Farmer's markets and their bounty of fresh fruit and vegetables truly add treats to our table all year long. However, available produce varies with the seasons and, alas, we're entering the season of the dreaded BRUSSELS SPROUT. My wife loves them, and so no matter how fervently I silently wish that they would disappear from the face of the earth they end up in my refrigerator. Once they've arrived I feel obliged to cook them while they're fresh and "sweet". Of course I also have to put on a good show for the kids of eating some of everything I cook. But I just can't learn to like them.
So, please remember me this evening as I (no longer completely) silently perform my "husbandly duties" as I cook and eat these deformed, bitter little cabbages.
Posted by sndrake (Member # 4941) on :
OK, I don't have kids, but I used to be one, so I have some credentials...
I don't really see what's wrong with admitting you don't like a certain vegetable, especially if you substitute a different one on your plate to show that eating veggies are important and it's just the sprouts you personally don't like. (Admittedly, my parents didn't have much of a problem with me - I'd eat just about anything but lima beans and asparagus. Given those exceptions, they didn't think it was worth a fight.)
Are there veggies your wife doesn't like?
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
You know I don't think I've ever actually eaten a Brussles Sprout. My mother must not have liked them.
Considering you are the one actually doing the cooking (though I don't know what division of labor you have with your wife) I don't think you should ever be obligated to cook something you dislike.
Given that my cuilinary skills tend toward the MacNCheese variety (and even then I have some issues) I am thankful that Steve cooks. However if he cooks something I don't like, like fish, I'm under no obligation to eat it.
I would never dream of making him cook something he didn't like!
AJ
Posted by UofUlawguy (Member # 5492) on :
Brussels sprouts might be my favorite vegetable in the world. There are definitely right up there with asparagus and sweet corn on the cob.
I usually only get them one day a year, on Thanksgiving. My mother-in-law includes them as part of her traditional spread. My wife hates them, and hates the smell, and how it lingers on my breath, but she is willing to let me have them that one time.
I live for Thanksgiving.
Posted by dread pirate romany (Member # 6869) on :
When I was as youngun, my Gram made Brussel Sprouts by dumping the freezer package into a pan, boiling the hades out of them, and dressing them in cider vinegar. I have never in my adult life eaten Brussels sprouts, and never plan to.
I agree with sndrake. Our kids know I won't eat seafood and Dad won't eat corn or peas, but they still eat those things. My son will not eat chicken in ANY form. Everyone has preferences.
Posted by advice for robots (Member # 2544) on :
I have to be really hungry to eat brussels sprouts. Same with asparagus. Blech.
One vegetable I pretty much refuse to eat is a beet. I've never liked them, but then one year we went on our family vacation. My little brother thought he'd be helpful and turned the refrigerator off before we left. My mom had beets in the fridge, and they rotted. When we got home, there was rotten beet juice all over the bottom of the fridge. It was the worst smell I have ever smelled. Whenever I see beets, I think of that smell. Yuck.
Posted by Sara Sasse (Member # 6804) on :
Frozen Brussels sprouts are nasty.
You gotta pick the nubbins fresh off the stalk, gently steam, toss with olive oil, and then salt n' pepper 'em.
*droool
Posted by sndrake (Member # 4941) on :
Well, I can eat them, but I can't say I enjoy them.
I don't think that any amount of freshness, olive oil, salt and pepper will change that.
And the drool is definitely a putter-offer.
Posted by Sara Sasse (Member # 6804) on :
*drools on Stephen
Posted by skillery (Member # 6209) on :
quote:Frozen Brussels sprouts are nasty
That's because one in every three frozen sprouts is bitter and brown on the inside. Pick the good ones and pass the bowl full of bitter ones to your brother.
Best frozen vegetable ever: Bird's Eye French-style green beans with slivered almonds.
Beets are good because they turn your mashed potatoes pink when stirred together.
Worst canned vegetable: spinach.
Best canned vegetable: baby green peas.
Posted by rubble (Member # 6454) on :
(Mrs. Rubble Speaks)
I'm not alone...our 4 year old likes BS. One of the few veggies he'll eat freely. As for the division of labour...It's my job to "cook" just about all the food our 13 month old eats. I have to wean her soon. Then all I'll have left to do is praise the cook and eat!
Posted by margarita (Member # 6856) on :
I had my first last year....and they were delicious. Maybe because I never *had* to eat them.
Or, I could just be weird. I hated meatloaf as a kid.
Posted by UofUlawguy (Member # 5492) on :
I find myself having to eat foods that my wife likes just 1) to please her and 2) to set a good example for the kids. For this reason, I choke down fresh green beans, spaghetti squash, and halibut bathed in lemon juice, all with a smile on my face.
But I still haven't managed to convince my wife to try liver. I think it's a double standard.
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
I hate beets. I detest them. And eggs! Everyone likes eggs, but if by some fluke I get married I will not cook them unless there is cake or cookies involved. Hell no. I only had brussel sprouts once and I don't remember the taste, but at the supermarket they have these brussel sprout trees.
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
Ok, Mrs. Rubble (this is giving me shades of the Flindstones) if your four year old already eats the Brussle Sprouts, does your husband actually have to choke them down to be an example? I mean couldn't he just not serve himself the sprouts while everyone else takes some?
AJ
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Syn, my sis-in-law abhors eggs. She is totally grossed out by them, can't cook anything that contains them (I think my bro-in-law has to crack them and do the mixing part for brownies, for example), can barely stand to look at them. They made the mistake of going to breakfast with a very precocious young boy who had just learned about the parts of the egg...
Posted by sarcasticmuppet (Member # 5035) on :
I would not survive if I didn't like chicken or eggs. I'm a really picky eater as far as veggies are concerned, but I love frozen peas and fresh/frozen sweet corn. I hate iceburg lettuce so I'm lukewarm toward salad unless there are lots of dark greens and no tomatoes. The only other veggie I can stand, prettymuch, is raw baby carrots.
Canned vegetables are Satan's curse to the food world.
Posted by rubble (Member # 6454) on :
(Rubble again. There are Flintstones overtones...in some circles they call her Betty )
Thank you all for you commiserations.
I have made multiple vegetables before on brussels sprout nights. Cauliflower is a good one because it needs just about the same amount of time so it can be made in the same pot. Also, unlike myself (pat on back) my wife has many foods she isn't too fond of, and I do try to get her to try them every once in a while. I've made her a convert to fresh green beans, so perhaps there is hope.
The reality, though, is that even though I truly don't like brussels sprouts, I don't think I've found anything that I *can't* eat. Tonight I was just too lazy to clean and chop a second veg so it was my own darned fault and brussels is where it was at.
As far as vegetables and child rearing goes I was brought up in the school that "you'll eat at least some of everything we eat". My wife and I don't subscribe to that school, but I have this latent need to live by that example for my children. We try to introduce new foods often, but both children are very picky. So we keep trying and every once in a while we happen upon a vegetable that the kids like. I am quite surprised that my son is in love with brussels sprouts. I think that so often with him it is just a matter of getting him to put it in his mouth. Colors and shapes make a big difference to him. In this case, he has a memory from at least 9 months ago about sprouts and was going to eat some no matter what.
Posted by dread pirate romany (Member # 6869) on :
Wow, Lawguy, my hubby won't eat spaghetti squash.
Posted by UofUlawguy (Member # 5492) on :
I can stand spaghetti squash IF it is neither undercooked nor burnt, but even then I have to use lots of butter and some salt. Problem is, I'm not supposed to use either salt or butter on my food in front of the children (same with mayo, by the way).
Posted by dread pirate romany (Member # 6869) on :
Wow, and my hubby thinks I'm a hard case because I make him eat "real" breakfast food and banned tater tots from the house.
Posted by Dan_raven (Member # 3383) on :
Hey!!!
What do you really have against the children in Belgium's capital.
Oh.
Wait.
You don't mean that kind of Sprouts
or that Brussels.
um
Nevermind.
Posted by Jenny Gardener (Member # 903) on :
"All we are saying... is give Peas a chance!"
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
Califlower? gross gross gross!
Posted by Arthur (Member # 4026) on :
Thomas loves brussel sprouts and just about every other vegetable and fruit he has tried. He will eat fresh vegetables and fruit over almost antyhing else you give him.
Posted by LockeTreaty (Member # 5627) on :
I am one of those people who is trying to equalize the margin of meat to vegeatable discrepency left by the vegetarians of the world. In an effort to complete my task, I eat almost no fruits or vegetables. So I applaud anyone's decision not to eat brussel sprouts, but I suggest you substitute in some non-vegetable/fruit based product.
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I have to wean her soon. Then all I'll have left to do is praise the cook and eat!
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