brussels sprouts, really?

Really! That's what I took to Smitty and Mary's for the Thanksgiving gathering!
I had told him on Monday, when we did the sales tax report, that I'd bring those.
He didn't seem too enthralled at the thought.
I guess he was still thinking of them as 'monkey balls', what we called them as kids.
(smile)
After assuring him that I would be roasting them and he would like them, I decided to try to add in some other bright vegetables, to make it colorful and inviting.
Beets, I had thought, beets and carrots, those would be colorful!
Plus, I knew he liked beets.
I remembered that he asked for them for his birthday dinner many years ago.
When we were kids, you see, Mama would allow us to request a particular meal or item.
Beets were the vegetable he wanted.
Ack.
I never cared for them.
In fact, outside of one instance about nine years ago, when I'd eaten pickled beets, I had not eaten beets since I was kid. Mama had always told us to take some of whatever veggie was served. "Try some," she'd say, "you might find you like it."
Then, back when I was dating Harry of Charleston, he was cooking dinner one night and said he was making brussels sprouts.
That became one of my new favorites in the vegetable world!
Another time, he included pickled beets with dinner at his place.
Those weren't particularly appreciated by my taste buds, but they were edible.
(smile)
Remembering those experiences, then, encouraged me into today's foray.
I bought the raw beets - "from out of the ground" as Carolyn said - on Monday. I'd had to ask the produce clerk to help me find them.
(smile!)
There were four in the cluster, with bright purplish-red stems, full of large purplish-red-veined leaves, towering above each beet. Quite pretty!

My "40th Anniversary Edition Betty Crocker's Cookbook" - a gift from Mama for my 1992 wedding - was reassuring. The beets I had bought were prime for cooking and eating! All that was needed was to cut off the greenery, leaving only one inch of the stem above each beet. Then, to wash them thoroughly to remove any loose dirt, wrap in aluminum foil, then pop into 400 °F oven for an hour and walk away.
That's them above, nestled on the same pan as the butternut squash for my breakfast.
(smile)

So I had returned at that time to remove them, hoping for the best.
Ah, but I still had to peel the beets and remove the stem!
And so I did, dyeing my hands red in the process.
Then, I sliced the four beets into quarter-inch disks and popped them back into the over to stay warm.
Quite lovely they were!

Quite lovely they were beside the Brussels sprouts, too!
Mary had placed the dish right at the head of the food line - what an honor!
I think everyone had a slice of beets, except maybe Kobe.
And, as it turned out, Tyler and Zach are big lovers of roasted Brussels sprouts and very much approved of the lemon pepper seasoning on them. In fact all of the sprouts were eaten and I had none to bring home.
As for the beets, at day's end, three slices remained... and I gave them to Smitty.
(smile)
i thank You, God, for family and this time together...
and this opportunity to show my brother my love for him.