I hate veges.Love salad stuff, lettuce, carrots, tomatoes. spring onion, onion, mushroom, potatoes, kumara.Ok, I'll stop there.
I'm talking about veges like broccoli, cauli, cabbage, beans, all the kind of stuff you find in frozen mixed vege bags at the supermarket.
So, cos I'm feeling the need to be eating some at the moment, how do I steam veges!Cos I've only ever cooked them in water and they just are not good now unless I cover them with gravy.
How can I make them more appealing!
Thanks.
lavender32,
Jan 29, 2:10pm
Why not try stirfrying your vegies & at a little soya sauce or sweet thai chilly sauce.
ace441,
Jan 29, 2:33pm
I cut broc and cauli florets, boil, drain and transfer to a dish. Sprinkle with grated cheese and grill or, as hubby hates cheese sauce, I cook (boil) a whole cauli and then sprinkle with cheese and grill. You could also cut spuds, kumara, carrots etc. into large chunks, rub with olive oil and bake in oven until crispy (roasted) - really yummy.
ant_sonja,
Jan 29, 3:02pm
Do you have a steamer! Basically steaming is cooking something suspended over hot water, sealed with a lid so the food cooks. You can test with a skewer for tenderness but generally cauli/broc will only take a few minutes. As for recipes, steamed cauli with butter/salt/nutmeg is nice as well as/or a grating of cheese (parmesan is fab as you only need a small amount for loads of flavour). Steamed broc dressed when still warm with sesame seed oil, toasted sesame seeds and lemon juice, salt/pepper - Yum! I must admit tho that the frozen varieties available from the supermarket leave me un-impressed (and that's being nice lol) so I only use fresh when seasonally available :-) Green beans I love but, In my opinion, they need plenty of salt in the cooking water. Again I add butter to serve and garlic, crushed stirred through is a favorite too. If you like salads then you can always grate or chop cauli/broc etc and add to the salad you're making. Or grate and make into veggie fritters by adding an egg or two, some milk and a little flour, herbs are always nice too (There's thousands of recipes out their, google is your friend :-)) I didn't even know cabbage is sold frozen! No wonder you don't like it.
davidt4,
Jan 29, 3:17pm
If you've only eaten them from frozen it's no wonder you're not impressed.Buy these veges fresh, the fresher the better, plunge into boiling salted water and cook uncovered until just tender.Drain well and add some butter and freshly ground pepper.Freshly chopped herbs such as parsley, tarragon, dill or mint are a great addition.
elliehen,
Jan 29, 3:32pm
I cook broccoli a very easy way.Put a few cm of water in a shallow pan and place the florets in the water with only the stems submerged and the heads above.Boil furiously and by the time the stalks are 'al dente' tender, the tops are steamed.
cautis,
Jan 29, 4:04pm
Thanks for the ideas.I forgot that I'm allergic to diary so cheese sauce and similar is a once a month kind of thing, cos I can have it, just not too often.
Ant_sonja, I don't think cabbage comes frozen, I just listed it as a vege I don't like lol.:)
I haven't bought any veges but the ones I like for a long time unless they are something I can grate and hide.At this stage I can only really afford to buy a bag of frozen veges each week to add to the likable ones, cos it's important the kids have fruit to eat as well.I can't manage to buy a bunch of fresh veges that I don't like right now, but $3 a week for a bag is fine.
I don't have a steamer.Just thought though, you need one of those pots with holes on the bottom to sit over another pot with water in it, don't you.I'll have to look through the op shops I think.
Ellie, do you cover them while doing that!
uli,
Jan 29, 4:19pm
Yes you put the lid on.
If you can spend $3 per week on veges you don't like - then why not buy some fresh green beans and 2 rashers of bacon. Here is the recipe:
Fry an onion and the bacon, add the topped and tailed beans and a tin of chopped tomatoes and some thyme and rosemary (or mixed herbs). Cook until tender. Serve with mashed potatoes or new small steamed potatoes. You will definitely like the veges cooked that way!
Let me know how you got on.
cautis,
Jan 29, 4:29pm
So is that as a whole meal, not just a side dish!
elliehen,
Jan 29, 4:30pm
Sometimes I do and sometimes I don't.It all happens so quickly, in just a few minutes, that I often leave the lid off so that I can pick up a piece to bite it and test for done-ness.But if you put the lid on, you trap the steam and that is part of the 'steaming' process.
uli,
Jan 29, 4:34pm
Depends on your eating habits.
I make it as a whole meal with the addition of some gravy beef, a pepper or two if available and some potato cubes. It is like a stew then.
Or you can eat it as a side dish to whatever meat you want to serve. In that case I would serve the potatoes separately from the beans.
elliehen,
Jan 29, 4:34pm
cautis, you say that you like the salad veges.Why not make a big green salad and then add hot vegetables to it!
I often cook a kumara, potato or green beans and add them to a green salad with a mayo dressing.You'd be surprised how satisfying it is to have the hot and cold together.
If you add a hardboiled egg or some fish, you've got a complete meal.
cautis,
Jan 29, 4:36pm
Cool, thanks.I'll give it a try.:)
cautis,
Jan 29, 4:37pm
I always add an egg to my salad lol, doesn't taste right without one.I can't eat fish, it affects me worse than diary.:(
I will try the hot veges thing though.It sounds appealing!
dbab,
Jan 29, 5:04pm
You could make a roast vegetable salad, or a cauliflower or broccoli salad. Search for recipes at left.
davidt4,
Jan 29, 5:08pm
Do you have a food processor or stick blender!If so you can make a cauli or broccoli mash; add lots of butter and a kumara or potato if you like.
uli,
Jan 29, 5:48pm
Ahhh reminds me of the bumper parsnip crop I have this year - all self sown - not very low in carb, but could be added to cauli and a few spuds to make a mash the wwoofers will be very worried about LOL :)
davidt4,
Jan 29, 6:21pm
Parsnip and cauli mash would be lovely, especially with lots of butter and white pepper.And maybe a little vinegar to balance the sweetness.Your wwoofers are very lucky.
uli,
Jan 29, 7:23pm
Hmmm . one is a "pudding vegetarian", so eats mainly bread and jam and chocolate . couldn't stomach a boiled egg yesterday (the chickens were happy), will not eat butter and is worried of my cheese because of the rennet . ah well - she will be very slim by the time she leaves.
davidt4,
Jan 29, 7:27pm
I hope she's got the physical stamina to be useful.
lythande1,
Jan 29, 7:29pm
cautis wrote: Love salad stuff, lettuce, carrots, tomatoes. spring onion, onion, mushroom, potatoes, kumara. veges like broccoli, cauli, cabbage, beans, /quote] Then don't eat them.Plenty of other choices, go to vege shops, grow your own, go to the markets.
cautis,
Jan 30, 1:35am
I have some of my own growing in buckets, lettuce, parsley, tomatoes, spring onions.
uli,
Jan 30, 1:53am
So far she has . and has admitted that she loves carbs with carbs and carbs (tonight we all had fish soup (remember the tuna!) - she had rice pudding with cinnamon and sugar - and stewed apple with more cinnamon and more sugar. No protein at all today . except half a cup of milk for breakfast (over weetbix and sugar) . Tomorrow it will be pancakes with chocolate and jam .
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