Brussel Sprouts Can Be Good

Growing up I hated Brussel Sprouts.  I still do when somebody else makes them.  I think there is one simple trick to making them.  Boil them in milk.  It takes out the bitterness or does something like that to them.  Whatever it is--they're good.  Here's my take.

Take some fresh herbs.  I use basil and sage.  Add them to water and bring to a boil.  Let herbs boil in water for a few minutes to make a sort of tea.  Add milk.  I use about half water and half milk.  Add salt and pepper.  Once boiling, and be careful you watch it so it doesn't boil over.  Drop in your brussel sprouts. Once it returns to a boil turn the heat down a bit. Throw in a little chunk of butter if you want.  Boil over medium-high heat for about 7 minutes then scoop out and let drain and cool for a few minutes.  If you want coat with a little butter and salt and pepper but it's not necessary.  These will be the best brussel sprouts you've ever had.

A Tomato Sauce and a Salmon and Brussel Sprouts dinner: two simple culinary delights that begin with an herb garden

With every year I garden, I am becoming increasingly aware of the value of growing herbs. I don't understand why everyone doesn't have a simple herb garden. One can interweave the plants with flowers and have something that has aesthetic value to multiple senses. Sages and basil with a little oregano and thyme mixed in with various flowers has multiple benefits. Put them in the ground and keep them watered and you will be happy.

The roma tomatoes are starting to ripen. And small batches of fresh tomato sauce this time of year is something I look forward to making. I use to focus on salsa but that has taken second fiddle. My most recent focus is a honey-bourbon cream tomato sauce.

Honey-Bourbon Tomato Cream Sauce
I take a half dozen (or however many I have--usually about 4 cups worth) roma tomatoes and skin them. It's easy to skin tomatoes: core them, slice an x pattern into the bottom and drop them in boiling water for about 15 seconds (at the most) then plunge them into an ice water bath. The skin comes right off a healthy, ripe tomato.

I pull some oregano, basil, and rosemary from the garden and a few cloves of garlic I grew and dried. This was my first year growing garlic and it is a definite step up from anything store bought. So I chop up the herbs and the garlic and heat up some olive oil. Then I drop in the garlic and let it saute for about a minute then drop in the other herbs. After another minute or so I add the bourbon. And I haven't figured out the measurements yet but I'm thinking about a 1/4 cup of bourbon for four cups of tomatoes. I guess it might depend on whether or not you like bourbon, but if you don't like the taste of bourbon, why cook with it? I let it boil to get the alcohol out and then I add about a tablespoon of honey and tomatoes. I chop up the tomatoes into big chunks before adding them.  I don't use a lot of honey. The bourbon already provides some sweetness. Then you just let it cook over low heat for at least a half an hour covered. The longer the better. Of course you have to keep an eye on it, especially with the meaty tomatoes. This sauce got really condensed. After simmering, I add a half cup of half and half.

I also ended up adding a small can of tomato paste and a cup of the pasta water to the most recent batch. Anyway it was good and simple to make. I know it can be better though if I get the flavors properly proportioned. I also forgot to add salt which makes a difference in taste, too.

Herb Crusted Salmon and Brussel Sprouts
The other night I pulled a few leaves of thai basil and sage. I chopped up a garlic clove and some of the basil and rubbed it on top of a sockeye salmon filet with some olive oil and sea salt. I brought some water to a boil then added the same amount of milk and once it was boiling added salt and pepper and tossed in the brussel sprouts. I boiled them for 8 minutes. When two minutes were left I added the sage leaves and the thai basil leaves and a little butter. And drained them once the two minutes were up.

I grilled the salmon 3.5 minutes to a side over medium heat skin side down first. And I had a nice simple dinner. It all took about 20 minutes.

The Water Garden

Press pause if you want the above video to stop looping or else it's gonna keep playing.  I'd like to say I put the pond in for under $500.  I would be telling the truth as long as you don't count anything around it say the patio, wall, plants, etc.  I won't go as far as to say I've created a backyard paradise.  And my actual garden has really taken a hit this year though it looks decent right now.  The more important thing is I have myself a backyard retreat.  A place I can easily relax, write, or just think.  Wildlife visit--more than I'd like them to (Deer, for example are uninvited due to their poor manners).  Birds and butterflies are beginning to take notice of it.  I've always loved the sound of running water.  Whenever I travel, I make sure I hike to a waterfall (when possible, waterfalls are hard to come by in the desert.).   A tour of the full garden is down below.  Time will tell if my hard work pays off when I see how it looks after winter.
I've tried my hand at a container garden with minimal success.  Apparently you really need to keep those things watered.  I've managed okay with herbs like thyme and oregano but they do just as well in the ground, oregano a bit too well.  I've always had too many tomato plants.  I thought containers would be a good idea.  I'll try again next year and if they don't produce then, I'm done with it.  You'll notice on the quick tour that there's still much cleaning up to do but there is plenty to see, some plants have really taken off.  I love the vincas.  You don't need to water those suckers at all and they stay full of blooms with great looking foliage.  I've tried my hand at roses this year--real ones--not the knock-offs, I mean knock-outs.  More on that in another post.  The fish pond and waterfall is my favorite addition.  I really hope I pull it off long term.  Next year, I'll get more plants in there early in the spring.  Plus I'll see how the ones in there winter over.  I'm really tempted to keep the waterfall running through the winter.  The nieces will be over soon to add rocks around the fountain and waterfall, that should give it a better look.  The pond has several fish in it. 
The nephew and each niece are putting a fish in it and naming it.  More on that in another post.  I'll post another video once I get things cleaned up a little better.  Until then, enjoy.

Response to Mick Parson's Rules for Living

I've mentioned Mick before a while back.  Great writer--someone we should all read.  He can easily be mistaken as a writer's writer and I suppose all of us fall into that category to a certain extent but his ohio expatriate blog was always my favorite and I am happy to see it up and publishing again.  His most recent post warrants some response from me.  It's a good exercise really--rules for living. It's a working list for him.  Here's my response--which is slowly turning into it's own list.

1) Mick's Rule: do no harm.  My rule: do unto others as you'd have them do to you.  But all his first one really is, is "Don't be an asshole".  And I'm with him there; we're all going to be an asshole sometimes though so I think it's important to add the importance of apologizing and being able to admit when we're wrong.  We're all going to screw up sometimes.  We might do harm to someone without realizing; often times it's how we handle when we screw up that makes or breaks us.  Saying "I'm sorry" or "I was wrong, you were right" are good things to do when the moment calls for it.  But I agree with his premise, forcing our will on others only makes the world a more miserable place.  Being open to other's llifestyles and learning to accept and coexist make us a far richer society and make for a happier, more interesting world.  It's hard for people to do though.  Fear drives so many of us, especially during times like these, full of economic hardships.  Traversing into the unknown and taking risks can have far greater ramifications. But when I think about that, it's all the more reason to not be an asshole.

2)  Mick's rule: Wear clean socks.  My rule: Wear clean underwear and keep your bellybutton clean.  I don't always wear clean socks.  And it doesn't affect my psychoses one bit.  I do wear clean underwear though and always clean out my belly button.  This is not because of any parental rules or anything like that.  My dad used to work in the OR and be in on a lot of emergency surgeries.  I remember him talking once about how dirty peoples underwear were sometimes and how dirty their belly buttons would be.  Of course, he may have been saying this just to get me to wear clean underwear and to scrub my belly button.  I don't really know; I remember being pretty young.  He may have mentioned something about dirty socks, too, but if he did, it never really registered.  In fairness to Mick, he's talking about just feeling better having clean socks on.  Yeah, I don't see it, clean underwear maybe . . . but not clean socks.

3)  Mick's rule:  Read something non-essential every day.  My rule: Read something every day.  I think it can be something essential; just read every day.  Again, I'm with him on the premise.  There are too many anti-intellectual people and too many stupid people in the world.  Now, it just occured to me, that the more some of those people read, the dumber they might get.  Especially if they're already unwilling to think for themselves.  Still, I think exercising your mind every day is important, maybe that should be the rule.

4)  Mick's rule: Live near a bar. My rule: drink when you need to--if you don't have any friends to drink with, pretend you do.  Of course, such things should be done when the days work is finished.

5)  Mick's rule: Never offend a bartender,secretary or janitor.  Amen to that.

6)  Mick's rule: Be kind to all critter's smaller than you.  My rule:  Be nice to animals until they fuck up your garden such as eat your tomato plants, dig out your corn, eat your tulips, and eat your beans.  Squirrels, rabbits, deer and mourning doves have prices on their heads in my back yard. 

7)  Mick's rule: Apologize when it's sincere and always keep your integrity.  My rule: see #1.

8) Mick's rule: Be honest.  My rule:  Be honest but also respectful, empathetic, and sensitive to the feelings of others.  Notice he didn't say, "be brutally honest."

9)  Mick's rule: You know you had a good day when you can sleep that night.  My rule: see #4

10)  Mick's rule: The only thing you have to do in life is die. Everything else is an option.  My rule:  Let love rule, baby.  Seriously, moderation is the key to life.  Avoid excess and explore new things and take on new adventures with every year of your life.  Learn to forgive, not to where people keep screwing you over but to where you can still look someone in the eye after they do.  It ain't easy, especially when you're not asked to forgive someone who has done you wrong, all the more reason to do it in your own mind, though: let love rule, baby.  I suppose in some respects this brings us back to number 1.