It’s eaten as a vegetable, so in this context it can probably be counted as one.
In my experience fresh sprouts are more likely to end up over-cooked and soggy - and a lot of the goodness ends up in the water. My microwaved frozen sprouts are nice and crispy, and there is no need to add salt. However I must say that Tesco's Frozen Button Sprouts are getting bigger, and the bigger they are the more difficult it is to cook them perfectly.
Yes, I usually cut sprouts in half then steam them. In fact, I always steam our "greens" - never boil them. We grow a lot of our own vegetables and prefer them fresh. We are seeing far too much pre-packaged food in our supermarkets even though they claim to be "plastic free"! I would never consider frozen vegetables. I can't remember the last time I purchased any frozen food (ice cream excepted!).
Well they come from the same family, but how they vary is explained here Turnip I differentiate them because both are sold in local Supermarkets, with the large bulbous round and very tough ones being Swedes and Turnips looking a lot like Parsnips, but with a white skin as opposed to yellow. In my opinion -North or South - (excluding Scotland for reasons set out in the link) I regard them quite separately and prefer the term Swede, which just happens to be the term I was brought up with.
Although pumpkins exist in a wide range of colours the ones I normally see on sale are orange, and that's the colour I associate with Halloween. Not that Halloween means much to me - we never had anything to do with it when I was young, perhaps because we were more interested in Guy Fawkes Night.
Oh dear Pauline with me 'SALT' -particularly the absence of same - is a sore subject. I am old school when it comes to cooking and admit to a French* influence that food cooked without the right level of salt is anathema; FLAVOURLESS at worst or OR BLAND at best. Fresh vegetables should always have a 'pinch' (varying from half to a teaspoon) of salt added to the water. With frozen you may need a trial and error approach, but generally, I err on a smaller 'pinch'. Pasta and Potatoes must ALWAYS be cooked in salted water. I only ever leave out salt when other ingredients have their own salt content (anchovies for example or obviously fish sauce) or when adding a little pasta water to the pan.
Yes the first bit of that advice about cutting sprouts I do follow, as did my mother and mother-in-laws before me. Not sure about the resting but likely good sense depending on where they were before the cutting. I am most interested in the olive oil and garlic tip, and roasting and adding balsamic vinegar or lemon juice. That sounds interesting and may have to try same.
Must be a regional thing. My wife, who grew up in the same area as me, but has Welsh heritage, had never heard of sprouts being halved or quartered. Nor is there any mention that I could find on Delia Smith's website (easier to use Google than check through all my Delia Smith books).
I suppose I should have qualified my agreement about sprouts being cut and will do so in a moment but, to aid understanding, it is first necessary to relate that my first marriage was to a girl from rural Northamptonshire who had remarkable parents. Her father held down a job at a nearby Railway Works and still had time to run a (not so) Small Holding and grew every vegetable possible and flowers too for that matter. If that wasn't enough in addition he kept pigs, hens, ducks (on a pond) and bred rabbits and pheasants. We rarely wanted for food which was quite a saving being young married. In addition her mother was a traditional cook and prepared vegetables as they had been prepared for generations. It was she who advocated cutting sprouts and all produce was fresh and of course my wife practised what she had been taught.
Probably a 'without' although I do sometimes serve the meat juices (fat removed) as 'gravy', and I have sometimes thickened the meat juices with cornflour. I never use gravy browning, nor do I eat gravy that has been made with it, though my husband sometimes has gravy if we eat out in a carvery.
My wife would also use a little cornflour mixed with COLD water (never hot) to thicken the juices and endeavour to pour away much of the fat. She then would use Bisto to add colour. I personally like to make gravy using a Knorr (or similar) stock cube (Beef or Chicken) or part of same, perhaps mixed with a small spoonful of Tesco gravy granules if I need to thicken. I do admit however that sometimes Bisto does the job just as well.
Definitely with gravy - the roast is too dry otherwise. I use the meat juices, pour off the fat and thicken with cornflour. I find it doesn't need colouring, or salt. But then I'm probably the world's worst cook...