I think Brussels sprouts are misunderstood.

As a kid, I heard “Brussels sprouts” and wanted to gag. My mom cooked us Brussels sprouts once for dinner when I was younger and made my sisters and I eat it, although she wouldn’t even try them. It was the most horrible side dish I had ever tasted. Maybe it was the stigma I already had about the vegetable, or maybe it was simply that my mom sucked at cooking.

Somewhere along the line, Brussels sprouts got a bad rap.

The Brussels sprouts dish I made, front and center, along with other vegetarian delights

Years later, at the age of 28, I decided to give Brussels sprouts another try. Now that I’m more mature (that’s a debatable statement), maybe my taste matured also. I hopped onto Pinterest, my go-to source for new recipes, and found one that looked tasty.

It seemed like destiny while I was walking through the Broad Ripple Farmer’s Market the next day when I came across huge stalks of Brussels sprouts for sale. I bought one, gathered the rest of the ingredients and started cooking.

To make a long story short, the recipe included cranberries, pecans, Gorgonzola cheese, maple syrup and balsamic vinegar…and the result was amazing. I loved every bite of it, and everyone who tried it agreed. It is now my mission to change the world’s attitude on Brussels sprouts.

You can get the whole recipe with instructions for preparation from Cookie + kate, an awesome blog with vegetarian whole foods recipes.

This blog is part of Think Kit, and today I used a lifeline prompt: “What food or meal could you eat every day?”