I have my dear friend and neighbor Rana (of guest chicken recipe fame) to thank for bringing these tasty miniature leafy-green morsels into my life.

For a quick and easy way to transform the most stereotyped vegetable in American culture into delicious bite-sized crunches of goodness, read on.

The best recipes of course always have the fewest ingredients, and this is a shining example. If it were a city, it would be a city on a hill. But it’s not. It is a vegetable. And it’s very good for you.

Rana’s Brussels Sprouts

To serve two-ish people, you will need:

About 10 brussels sprouts
Olive oil
Salt & Pepper
Pinch of chili powder

First you’re going to slice your sprouts in half lengthwise.

Then, parboil them in boiling water (first bring water to a boil and then add them, pasta style) for about 5-6 minutes. This will begin the cooking process, but you’ll transfer them to a more exciting cooking venue soon, before they lose their flavor.

Using a slotted spoon transfer them into a frying pan with some olive oil and sautee for another 5-6 minutes. This will add some great flavor but since they’re already partially cooked, you don’t have to use a ton of oil to finish the job (everybody wins!).

Season with salt and pepper and chili powder (to keep things interesting) and eat with relish.

These are very pretty, and at some point I have ambitions to serve them as an appetizer, topped with some sort of savory mousse. If and when I do, dear reader, you’ll obviously be the first to know.

Note: devotees of the blog will notice that these photos were taken with a different camera than usual, and they will be correct. In lieu of my trusty Canon SLR I opted for the Hipstamatic app for the iPhone (which I recently discovered while documenting a whirlwind yoga mat and Daniel Boone statue filled road trip, here). Yes, it has hipster in the title (sort of), but it is also cheap and convenient, and sometimes, you know, this combination is just the ticket. The SLR will return soon.