I surely ate Brussels Sprouts growing up, though I can’t seem to remember them.  They’ve merged in my mind with the steamed cabbage that accompanied corned beef and that I’d drown in red wine vinegar.

Your assumption might be that I turned the cabbage into a vinegar sop in order to liven up a limp, unseasoned vegetable, and you’d be right.  But I also came to view those limp leaves as an excuse to drink vinegar, something I will unabashedly admit I still do with some frequency.  I also clean our kitchen counters with vinegar, (though the white wine kind) and mix red wine vinegar and my buddy Reece’s honey as a tonic before bed.  Shannon’s grandmother’s best friend Naomi (pronounced, in rural Ohio, as “Nee-oh-ma”) drank it nightly without fail, and she made it into her early 90s without being prescribed a single medication.  It’s the wonder food!

I don’t eat much steamed cabbage any more, but I do rock the Brussels Sprouts, and sometimes with vinegar.  They’re a fantastic winter veggie that you should pick up at the market and prepare, possibly, in one of the following two ways.

Cooking and eating these very simple recipes will make you happy.

Brussels Sprouts with Curried Yogurt

Ingredients:   Plain, low-fat yogurt  /  Brussels Sprouts (the smaller ones are tastier)  /  One Onion  /  Garlic  /  Chili, either as pepper or power  /  Curry Powder  /  Salt

1. Trim any woody ends off the Brussels and, if you’ve got those guys that are the size of those big, hollow gumballs, cut them in half.
2. Steam them, either in some container built to be used with a pot on the stove or in a covered bowl in the microwave with a teaspoon of water poured in.  Remove them when they’re a bright, Easter-grass green.
3. Meanwhile, slice the onion and sauté it in olive oil until it’s soft.
4. Meanwhile², mix half a cup of the yogurt with curry powder to taste.
5. When the Brussels are steamed, add them to the pan along with the diced chilipepper, crushed garlic, and salt.  The amount of each depends on the amount of Brussels, so start with two or three cloves of garlic and a teaspoon each of salt and chili and adjust from there.
6. Sauté for three minutes or so and then turn the stove flame up to high and add a small dab of butter.  Stir regularly.  You want the edges to turn caramelized and brown.
7. Drizzle the yogurt on the Brussels and go to town.

Jay’s Balsamic Brussels Sprouts with Almonds

Ingredients: Brussels Sprouts  /  Slivered almonds  /  Balsamic Vinegar  /  Rosemary (fresh or dried)  /  Garlic  /  Salt & Pepper

1. As above, trim any woody ends off the Brussels and, if you’ve got those guys that are the size of those big, hollow gumballs, cut them in half.
2. Line them up in an oven-safe pan and drizzle with olive oil.
3. Spread five or six cloves of garlic, crushed, and liberal amounts of the rosemary and salt and pepper, across the Brussels and then douse liberally with the balsamic.
4. Stir everything around enthusiastically.
5. Put in the over at 375°.
6. Meanwhile, heat a skillet on the stove and dump in the package of slivered almonds.  Stir constantly until the nuts are browned just shy of black.
7. Remove the Brussels when they’ve just passed a deep, forest green.  Toss in the almonds.
8. Go to town.²