor that the stone-ground mustard adds to the dish.

The red and yellow colored carrots were boiled til just done, with a butter dill sauce.

I remember when I was a child. Eating vegetables at dinner was an ordeal that not only the children in our family endured, but that my parents had to face as well. The rule of the house was that we couldn’t leave the dinner table until we had eaten our vegetables. So night after night it would turn into a stare-down between the kids and their plates. The beets would grow cold and any butter that was on them would congeal into pink pools on top. In the long run, we always had to eat them… so all we were doing was prolonging the agony.

One night my older sister had a brilliant plan. We’d stuff the beets in our paper towel napkins, excuse ourselves to go to the bathroom one at a time, and deposit the beets into the trash container in the bathroom. Then, when my unsuspecting parents were otherwise occupied, we’d dig the beets out and toss them into the kitchen trash can, way down deep at the bottom. Excellent! My parents would never know! It worked like a charm.

Until, of course, Duchess, our German Shepard, figured out that we had thrown food away in the bathroom. She rummaged around, pulled out the paper towel wrapped beets and dug in – only to discover that she hated beets as much as we did. So she drug the paper towels out into the kitchen and deposited them into the middle of the kitchen floor.

So much for man’s best friend.

I don’t know when I started to enjoy vegetables. It must have snuck up on me, much to the amusement of my parents. Today, our participation in a Community Supported Agriculture program adds tremendously to our culinary experience. What we cook depends on what is in season and what we have on hand. It’s a fun challenge, and a healthy one, at that.

All of that being said, I still don’t eat beets. But I do enjoy making things like Summer Vegetable Gratin, which allows you to really use anything you’ve got on hand. This recipe was made completely from the produce of our CSA box, as well as our backyard garden.

Recipe for Summer Vegetables Gratin

Ingredients:

• 5- 6 small baby potatoes, sliced evenly and thin
• 2 tablespoons prepared pesto sauce
• 1 cup shredded kale
• 1 fennel bulb, sliced
• 2 carrots, shredded
• 2 teaspoons garlic, chopped
• 1 tomato, pealed, seeded, diced
• 2 small yellow summer squash, sliced into rounds
• 2 small zucchini, sliced into rounds
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 375.

Coat casserole dish with cooking spray. Layer potatoes on bottom. Spread pesto on top of slices. Layer with part of the kale. Add fennel, carrots, garlic and tomatoes on top. Sprinkle with some of the parmesan cheese. Add another layer of kale. Add squash and zucchini on top. Season to taste, and coat evenly with bread crumbs and cheese.

Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, til topping is brown and crispy and vegetables have begun to pull away from edges. Remove from oven and allow to rest 15 mintues before serving.