I used to hate brussels sprouts, and could never understand why in the world anyone in possession of their senses would ever want to eat one, much less more than one of these mutant, alien miniature cabbage heads. They were mushy, watery, bitter, and smelled like–well, like a dirty toilet, as far as I could tell.

Amen, sister!

But hark! Apparently that is not the end of the story.

It turns out that everyone in my childhood days just overcooked brussels sprouts. And apparently, the longer you cook them, especially if you are boiling them, the more bitter they become–probably because the sugar is leached out into the cooking water, leaving only the smelly and nasty sulphur compounds behind.

Read Barbara’s entire entry, “Brussels Sprouts: A Much Maligned Vegetable Finally Comes Home”, for the truth on these diminutive, leafy balls of (reportedly misplaced) loathing. The story of her pushing her boundaries at a restaurant last night, as well as a recipe for the brave, might serve to prod you into pushing your own proverbial boundary a little farther.

The bottom line, and the spirit of The Grown Diaries, is to try something you hate, but try it done right.

As for me, I’ll for certain get around to the Brussels Sprout taste test.

Eventually. ;)

Best wishes!

Check out the dramatic difference between what the Feds subsidize and what we’re being told to eat.

Via Serious Eating.

It’s a bad time of year for me; in fact, according to some sources, my pain could be stretching out indefinitely. It’s mushroom month, so not only is there a possibility (however remote) of stumbling across the hideous fungi in everyday life, they’re invading my work life, as newspapers and magazines indulge in an orgy of ’shroom celebration with recipes and images of the little critters infesting the centre pages and assaulting me on our website.

One of the post’s commenters recommends porcini, “…on their own fried with garlic and parsley in butter.” Of course, they neglect to consider that pretty much anything tastes good fried in butter with garlic and parsley. ;)

I feel Arnott’s tongue-in-cheek pain, although the mycophobia of my youth has cooled off to a mere brow-furrowed frown of suspicion nowadays. There is a peculiarity to the avid consumption of fungus. Some mushrooms give you severe hallucinations or even kill you if you don’t know what you’re doing. We normally try to destroy fungus or at least keep our homes and bodies clean enough to prevent it. Shudder.

For many years, the notion of Eating Fungus (plus my usual fussy eating) kept me from exploring the extensive world of mushrooms. However, I am able to consume them nowadays without projectile heaving, so I’m on the road to acceptance. Not mycophilia, but toleration.

Another commenter on Arnott’s post writes,

Well, I don’t understand why on earth mushrooms and fungi would be more disgusting than eating fat and sinue of chopped up animals (which I love to eat too).

They have a point.

A couple of years ago, after a period of rain here in SoCal, a spate of mushrooms sprouted all over the neighborhood. The poodle and I took a long walk with a camera to document the various kinds that had sprung up — quite varied even in a relatively small area. Let’s face it, mushrooms are fascinating — they look weird, almost otherworldly, and come in innumerable varieties. They aren’t plants exactly, although they are the “fruit” of fungal organisms.

In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if they made an appearance here on The Grown Diaries eventually. And there might well be garlic and butter involved.

It takes less time to cut up an apple at your desk than to walk to the vending machine and back.

On the other hand, getting away from your desk for a bit of exercise is a good thing.

Therefore, cut up an apple away from your desk. ;)

From Best Life Magazine, “Eat these eight foods every day to cover all your nutritional bases”

1. Spinach
2. Yogurt
3. Tomatoes
4. Carrots
5. Blueberries
6. Black beans
7. Walnuts
8. Oats

Luckily, since eating the same stuff every day would get boring after, I don’t know, a day, they also provide substitutes.

See also my Celsius1414 post on “Lowering cholesterol with food choices”.

It’s funny comparing both of these lists with the verboten foods of the Paleolithic Diet — no grains, no beans, no dairy, etc. — as well as the common items.

Whether it fights cancer depends on which you eat, how you eat it — and your genes.

Fruits and vegetables are packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fiber and scores of phytochemicals that scientists are just beginning to understand, and studies have shown that people who eat more fruits and vegetables have a lower risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes — and some kinds of cancer.

In a related story, “A common complaint? Preparing produce is time-consuming and inconvenient”

I have been told by not unreliable authorities that there was a time early in my life when I loved fruits and vegetables. At some undefined point between then and my first coherent memories, my love affair turned bad. I grew to loathe virtually all of them. If it was grown, I likely hated it….

That’s how The Grown Diaries began two years ago today. And a couple of URL changes later, here it still is. There have been some large lapses between posts, including all of 2006, but the blog itself and the goals behind it remain. I expect to see even more activity here in the coming months.

adjective Botany

of, relating to, or denoting plants of the pea family ( Leguminosae). They have seeds in pods, distinctive flowers, and typically root nodules containing symbiotic bacteria able to fix nitrogen.

Despite the old song, I don’t believe beans are a fruit — it’s just harder to find rhymes for vegetable. ;) They are, however, a marvelous source of nutrients, including protein and fiber.

Speaking of nutrients, cooking with dry beans apparently helps their nutritiousness versus canned. It also aids digestion and reduces their, ah, “magical” properties.

Here’s a cool article on “Soaking Beans”, explaining why and how to soak beans. The page is one of a larger Dried Beans collection with all kinds of interesting tidbits, from cooking, to flavoring, to storage.