Steaming
How To Make Plain Steamed Vegetables More Exciting
Blanching
Stir-Frying
Colorful and Tasty Combinations for Stir-Frying
Baking
Vegetables You Could Try
Green Leafy Vegetables
Roots and Squashes
The Fat Burners
Cabbage Family
Spices That Are Good To Have
Steaming is one way to prepare simple, clean tasting vegetables, free of salt, oil or seasoning. It is especially helpful to get to know how vegetables taste in their most simple and pure form. Steaming takes 5-10 minutes to prepare green leafy vegetables, and 10-25 minutes to prepare roots. What you need is a steaming basket and a pot with lid filled with about two inches of water.
Steamers come in a variety of forms. The stainless steel fold up variety fits inside a pot to hold the vegetables above water. Some pots are specifically made with holes in the bottom for steaming over another pot of water.
Wash the vegetables, cut into slender shapes, bring water to a boil, cover the pot and steam vegetables in the steaming basket over the water for several minutes until they become bright. Taste and decide if it is well enough cooked for you. Cook longer if you prefer. Be sure to take the vegetables out of the pot and splash cool water over them, or they will continue to cook and lose color.
These can be applied to all vegetables that you wish to use for steaming:
Add 1 tablespoon olive oil or toasted sesame oil to every 2 cups of greens.
Add 2 bay leaves or 1 teaspoon cumin seeds to the water.
Sprinkle greens with toasted pumpkin, sesame, flax, or sunflower seeds, almonds, or walnuts.
Sprinkle greens with fresh herbs: mint, dill, basil, parsley, cilantro, scallion.
Use tamari soy sauce or umeboshi vinegar to add extra flavor.
Squeeze fresh lemon juice over them.
After steaming them quickly stir-fry with a pinch of sea salt, olive oil, and garlic.
Blanching, or quick boiling, is another way to prepare vegetables quickly and "cleanly." Blanching helps break down the fiber of vegetables more than steaming does, which can be helpful for digestion. Blanching vegetables also removes their raw flavors, makes them more digestible and brightens up color.
Bring water to a boil, add a pinch of salt (this will help the vegetables retain their bright colors). Wash and chop the vegetables. Drop the vegetables into the water and lower the heat. Cook until they become bright. If you prefer softer vegetables, let them cook longer. When finished, rinse the vegetables in cool water to stop the cooking process.
Remember, for both steaming and blanching, different vegetables take different amounts of time to cook. Harder vegetables like roots take the longest. Green leafy vegetables like collards or bok choy take much less time.
Any vegetables can be steamed or blanched. These 2 cooking methods are especially good when you want to "get to know" a new vegetable because they really let you taste the essential flavor of the vegetable.
You can serve steamed or blanched vegetables plain, with a dressing, or a wedge of lemon. Try adding roasted nuts or seeds as a topping, or some freshly ground pepper.
Experiment with different combinations of vegetables. Pay attention to colors, textures and flavors!
Stir-frying is another quick and nutritious way to prepare vegetables. You can stir-fry in oil, or in water. Stir-frying in oil makes a tastier dish since the hot oil seals in the flavor. You can use any kind of vegetables. The softer vegetables like Chinese cabbage, bok choy, thinly sliced carrots, mushrooms and onions will only take a few minutes to cook.
Before you start, have all of the vegetables cut into desired pieces—thinner slices and smaller pieces will cook faster and more evenly.
If you choose to use oil, heat a wok or a frying pan and add a small amount of oil (olive and canola oils work well for stir-frying). If you are making a small amount of vegetables, usually just brushing the wok or pan with oil is enough. Start with the harder vegetables like roots. Add one variety at a time and cook them until they become shiny, before adding the next ones. Sprinkling a pinch of sea salt over the vegetables draws just enough moisture to prevent sticking and it also makes them taste sweeter. You can also sprinkle water over your vegetables to gain extra steam and heat, and it looks very professional!
If you choose to sauté with water, add 1 inch of water to your wok or pan, and bring to boil. Add thinly sliced vegetables, cover and simmer for 5-10 minutes.
At the end of cooking you can make a nice sauce, thickened with arrowroot or kuzu and seasoned with soy sauce, ginger or garlic.
Onions, carrots and snow peas
Chinese cabbage, mung bean sprouts and scallions
Leeks, carrots and red peppers
Onions, mushrooms and zucchini with dried basil
Yellow patty pan squash and mizuna greens with garlic
Add tofu or tempeh slices for added protein.
Add cooked grains to the vegetables toward the end for impromptu "fried rice."
Certain vegetables taste best baked. Baking brings out the very essence of the vegetables, especially squashes and roots. You need a baking pan with lid, your vegetables and your oven, between 375-450 degree heat for 50-60 minutes.
Collard greens
Kale: dinosaur kale, purple kale and lucinato kale
Dandelion greens
Mustard greens
Chards: swiss chard, red chard, and rainbow chard
Beet greens
Watercress
Parsley
Lettuces
Carrot
Parsnip
Turnips
Rutabaga
Burdock
Celery root
Burdock root
Acorn squash
Kabocha squash
Butternut squash
Daikon radish
Leek
Scallion
Turnip
Onions
Celery
Broccoli
Cauliflower
All cabbages
Brussels sprouts
Bay leaf
Oregano
Thyme
Sage rosemary
Dill
Fennel
Cumin
Caraway
Mustard seeds
Marjoram
Garlic
Basil
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