so, you know how brussel sprouts come on this stalky thing?

[spughy]

Today I was cleaning up my veg to store them and after recently discovering that the chickens were spurning my regular gifts of de-sprouted brussel sprout stalks, I decided to try to find some other use for them. So I broke off a bit near the top, peeled the stringy stuff off the outside and tasted the middle. OH MY. The inside of the stalk is lovely! It's sweet, and crisp, and doesn't really taste cabbage-y at all! Unfortunately it didn't make my tummy feel so good, and I kind of got the sense that this wasn't something that really *should* be consumed raw. So I peeled the rest of the stalk, sliced it up into sticks, and stuck it in a brine to lactoferment away. I'm so excited, I think it'll make super-tasty pickles. I'll keep you all posted. I didn't stick the jar in my pantry, I left it on the kitchen counter so it'll ferment faster. Woo! New project!

[artemis33]

Oh that is super cool! I can't wait to hear how it turns out - it seems like such a huge waste to only eat the sprouts

[spughy]

Well we always eat the leafy tops, too. They are SO good, sauteed with bacon and finished with a little of my homemade mead. But it's nice to find a use for the stalk as well.

[Ruthla]

I actually didn't know that brussel sprouts came on a stalky thing.

[TopazBlueMama]

Oh yeah...I forgot too! You usually see them already pulled off of the stalk in the grocery store.
Pretty cool. Maybe I'll try juicing it sometime.

[weliveintheforest]

I haven't even seen any brussel sprouts this year, and I had no idea they came on a stalk
I have always seen them at the grocery store just in a big pile! I'll have to inquire about them at our produce place on Saturday.

[RootBeerFloat]

Last year, I buried the leftover stalks from my garden in the compost over winter. And they re-sprouted! Unfortunately, they didn't transfer from the compost back to my garden, so now they're soil again.

My dd LOVES to eat raw brussels sprout greens. She accidentally topped my lone brussels sprout plant last spring while she was foraging through the garden.

[spughy]

http://www.patnsteph.net/blogpics/br...ter_garden.jpg

Wacky looking, huh? My grannie in England lives in the middle of a major brussel-sprout-producing area so I always knew how they grew, but I guess if you've never seen them in the wild (so to speak ) you wouldn't ever guess they grew like that!

My DH laughed at me for thinking pineapples grew on trees. Apparently they don't. How was I supposed to know??? I've never been to Hawaii. For me, pineapples grow on astro-turf at the supermarket.

[AsYouWish]

Thanks for that photo! I didn't know they grew on stalks either.

Slightly OT, but brussel sprouts are my new greatest love! I firmly believe they just helped me fight off a pretty bad infection. I started off with what appeared to be a small canker sore in the back of my throat not far from my left lymph node. And then it just kept spreading out and getting larger and larger, so I had this big open wound back there. But then my left lymph node swelled up really bad and it hurt so freakin' much!!! Just ached really bad, even into my teeth. And I was achy all over and just so, so sleepy. I was having a hard time getting any rest even though I was so tired, because the pain was keeping me awake. And even though I regularly applied a warm compress to my face/jaw/neck at bedtime, this went on for about two weeks!!

Monday I had a serving of roasted organic brussel sprouts and hot green tea. Tuesday I had the same. And more last night. And I'm just about to have a few sprouts for lunch, and some tea. But after eating them on Monday, I just felt such a rush of vitality. Then, while chewing on my last sprout on Tuesday evening, I had this huge shock of pain on the left side of my face and throughout my jaw. But shortly thereafter, I started feeling remarkably better. I think my lymph node had suddenly drained. My face wasn't swollen or achy anymore and my teeth didn't hurt and I got a good night's rest. And I just continued to improve yesterday. And, even though I still have the canker sore looking thing, my throat doesn't hurt anymore at all, and I can tell that the lesion is healing.

My guess is that it's the vitamin C in the brussel sprouts that helped me out. There was no way I was eating any citrus fruit in the condition I was in, you know? But, even though it hurt a LOT to swallow (in fact I don't remember having so much pain and trouble swallowing, and I have had my bouts with strep/mono/etc. during my life), the brussel sprouts didn't make me feel like I was swallowing gasoline like grapefruit or oranges would have.

We really don't have the money right now for even the copay at the doctor's office or for any new prescriptions, vitamins or supplements. So my only choice was warm compresses, extra rest (if I could get it), hot tea, and food. And it worked!!!!

So, seriously, if you are feeling under the weather, get some sleep and eat your brussel sprouts!!! : <---- That's a sprout on a stalk.

[steph117]

That's so cool, spughy! What an awesome idea! I want some.