Brussels Sprout Stir-Fry
June 23, 2020
Pg. 167
Sarah, Season 1
16 down…83 to go!

All growing up my dad tried (and failed) to convince me that Brussels sprouts were superior over all over vegetables. I insisted he was insane, and proclaimed broccoli to be the King of Veggies. Ironically, I hated Brussels sprouts and he despised broccoli.

This is a memorable battle for us because usually we agreed on everything. We were two peas in a pod (nothing seemed better than a food metaphor, given this is a food blog.) He was my best friend and my favorite person to eat with, unless there were Brussels sprouts involved.

Nothing saddens me more than the day I lost him in January of 2013. I miss him every day. I wholeheartedly believe in Heaven, and I can picture my dad there now, probably holding a fishing pole while grilling steaks. However, I don’t think people in Heaven look down on us. If that’s something you subscribe to, I completely support whatever you choose to believe. We all hold different beliefs, and everyone has their own way of grieving. But, I wish we could have like five phone calls to Heaven to tell someone up there some good or exciting news. If that were ever the case I think this would be my list…

• Adam Sandler ate at a restaurant on your old street in our home town! We were BIG Sandler fans. We watched all of his early movies an ungodly amount of times. My dad lived out his days in a tiny town in Arizona where nothing exciting ever happened. My dad could have literally stepped out of his front door and seen that restaurant. He would have been so pumped!
• Metallica came out with it’s own brand of whiskey where they blast their music at the barrels to “infuse” it. LOL. We were big 80s rock fans, and my dad was a big fan of whiskey. He would have definitely pre-ordered it.
• I have two half sleeves now. My dad loved tattoos, and held my hand as I got my first one. I know he would love all of my ink. Maybe I could even send a text after the call with pics! Fingers crossed!
• I love Brussels sprouts now! After more than 20 years of hating them, I have grown to not just like them, but love them! P.S. I don’t know what I was thinking as a kid picking broccoli as my favorite; there’s definitely better veggies out there.
• I’m saving my 5th until another fun/exciting thing comes up that would knock him off his feet. But I’m sure as soon as I pick it, I’ll start renegotiating my terms with God and start asking for 7 calls or 10 calls or maybe an unlimited plan!

I know that was a lot of personal info, but all that to say, I now love Brussels sprouts, and I just wish my dad were here to try these MCJ ones. I got a good caramelization on them, which brought out an amazing flavor. Adding onion to any recipe is a good way to get my mouth watering, but the fennel was a new and interesting component, as well. I’ve never cooked with fennel, or eaten it (to my knowledge), but it was good!

What did I do differently? Only one thing!

• I omitted olives. I mentioned in a previous post that I am not a fan of olives. On that prior recipe, I added the olives anyway and it almost ruined the whole thing for me. I didn’t want that to happen again, so I just left them out this time. Forgive me, Sarah!

All my love,
Dani, a big Tid

P.S. What veggie do you think reigns supreme? Has it always been your favorite, or has it evolved over time?

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