Side series: the humble brussel sprout

Oh how we hated these all as children.  I remember my brother used to hide his in a little cavity inside our family table.  The main reason I remember this is because I was the one blamed when my father found them there.  I felt this was particularly unjust because I had already suffered the punishment of eating my brussel sprouts in the first place.

Two theories on why brussel sprouts tasted so bad when you were 7 years old:

1) The average adult reportedly has approximately 10,000 taste buds, but children have more.  Infants seem to arrive hard-wired to react to bitterness because most natural poisons also have a bitter taste.  So it is really a survival mechanism.  After time we learn that bitterness won't kill us and learn to enjoy the flavour more, and some of our taste buds die off.

2) Boiling brussel sprouts in water until they are translucent really doesn't do them much justice.

Brussel sprouts are actually a delightful vegetable when cooked well.  Here is one way you can do it but there are many more.  Some particularly tasty versions involve bacon.

The Humble Brussel Sprout with Lemon

You'll need:
Brussel sprouts
1 clove garlic finely sliced
1 Tbsp butter
Rind and juice of one lemon
Slithered almonds
Salt and pepper

To make:
Chop your brussel sprouts in half. Remove and dead leaves and cut the stalks out.
Heat pan on medium heat. Melt butter, add garlic, and then add the brussel sprouts to the pan, cut-side facing down. 
Squeeze over the lemon juice, scatter over the zest, grind lots of salt and pepper over the sprouts. 
Cover the pan with a lid and allow to cook for around five minutes. Check the sprouts and if you prefer them slightly on the softer side, allow to cook covered for another three minutes.
Top with slithered almonds.

You're done!