Brussels sprouts.

Those miniature “cabbages” that have been boiled to death by generations before us.

You couldn’t have paid me to eat these as a child. I literally never ate them until age 27 (I’m now 28), and I can’t recall ever seeing them on the kitchen table. Till now.

Green goodness–where have you been all my life? These little leafy wonders are now my husband’s and my favorite vegetable. Thank you, Granny S, for serving these petite bites of heaven with carrots, almonds, rosemary, and garlic as a humble side dish, at last year’s Christmas dinner.

As you may know, these cruciferous cuties belong to the same family as broccoli, kale, and collard greens (other green, leafy veggies that should have a place on everybody’s dining table). They’re full of folic acid, Vitamins A and C, potassium, and dietary fiber—and they’re considered helpful in preventing colon cancer.

My favorite way to prepare these is quite simple: roasting.

Truthfully, roasting is my favorite way to prepare most vegetables (sweet potatoes, squash, cauliflower, asparagus, eggplant, etc.), as the vegetables’ natural sugars caramelize and most nutrients stay in tact (as opposed to boiling). I’ve also found that frozen sprouts, while nowhere near the quality of fresh, do roast fairly well if, after defrosting, you squeeze gently with a towel to remove as much water as possible.

Tonight, these are being served with a roasted pork tenderloin and rosemary-fingerling potatoes. Yum.

Oven-roasted Brussels sprouts

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 lb Brussels sprouts
• 2 T olive oil
• ½ t kosher salt
• ¼ t freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. In a large bowl, toss sprouts with olive oil, salt and pepper
2. Spread evenly over a baking sheet (I often line with foil)
3. Bake at 400 degrees F for 30-40 minutes—shaking the pan mid-way to avoid sticking—till browned and crisp

Serve immediately

I’ve found that less is more, but sometimes I’ll add a little lemon juice. I’ve also spiced them up with some crushed red pepper flakes, and you can never go wrong with a bit of minced garlic.

I think my love affair with Brussels sprouts will grow stronger if I can successfully grow them in our fall garden. As you can see, the summer garden—our inaugural “attempt”—was far from successful.

Yes, we actually planted an entire 2 packages of carrot seeds in giant clumps. Needless to say, no carrots this summer.

Next time we’ll follow directions—and use a little common sense. Fall carrots? I think so.

We did harvest a few crookneck squash, yellow bell peppers, green beans, and cucumber, so it wasn’t a total fail. Now that I have the “garden bug,” I can’t wait to begin planting again.