No matter how you spell it, these are tasty veggies

I grew up hating Brussels sprouts. My mother, who followed the 1950s-era cooking style of boiling the hell out of any and all vegetables, would serve them up on a plate with no spice adornment whatsoever. And, of course, she would expect us to clean our plates.

Not long ago, though, I discovered a trick: It's called roasting. Bear with me as I take you through what, to me, is Cooking 101 (which is about as advanced as I get). You take a couple dozen Brussels sprouts, cut off the stems, halve them, throw them in a bowl, drizzle a bit of olive oil over them, add some Kosher salt (the big-grain kind), spread them out on an oiled baking pan, let them sit in your oven (that has been pre-set at 400) for 20 minutes and … voila! A dish even my mother couldn't have screwed up.

So I'm always on alert in grocery stores when Brussels sprouts go on special. As they were the other day in Trader Joe's. I might not even have noticed them, though, had I not seen a store employee pointing to the sign pictured in the above photo — and laughing.

Not even sure what Brussels spouts are. But I bought some.

Hope they taste the same as Brussels sprouts.