One thing I love about the Internet is the ease with which a person can contact almost any organization.
Deciding I'd let Starbucks know about my disappointing latte I shot them an email. To my pleasure they sent me a response within 24 hours, apologized and said they were sending me a couple of coupons. They said they would be doing some follow up with the store where I purchased my beverage. I wanted to give them their due for following through with my complaint. I plan to use my coupons once I receive them on a full fat real deal drink. I'll just chose a smaller size and save calories that way.
Now...bussel sprouts. Who among us, if any, are the brussel sprout lovers? I haven't run into many who are. I serve them periodically but not too often. Steaming and adding some butter, salt and pepper has been my usual method of preparation.
Having read about roasting them and how tasty they are, I decided to give roasting a try. They turned out really well and my husband and I really enjoyed eating them. The didn't have that "cabbagey" strong taste. I threw in a couple carrots with them and they had some nice eye appeal.
And, take note, I used frozen brussel sprouts, which are available year round and a bargain to boot.
Here is what I did, if you'd like to try roasting them.
Once you've decided how many portions to prepare, remove them from the package and put the sprouts on a plate at room temperature allowing them to thaw. Once they are thawed, cut them in half through the stem end. Make sure they're thawed enough so the knife doesn't slip---you don't want to cut yourself. Leave them on the counter until you're ready to roast them. I left mine out a couple hours...mainly you want them completely thawed out. Mine didn't have any excess water, but if you find yours do, pat them dry.
On to the roasting part......
Set your oven to 400 degrees and let it preheat. In the meantime grease a Pyrex type baking dish with your preferred vegetable oil. I used olive oil. Next add the sprouts in a single layer---and don't crowd the pan too much...you want them to brown and get golden.
If you want to add some carrots, wash and trim your carrots---I use organic carrots so I leave the peel on. If the carrots are big in diameter slice them in half long ways...if not skip this step. Now cut the carrot on the diagonal into pieces---maybe an inch to an inch and a half. Basically, you want the carrots to cook in the same amount of time as the brussel sprouts.
Now lightly drizzle the veg with some oil and toss. Alternatively you can spray the oil on. Be fairly generous with the oil. I also salted my veg, but left the pepper off. I find that sometimes roasting makes the pepper almost too hot and can overpower the veg.
Put the pan of veg in the oven and roast anywhere from 30-45 minutes. The time will depend on the size of the brussel sprouts and your carrots if you added them. They are done when they are tender without being mushy and are golden brown and caramelized.
Take note---I strongly suggest you use a Pyrex type baking pan. For some reason the glass makes the veg get brown and golden---the veg caramelizes. I've roasted veg in metal pans and ended up with soggy limp vegetables...even using a 500 degree oven.
Give this a try. You may find you really like brussel sprouts prepared this way.
Deciding I'd let Starbucks know about my disappointing latte I shot them an email. To my pleasure they sent me a response within 24 hours, apologized and said they were sending me a couple of coupons. They said they would be doing some follow up with the store where I purchased my beverage. I wanted to give them their due for following through with my complaint. I plan to use my coupons once I receive them on a full fat real deal drink. I'll just chose a smaller size and save calories that way.
Now...bussel sprouts. Who among us, if any, are the brussel sprout lovers? I haven't run into many who are. I serve them periodically but not too often. Steaming and adding some butter, salt and pepper has been my usual method of preparation.
Having read about roasting them and how tasty they are, I decided to give roasting a try. They turned out really well and my husband and I really enjoyed eating them. The didn't have that "cabbagey" strong taste. I threw in a couple carrots with them and they had some nice eye appeal.
And, take note, I used frozen brussel sprouts, which are available year round and a bargain to boot.
Here is what I did, if you'd like to try roasting them.
Once you've decided how many portions to prepare, remove them from the package and put the sprouts on a plate at room temperature allowing them to thaw. Once they are thawed, cut them in half through the stem end. Make sure they're thawed enough so the knife doesn't slip---you don't want to cut yourself. Leave them on the counter until you're ready to roast them. I left mine out a couple hours...mainly you want them completely thawed out. Mine didn't have any excess water, but if you find yours do, pat them dry.
On to the roasting part......
Set your oven to 400 degrees and let it preheat. In the meantime grease a Pyrex type baking dish with your preferred vegetable oil. I used olive oil. Next add the sprouts in a single layer---and don't crowd the pan too much...you want them to brown and get golden.
If you want to add some carrots, wash and trim your carrots---I use organic carrots so I leave the peel on. If the carrots are big in diameter slice them in half long ways...if not skip this step. Now cut the carrot on the diagonal into pieces---maybe an inch to an inch and a half. Basically, you want the carrots to cook in the same amount of time as the brussel sprouts.
Now lightly drizzle the veg with some oil and toss. Alternatively you can spray the oil on. Be fairly generous with the oil. I also salted my veg, but left the pepper off. I find that sometimes roasting makes the pepper almost too hot and can overpower the veg.
Put the pan of veg in the oven and roast anywhere from 30-45 minutes. The time will depend on the size of the brussel sprouts and your carrots if you added them. They are done when they are tender without being mushy and are golden brown and caramelized.
Take note---I strongly suggest you use a Pyrex type baking pan. For some reason the glass makes the veg get brown and golden---the veg caramelizes. I've roasted veg in metal pans and ended up with soggy limp vegetables...even using a 500 degree oven.
Give this a try. You may find you really like brussel sprouts prepared this way.