Monday, December 24, 2012

BRASSICA OLERACEA GEMMIFERA. . . EVERY CHILD'S WORST NIGHTMARE!

“We kids feared many things in those days -
 werewolves, dentists, North Koreans, Sunday School - 
but they all paled in comparison with Brussels sprouts.” DAVE BARRY



I was at my local Trader Joe's and found this fabulous stalk of brussel sprouts. Tis the season for this vegetable.  I was literally struck by the beauty of it. 50 shades of green! The stalk was beautiful.  If only I was an artist, I would try to capture this on canvas. When I was a kid, sure, I hated them.  The dreaded brussel sprout that might sprout up at any meal. But now, I have found, that if cooked and seasoned properly, they are quite tasty. 
 
As a member of the cruciferous family of veggies (which includes broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage) they have some seriously potent anti-cancer properties—plus loads of fiber and few calories. But it seems that Brussel Sprouts get the brunt of ridicule and hatred.  
 
There was an English post today:


A Royal Navy captain has banned Brussel sprouts from his warship,  because he loathes them so much, 
 and labelled them the "devil's vegetable".  

Now you would think he might ban aspargus in his ship because of the odorous flatulence. . . but no, he goes after misaligned Brussel Sprouts. 

When I googled brussel sprouts, I found some great recipes, even a brussel sprout pesto! So hopefully, if you have been prejudiced against brussel sprouts, I hope you will think out of the box and give them a chance.

 


  
I tried some of my own artwork with photoshop:


 
  "I'm told it was a beautiful Belgian day. . .
The smell of waffles and brussel sprouts
 filled the air."

Saturday, December 8, 2012

BLOWIN' IN THE WIND . . . . OR. . . A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT!

 
 This last weekend brought us a series of storms, "cells", high winds, flooding and power outages.  Surprisingly,our power was never an issue.  However,  in the morning, when I looked out the window on my front yard, I was surprised to see that "a river ran through it!
Fortunately, it is designed for the seasonal creek.

The wind did a great job in shaking "autumn" out of the trees. E just sees it as more vacuuming, but I see it as a beautiful carpet of leaves and tell him to just leave it for a while.


Not a great time for the California Marathon. I felt no guilt that I had not volunteered. . . Maybe next year. . .



If they had just postponed it a few hours, there would have been sun. 



As this week has passed, the weather has settled down. Gentle rains, gentle winds, even some gentle sun.

The leaves will be vacuumed up or perhaps. . . 
just
courtesy Owen Burgess
blow away.