Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Brussel sprouts are a pretty new addition to my diet. I never ate them as a kid, and didn't really understand what they were or what they tasted like. When I ate them the first time, it was a revelation: a vegetable that highlights all of the flavors that I love. They're a little bitter, go well with acid and salt and are really easy to cook. Well, roast anyway. Roasting the best way to cook all vegetables, in my opinion.

Anyway, let's get started:

You need a package of sprouts, olive oil, salt, pepper, and any other herbs you want. Thyme is good, plus I love thyme.

Sprouts are so cute, look at them up close:

they're like tiny cabbages.

Before you roast them, you can cut off the little nub at the end (where it was attached to the vine), but it's not strictly necessary. You should cut them in halves or quarters though.

Oh yeah, speaking of on the vine, this is what they look like if you get them really fresh. You can find great shots of other fresh veggies here: GardenSeed

See, tiny cabbages.

Anyway, put the brussels in a pyrex pan and put on a healthy dose of olive oil (probably around 1 to 1 1/2 tbsp), salt and pepper (also a healthy dose) and the fresh herbs.

A squeeze of lemon is also good here, since it cuts the bitterness of the veggies.

Now, put these in a 400 degree oven for about 30 minutes until they are tender and have some brown on them. You may want to toss them around with a spatula after about 20 minutes to stop sticking.

Just a little bit of burnt adds some sweetness, which compliments the bitterness inherent to brussels perfectly.

They really are a great side dish, or even a snack, if you want to just pop a few of these in your mouth from time to time.

Enjoy!

Cucumber Salad

Hey guys,

I know that I've been a bad food blogger and haven't posted in a while, but as you know, I was in Montreal. After I got back, school started and I didn't have the time or energy to write a full post. I know, I was lazy.

Anyway, a few weeks back my girlfriend and I went to the Brooklyn Grange farmer's market, which is near our apartment. They own a rooftop farm in Long Island City and sell their produce in the building they're on top of twice a week. They were really nice and suggested that we try one of their cucumbers, but it didn't look like a cuke. It was all white, which was weird. Was it an albino cucumber?

Apparently not, they told me that it is called a lemon cucumber and has a citrus flavor. Well, they lied. It doesn't really, but the peel is really bitter. Anyway, it sparked an idea: I wanted to make cucumber salad similar to the way my mom makes it.

Start by taking your (possibly peeled) cucumber and slice it. Then put it in a fine mesh strainer over a bowl and sprinkle some salt over them. Toss it around to get the salt everywhere. about a teaspoon and a half per cucumber should be good.

The idea here is that we're drawing the liquid out of the slices so that we can replace it with more flavorful liquid.  I let the cukes sit for about 45 minutes, I think two innings of a baseball game.

In the mean time, you want to slice a little bit of onion thinly.

You don't need that much, probably a quarter of a large onion. Red onion would be really beautiful here, but I didn't have any. After we put all the acid in the cucumber/onion combination the onions will start to pickle.

So, put everything in a small bowl and sprinkle about a tablespoon of sugar on the whole thing. You can certainly add less, but I don't think that I would add more. Then squeeze a lemon on to the whole thing, toss, cover, and let sit in the fridge for an hour.

The whole thing is really easy to make, and you can certainly adjust the measurements to your taste. I think I ended up adding just a little bit more salt and sugar. After all that waiting though, the pickled onion and cucumber taste delicious together.

Hope you enjoy.

Oh yeah, before you close the window, I'm also excited about some new things in my kitchen. The first is what my friend Michele described as an "Ina Garten" style sugar container. I mean, Ina would certainly like it, and it was on sale a Target. You can't go wrong.

We also got a larger one for flour, and they look really nice on the counter.

The second thing is my fledgling herb garden. I just had some tiny sprouts of basil and chive when I left for Montreal, but they really took off after I left. Apparently my girlfriend has a green thumb (it's a surprise to her too). Now, I'm getting ready to transplant some of the basil and the parsley actually took!

Zucchini Coins with Garlic

Before reading this, you need to know one thing... I really like zucchini. Most people find it tasteless and gross, but I think it's a really great summer vegetable that you can add endless layers of flavor to.

The magic starts here.

Next we need to make the coins. So cut the top and bottom off your zucchini and make slices that are about a centimeter thick. Just do the best you can, nobody's perfect.

That's a nice little stack there. You'll need about half of a zucchini per person. This serving is just for me, so only half of the veggie got used here (expect more zucchini soon, maybe).

Now we're going to do the same with the garlic. Make nice thin slices. Again, half a clove per person is really sufficient.

Then make a layer of coins on the bottom of a baking sheet, then put a layer of garlic over it. You can make it pretty, but you'll just ruin it in a minute.

Drizzle oil over the top, some salt and some pepper. Toss it up while your at it, and put it in a 400 degree toaster oven for about 15 minutes. The zucchini will be falling apart at that point and the garlic will be toasted. YES!

Now, zucchini was made to be covered with parmesean. So after the fifteen minutes take the zucchini out and grate a whole bunch of cheese over it. Pop it back in for about two minutes and then it's all done. You just need to serve it.

A perfect compliment for chicken, or any protein.

So, I know this recipe is simple, but I'm on a simplicity kick lately. Something about having everything you're using represented in what you eat. It seems honest enough, and it always tastes good (unless it's gross)

So, enjoy this nice refreshing side dish!

I'll post a recipe later.

Before I finish, I want to make a toaster oven shout out to my friend Becky.

She made a great meal (in ramekins!), and part of this was a really great french onion soup, which got finished in the toaster. I'm so proud.