Laurie,

I normally buy brussel sprouts frozen but I have bought them fresh before. If you buy fresh you need to make a small X at the bottom of each sprout. That way the thicker part cooks at the same rate as the leafier part. I normally microwave them but you could cook them on the stovetop in some water. Even my son likes to peel them and eat them occasionally.

I steam cauliflower and then put it in a big bowl, coat with smart balance and parmesan cheese.. tastes like elbows noodles with cheese & butter!! SOO good. Plus, it fills me up - and I can legally eat the WHOLE bowl.

Cool, Barb, I'll have to try it! What do you put on them? About boiling...I read somewhere that when you boil veggies, their nutrients leach into the water and you lose them. The best way to retain nutrients is the steam or to cook in the microwave.

Firefly, that *does* sound good... I'll have to try it!

Laurie,
Brussel sprouts taste like cabbage...only stronger.

*running away from brussel sprouts*

Man, I hate those thing!

Wendy! That's how I feel about lima beans.

I LOVE cabbage...something about being of Eastern European descent I think. I'm going to have to try those little cuties! But what do I put on them? Just smart balance and salt? Something more?

I like 'em plain but DH puts butter on 'em.

See I like cabbage but I HATE brussel sprouts. My DH loves them and each time I make them for him I have one just to see if I still hate them - he usually just has butter and salt on them.

I heard of a recipe where you actually slice them thinly so that they shred and then stirfry them in a little sesame oil and throw in some sesame seeds - that actually sounds good - but I haven't tryed it yet.

Ewww Lima beans! *shudder* memories of childhood - (and mixing your turnip in with your mashed potatoes does NOT hide the taste of turnip - it just makes it ALL taste yucky!) Blech

OK rant over

Kim

Kim!

I read somewhere that as a child, your sour tastebuds are more sensitive and your sweet tastebuds are less sensitive. Then, as you grow older, they switch, with sweet becoming more sensitive and sour becoming less. Thus, as a child, you can't get enough sugar in things (I used to be about a 1/4 cup in a glass of milk! ) and dislike veggies that are sour. When you get older, things can be too sweet (that's actually true for me...even though I'm a total sugarholic) and veggies are not as bothersome. (true for me, too)

Interesting! I don't think I've ever had a turnip. I assume that they are not worth trying?

Ooh, another yucky thing...beets! Seriously...I have tried them about 15 different ways and never liked them. Blech!

Laurie, I'm usually an advocate for people to try things at least once with an open mind, but we'll give you a pass on the turnips! They are the 'liver' of the veggie kingdom.

Cooked turnips are the liver of the veggie kingdom. When I was a kid, I made such a fuss about having to eat them that my Mother finally gave up and served them to me raw. If you knew my Mother, you'd know what a concession this was! Somehow raw works better for me for turnips, broccoli and even parsnips.

Now I'm going to glug my day's glass of V8 so I can count it as a veggie. Eating enough veggies is one of my problems.

Me too Ruth. I have a V8 nearly every morning. I think I get enough veged cause I have a huge huge salad each day for lunch. But I don't think I get enough variety of veges and that they are not spread out enough through out the day.

Wendy, I've found that I can hide a multitude of veggies in a salad with little problem...like cauliflower, brocc., carrots, cabbage, chopped radishes, etc. Lots of good stuff! Try having spinach instead of lettuce, too..that makes it even more nutritious!

Ladies, thanks for the advice on Brussel Sprouts. They are good! I tried the "Shredded Brussel Sprouts with Bacon and Hazelnuts" recipe from Cooking Light and both DH and I really liked them! I'll post the recipe as soon as I can.

You are killing me about turnips! Guess I should put them on my do not try list!

BTW, can anyone tell me what the heck a marrow is? I don't want to try one in England if they are really as disgusting as everyone says they are. According to my Scottish friend Helen, she'd basically rather eat poop than marrow.

Laurie - I did a google search and this is what I found:

http://www.freesearch.co.uk/dictionary/marrow+(vegetable)
Kind of sounds like zucchini to me.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/vegetable%20marrow
So there you go - plain ole squash - not exactly what I consider appealing but not disgusting either.

HTH
Kim