Monday, December 4, 2017

In Which I Deal with BS*



*Brussels sprouts!

The garden has been done for a while now, with only the Brussels sprouts remaining. John wanted to pick them a month ago, but I kept hearing my grandmother saying that they are always better after a few hard frosts. That finally happened, so I decided it was time to quit procrastinating, get out there, and deal with them.


 I yanked them all out,


then cut off the leaves and the roots. Some of the stems were big and tough enough that I had to try a bigger tool than pruning shears. Here's my gardening tip of the day: don't use the saw to try and cut through Brussels sprouts stems. It won't work (and you might end up saying bad words).


So I left the roots on and sat outside at the picnic table to pick the sprouts off.


Why, yes, this did feel like a lot of work for not too many sprouts, especially when they still needed to be cleaned, trimmed, and blanched.



I just guessed at how long to blanch the sprouts because I had a combination of tiny little ones and slightly more normal sized ones. If Barbie ever grows Brussels sprouts, I'm pretty sure they'll resemble the miniature one on the left.


Lots of tedious work yielded only five packs of sprouts for the freezer, but that is better than none, and I don't have to deal with BS for another year!
Posted by at
Labels: , , ,

17 comments:

  1. MaryDecember 4, 2017 at 7:19 AM

    yum...but I (of course :-) had no idea BS were so much work to prepare! five packs will be a great treat over the coming months!

    ReplyDelete
  2. KymDecember 4, 2017 at 7:25 AM

    Good work!!! I'm always so . . . over . . . my garden by this point that I probably would have left them out there til Spring. I bet they'll taste fabulous - and well worth the effort. XO

    ReplyDelete
  3. Becky R.December 4, 2017 at 7:39 AM

    I find most garden work tedious when it comes to cleaning and "putting up" as we say here in the South. But it is almost always worth it! If everyone had to grow their own food, they would appreciate being able to go to the grocery store a lot more. I bet those sprouts will taste great, Bonny, and be worth every minute of prep. At least I certainly hope so!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. BonnyDecember 4, 2017 at 10:39 AM

      These Brussels sprouts have been making me feel guilty every time I looked out the kitchen window, so it was time to just do it. It is really nice to be able to go to the freezer and grab a pack of our own vegetables for dinner, but you know it does takes some work to get them in the freezer. And you're so right that it is almost always worthwhile!

      Delete
  4. JuliannDecember 4, 2017 at 7:57 AM

    I have been seeing those Brussels sprout branches at Trader Joe’s but never thought about how much Work would go I to growing and harvesting.

    ReplyDelete
  5. VeraDecember 4, 2017 at 8:27 AM

    You'll be happy to have those bags later on! We grew BS once, but they are a lot of work (and they can get quite wormy which puts me off - way off - LOL). Nice that chore is out of the way now!

    ReplyDelete
  6. DebbieDecember 4, 2017 at 9:40 AM

    I love Brussels Sprouts and I bet yours will taste great and make all that work worth the effort!

    ReplyDelete
  7. margeneDecember 4, 2017 at 10:32 AM

    Your sprouts look wonderful! We always end up with more aphids than sprouts so we finally gave up. Everything garden takes a lot of work, but usually, the yield is so much better than "store bought". Enjoy!

    ReplyDelete
  8. CaroleDecember 4, 2017 at 11:27 AM

    I LOVE fresh brussels sprouts and I hope all that work will be worth it when you eat them!

    ReplyDelete
  9. PattyDecember 4, 2017 at 2:20 PM

    I love fresh Brussels sprouts too! It looks like you got a good amount...but maybe not for all of that work!

    ReplyDelete
  10. kathy bDecember 4, 2017 at 7:35 PM

    Your BS are amazing NICE harvest! ! WE love brussel sprouts browned with bacon....and red peppers. Just sayin

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. BonnyDecember 4, 2017 at 8:12 PM

      Thank you, Kathy! I'm actually not a big fan of Brussels sprouts (my husband is the one who likes them), but next time I'm going to take your suggestion of browning with bacon and red peppers. Everything is better with bacon!

      Delete
  11. Helen BDecember 5, 2017 at 6:05 AM

    your Brussels sprouts look amazing, we've only a few of ours this year and that was enough work,my girls call them baby cabbages.

    ReplyDelete
  12. BridgetDecember 5, 2017 at 8:49 AM

    OMG I love brussels sprouts!! You're lucky to have them in your freezer, and know they are from your garden. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  13. AsKatKnitsDecember 5, 2017 at 8:52 AM

    Oh my, I am laughing at the Barbie quote, but I am quite sure Barbie never gardened! Maybe Skipper did though! Ha ha! They look beautiful and I bet they will taste incredible!

    ReplyDelete
  14. JaneDecember 5, 2017 at 8:56 PM

    Wow, I am impressed. Brussel Sprouts are a lot of work but I do like them. Most often I roast them with some other veggies. Two weeks ago I cleaned, chopped, blanched, and froze several packages of carrots from the garden. I always think about my great grandparents who farmed and tried to grow most of what they would eat in the winter. I admire those hearty souls.

    ReplyDelete
  15. karenDecember 6, 2017 at 8:33 AM

    that wee little brussel sprout is calling my name! I love them so much and I'm the only one who does. Loved the title of your blog post today, funny :)

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting and taking the time to comment! :-)

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)