Thursday, July 18, 2013

Grilled Brussel Sprouts

Talk about prosaic!

My buds are off to Atlanta, schmoozing and partying at RWA 2013 and what am I doing?

Writing about brussel sprouts.

DO NOT MOCK ME.  It's really not nice to do because maybe my brussel sprouts are every bit as good as a writers' conference... great restaurants... Atlanta, a city ripe with history and great baseball... and my buds are there, Seekervillagers, gathering. Toasting. Laughing. (Note that my attempts at self-comfort are LAME.... )

But here's the thing: Grilled Brussels are A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

I'm not kiddin' youse, I'm not joshin', I'm 100% sincere!  (Bear in mind I won sales awards in my day, therefore taking anything I say with a grain of salt is highly recommended.)

I started with some infused olive oil I bought at one of those cute olive oil/vinegar shops that our mothers would have laughed at...



But regular olive oil would be fine and dandy!

Then I sprinkled one of Dave's favorite seasonings, heavy on black pepper....



and grilled over medium-high heat, rolling them around every couple of minutes.

I did discover that if they're BIG sprouts, they take longer. I like them a little better done, and this batch had sprouts-on-steroids, you know MUSCLE-BOUND BRUSSEL SPROUTS, so I should have given them a little longer.



I didn't because I was so starving to death! (melodramatic, par for the course around here).... And here's a pic of our picket fence project, aka: how to keep teenage girls busy and creative in July!!!!




And behind the house, back in the hollow, is a room.....  Peeks at the new family room courtesy of Bob Dean Remodeling, #SO EXCITED!!!!

First, here is what is left of the laundry room:



Talk about rustic appeal, right????  :)

This old window is staying forever because I love it:



The side windows open as "doors", swinging back. This used to be a kitchen window in this 159 year-old house!

So that wall-papered and boarded up wall is the new entry into the family room.... And here is the room with walls, windows, roof, insulation, beams... Do you love those prairie windows????  I do!


And the swamp beyond is home to my peepers, frogs, snakes, birds, critters of all kinds. I'm hoping for visual science lessons from inside as needed!

And this is 'Lijah, cooking:

While "Z-Z" drives off to rescue people in his big, black truck:

I'd let that little hero rescue me anytime!!!

So the construction zone continues, but SO EXCITING!!!!!

Dancing in upstate!


12 comments:

  1. Oh, memories!! When we built on two rooms and a bathroom (and moved the laundry room and storage) last year, it was such a huge undertaking! From Jan to May, we had men trooping through every part of the house. Mud, paint, table saws, heavy machinery, a crane for the roof...

    Crazy times. Just... CRAZY.

    But with six kids in a two bedroom house with one bathroom, it was move or build. We're glad we built and maybe we'll build again.

    I'm not discussing brussel sprouts. You know I lived in Poland. I developed an allergy to anything remotely related to cabbage.

    I have a doctor's note that frees me from cabbage-type food for the rest of my life.
    I swear. It's true.... And no, that twitch under my right eye doesn't always happen when I lie. In case you were wondering.

    YES, working hard while writing friends PLAY at RWA.

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    1. You know the funny thing, folks that hate brussels ate these like candy! And I'm not even schmoooooozing you, Carmichael-Munoz, well, maybe a little. A smidge.

      These are a wonderful part of my low-carbedness undertaking and I was amazed by how good they were, but I get the Polish connection.... although I love lots of Polish dishes, those spicy, smoked meats, golumpkis, oh my stars... to die for.

      But, okay, I will give you a pass on the "cole" plants for now!

      The construction zone empathy: Yes. Yes. Yes.

      And the roof that we had done? Must be redone, so I thought I was through with that end of the mess... but no, the new roof must be torn off and replaced. But thank God they're doing it without a hassle, right????

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  2. I was tortured by brussel sprouts as a child. Every Sunday dinner. Boiled to death sprouts graced my plate. Yeech! I didn't know they could actually taste could until I tasted a properly cooked batch at a restaurant. So, I'd try this recipe if I was brave enough to grill on a barbeque. :-)

    Love those windows!!! You'll have an amazing view no matter what the season. I'm officially jealous.

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  3. You must come and visit, Kavalicious and then I will grill you brussels and we can sit and look out the window at the swamp.

    :)

    OPEN INVITATION!!!!

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  4. Those sprouts sound intriguing...and I don't think I'd ever really had sprouts until last year, when d-i-law Jen and I baked some. I ate them; she wasn't thrilled, if I remember correctly. But I would be willing to try grilled ones--if I can convince Donny to grill them, that is! He IS the BBQ king around here, after all.

    Love the windows! I love multipaned windows, none of which I have in this house (not as old as yours, but dates to 1890).

    And now I know how you hear those spring peepers so well! I think the peepers we hear are ones from next to the cemetery about half a mile away...unless, now that I really think about it, there are some in the woods, in the low-lying areas. That makes sense, too. :)

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    1. Peppers will emerge from the swamp next to us in March or April for the first time... then they hide until it warms again... and so on... But they sing for a mate each time they emerge, and it's the most welcome music of all! There's such spring hope in peeper song! I love it.

      And now because of all the rain, we have thousands of baby frogs and toads jumping around. I find baby tree frogs on the kids toys. A dark colored toy and they turn dark. A light colored toy and they lose color until they're ivory... I sometimes find them on the side of my yellow house, an ivory frog hanging out! So funny!

      And the regular frogs are coming out of the water now. They're much bigger than the tiny toads... Baby toads are fingernail sized.... the frogs about the size of a half dollar. I love it, Melanie!!!

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  5. Ruthy, growing up I was served brussel sprouts, which I ate because they were covered with melted cheese. Now, as a some-what adult, I LOVE them roasted. Hear me now, NO CHEESE. I only wish my guys would eat them. Sigh. Oh, well...that just means more for me!

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    1. And the remodel is coming along beautifully. Can't wait to see the finished product.

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    2. We're so excited about the room!!!! What a fun project it's been, and we're just amazed at Bob-the-Builder's beautiful work. Love it!

      I bet cheese is good on Brussels.... Dave was the one who got me started with these. I wouldn't have touched them, but he loved them and I tried one years ago and got hooked.

      Nature has such bounty!

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  6. Ruthy, you always pack TONS into your posts!

    First of all, I'm officially going on record: I LOVE Brussels Sprouts - unless they're boiled to death. Yuck.

    But quartered and sauteed? Roasted? Oh, yeah. And now I get to try grilled!

    Second, I love that room. I'm going to come and sit in that room, drinking hot cocoa and schmoozing with those cute kids. I don't care if you invite me or not.

    Third, lovely grandchildren. They're growing up way too fast.

    Fourth, my sympathies on your roof redo. Sigh. At least it isn't winter while they're trying to do it.

    Fifth, from the pictures I've seen from RWA, those folks are only smiling through their tears, missing you!

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  7. Hahahahaha! Jan, I hope they're missing all of us! And having fun while they do it.

    It's always a big decision to go or not to go... and I love seeing people. I'd love to hang out with all the folks there, the villagers, the Seeker gals, the LI gals, Melissa Endlich, Natasha Kern. I love meeting up with all of them.

    But that's a lot of money and this year... and maybe next.... I decided I needed to pay attention to going to visit our "away" kids... (Boston, NYC and Durham, NC) and this old house that has waited so patiently for me to have some time and a little money to take care of it. So focus on the family this year... and a new baby coming... and did Boston last month, NYC in August and Durham in late September... in the meantime I have a whole lot of painting to do, inside and out!

    I love to paint.

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  8. Hey Ruthy,
    You're probably not even checking in here anymore, but I love Brussels Sprouts. In the winter I toss them with apple cider vinegar, dried cranberries, and walnuts and roast them. Yummy!

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