New Year's and Brussels Sprouts

How’s this for a New Year’s resolution?  I am going to blog more.  It’s not like I’ve stopped eating.  I’ve just stopped writing about it.  It’s not like my life has gotten a hundred times more exciting and I’ve become too busy to write.  I’ve just gotten lazy.  I guarantee that I’ve got about five free hours every day when I’m not at work or sleeping when I could be writing about food.  I just haven’t been doing it.  I’ve preferred to watch Netflix or stuff my face with holiday goodies, and frankly, it’s past time that I get a hold of myself again.  Here’s the embarrassing part: I’m going to post a recipe today that I had thought that I posted about a month ago.  I don’t know how that happened because in my memory I wrote the post, but when I looked back today, it wasn’t there.  Knowing me I just got fed up and deleted it.  I don’t remember.  It’s very strange.

Before I get there though, I’m going to talk about typical New Year’s resolutions for a bit.  I think that overall, they’re kind of dumb.  It’s a ready-made excuse for the population to overindulge from Thanksgiving to December 31^st and then say that “oh, just kidding, I’m going to go back to being my usual skinny/healthy/perfectly unselfish self” the next day.  I don’t know about you, but just because it’s a new year doesn’t mean that I am going to stop indulging in foods that I love to eat.  For instance, over the holidays I ate lobster, crab, salmon, scallops, a whole lot of cheese, and one steak (I know…that was bad).  But January 1^st isn’t a magic “off” button.  I’m still going to chow down on mussels and oysters every chance I get.  I’m probably going to eat salmon biweekly.  If it’s on sale, scallops and lobsters will surely happen again.  No, I will not feel guilty if I eat foods that aren’t the healthiest and if I enjoy seafood.  Yes, I will have seconds.  So my take on New Year’s?  Drink the champagne, eat the fancy food, sure.  But don’t try to be a fake person the next day because you think you’ve been a pig.  Be yourself.  Nobody likes a fake.

Here’s the recipe I’ve been meaning to post since before I went to San Francisco in early December, before my best friend visited my in mid December, before Christmas, before New Year’s Eve, and most definitely before today.  But better late than never, they say.

Brussels Sprouts with Walnuts and Lemon (from The Courier-Journal)

1 ½ pounds Brussels sprouts
½ cup walnuts, chopped
3-5 tablespoons olive oil + water if needed
Zest and juice of one lemon
Salt and Pepper

Rinse the Brussels sprouts and remove any damaged leaves.  Shred the Brussels sprouts either with a hand grater or in a food processor.  Set to the side.  In a 350° F oven or toaster oven, toast the walnuts.  They will toast quickly, so remove from the oven when they darken noticeably but before they burn (about five minutes).  Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saucepan.  Add the Brussels sprouts and sauté for about ten minutes, adding more oil or small amounts of water as necessary.  The sprouts will not shrink too much in size, but when sampled, they will be relatively soft and easy to eat, not crunchy.  When the sprouts are cooked to your liking, add the lemon zest and juice, the walnuts, and salt and pepper to taste.  Mix thoroughly to distribute the additions, serve warm.

I know that to most people Brussels sprouts are not the most appealing vegetable.  I’ve blogged about them before, you can find my opinion out quite easily, but I’ll just tell you.  Until I tried this recipe, I hated them.  I thought they were bitter and tasted a bit like dirt and that you couldn’t cover up their flavor if you tried.  But I’m reformed now!  These Brussels sprouts (does anyone else find it weird that its Brussels sprouts not brussel sprouts?  I’ve been mistaken all my life) are delicious.  The lemon is tart and wonderful and the walnuts add that nice toasted flavor in addition to a crunch.  Not a hint of bitterness or dirt anywhere.  I went back for seconds.  And I ate all the leftovers the next day.  I’m not kidding.

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