Make time to eat!

It’s not unusual for me to get so absorbed in what I’m doing, I forget to eat. Well, okay, that’s not entirely true. I neglect to eat. Like today. Here it just after 1 in the afternoon and I’m finally having something! My growling stomach should’ve forced me into the kitchen hours ago.

At least I’m making up for it by having a blast of nutrients in the form of a freshly made juice. I ventured into the garden this morning and harvested the last of my brussel sprout plant leaves. In a post I published earlier in the gardening season, I mention these lovely greens. They’re fabulous! I LOVE them!

I’d only considered consuming them when I realized I wouldn’t actually get sprouts. I was thrilled to learn the leaves are edible and even more thrilled when I found out how mild in flavor they are. It’s also late in the year for having anything still alive in my garden (in fact, the only other veggie I have yet to pick is kale) and these aren’t showing any ill effects of the cooler weather or frequent rain. I will absolutely be planting these again next year even if I never get sprouts. I highly recommend trying them. They’re an incredibly sturdy plant and the leaves aren’t dainty in any way. Torrential rains simply shed off them like water off a duck’s back (not that I’ve ever seen water shedding off a duck’s back).

They’re great cooked in a stir-fry with garlic slivers, onions and red, orange and/or yellow bell peppers. Add a can of black beans and some seasonings (if you like, I don’t bother) and a diced tomato or two. Roll up in a homemade, whole wheat tortilla. Yummy! Or try them thinly sliced in a mixed greens salad. You probably won’t even know they’re in there but you’ll reap their benefits. (Hey! I used ‘they’re’, ‘there’ and ‘their’ all in one sentence and I did it correctly). And, of course, use them in juicing. Smoothies too, although I have not done so yet.

I picked 38 leaves today, in various sizes since I was taking all I could get. I’m sad gardening season is over. However, I do enjoy winter so I will get over my sadness 🙂

As you can see, my sprouts really didn’t yield anything worth saving. They’re smaller than a green pea, lol.Fortunately, the leaves made up for any effort I went to by starting the plants from seed.

Aren’t they beautiful? Green as can be and no damage from bugs. I mean not ONE single bug hole. I wouldn’t care if there were anyway. I’m just loving these leaves so much I could go on and on about them 🙂

I used 12 smaller ones in my juice and the rest will go in the fridge to be used soon in the above mentioned stir-fry. Trust me. If you can plant brussel sprout plants, even if you detest brussel sprouts (how could you??), please give them a try. You can never go wrong eating more leafy greens. And variety is fantastic!

My apple and brussel sprout leaf juice was wonderful. A bit foamy but sweet and refreshing.

Now I’ll have a meal of homemade soup (cooked on my wood stove to see if I could use it rather than my electric range) and a homemade sourdough bun. And I’ll remember to have breakfast tomorrow.

EAT those brussel sprout leaves!

Autumn has always been one of my favorite seasons. However, this year, I’m saddened that the cooler weather means gardening is coming to an end. It’s a wonderful luxury to ‘pick and plate’. That’s a term I just came up with 🙂 I’m sure it already exists though.

The other day I was looking at my brussel sprout plants. They’re really not as pathetic as the picture shows, lol. Despite beginning them too late, they’re almost hip high and in great health. Any insect problems were early on. But (huge sigh) they won’t produce those lovely, little balls of yumminess. (I adore brussel sprouts!).

I only get to eat them when I’m fortunate enough to find organic ones in the grocery store. Tragically (lol) I haven’t had a single brussel sprout in at least a year and a half!!

I was thinking how the leaves of brussel sprout plants resemble collard greens. It would be a shame for the plants to go to waste. Could the leaves be eaten? Naturally, I Googled it.

And you can eat brussel sprout leaves! Yay! I immediately went and picked some. They’re as big as my head and a beautiful, dark green. Even the bug hole-y leaves meet with my approval. I can’t wait to try them for lunch. I’m wondering if I could make some kind of “cabbage” roll. . . . .a new recipe is on the horizon. I can feel it 🙂

Before you toss or compost those brussel sprout plants, consider harvesting the leaves. It’s another way of getting those glorious, nutrient-dense greens!