Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Sweet Potato Spice Bread Experiment 1.0

You don't need amounts for this recipe...just the ingredients and the method. Try this recipe if you were ever fed mushy, over-boiled Brussels sprouts as a kid only to have your gag reflex kick in! Roasting them this way is the only way we eat 'em. :-)
Try to buy sprouts that are approximately the same size, so that they cook at the same rate. They'll be crispy nut brown on the outside and nice and soft on the inside. Nom! A great pairing with pork tenderloin because they cook at the same oven temp.


Roasted Brussels Sprouts:
(from the Barefoot Contessa)

1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts
3 tablespoons good olive oil (I don't measure this)
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt (don't measure this neither!)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (...or this :-)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut off the brown ends of the Brussels sprouts and pull off any yellow outer leaves.


Line a sheet pan with foil and put your sprouts on. Sprinkle them with olive oil and rub the oil on with your paws. Salt and pepper them then roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. Shake the pan from time to time (about every 5-10 min) to brown the sprouts evenly. Sprinkle with more kosher salt if desired and serve immediately.



Sweet Potato Spice Bread version 1.0:

Has cooking become an obsession if I wake up in the middle of the night with an idea for the next stage of my sweet potato bread experiment? If so, then I'm there.
I'm posting about the first go just so I remember where I started. The idea was to make a semi-savory quick bread using roasted mashed sweet potato. Not being a baker, I really don't have a clue what I'm doing, or why in a recipe like this, but I'm always game to try.
I want this to be a loaf rather than muffins, but in the interest of being able to change half the batter and cooking time involved I made muffins for the experimentation stage. I wanted to see just how much sweetness the potatoes would provide without adding too much in the way of extra sweetener. 3 Tbs. between the molasses and agave nectar is all I added this time, but next time I think I'll try for using some orange juice for the liquid, and more than 3 Tbs of maple syrup or agave. For the next batch I think I'll nix the molasses and wheat germ, add more cinnamon and salt, and use a combo of white whole wheat flour and oat flour.
In other words almost a totally different recipe! :-)

3/4 whole wheat flour
1 1/8 cup spelt flour
1/4 cup toasted wheat germ
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups mashed roasted sweet potato
1 Tbs molasses
2 Tbs agave
2 Tbs canola oil
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 egg
optional: chopped walnuts pushed into the tops of the muffins after dividing batter into cups.

Preheat oven to 350.
Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Mix all wet ingredients in a smaller bowl.
Add wet to dry and mix until just combined.
Divide evenly between 11 oiled muffin cups and bake for ~18 minutes.
Let rest in tin for ~5 min then remove to a cooling rack until cool.