I don’t understand what all the fuss is about brussels sprouts.

I’ve never had brussels sprouts until Annie cooked them for us recently. But all I heard about brussels sprouts before then was how much people hated them. I wondered why, since it seemed to me that they were just a strange looking little cabbage ball that grows on a stalk. What’s not to love?

The other day, Annie picked up a stalk of brussels sprouts at the farmer’s market and brought it home. First she cut the sprouts off the stalk. She then cut each sprout in half and washed them.

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In a time when the economy has been a challenge for most everyone, I’ve been reading about different suggestions on how to live more frugally. One way is to cook at home more. Well, I’ve always done that and I’ve always tried to be smart about buying produce in season (which are normally on sale and also fresher) and stocking up when meats go on sale.

But I also firmly believe that eating cheaply doesn’t mean giving up on flavor or variety. I think that if we all just chose to cook more from scratch and use less processed or packaged foods, we’d be able to stretch our money further and also live a healthier life.

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Updated March 17, 2009

Originally posted April 8, 2007

What to do with all those leftovers from that Corned Beef dinner?

I know what you’re thinkin’:

Corned Beef Hash with Fried Egg

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All my life growing up, my mom would make corned beef for us out of a can. Corned beef was like Spam, except it was beef instead of pork. To me, corned beef was something you’d fry up with some egg (like an omelet) and then sandwich between two slices of buttered bread with a squirt of ketchup. It was delicious. That was the only corned beef I knew. I never knew any other kind existed.

The first time I had real corned beef was in Hawaii, when I was with my dear friend, June. She had invited me to her house for some corned beef and cabbage. I was happy to have it, and was expecting what my mom had made me all my growing up years. (more…)