Question for 9/27/2018... Eating the crops...

[daylilydude]

Do you have a special way of preparing your vegetables before you eat them... boiled, fried, raw, soups, stews?

[paulf]

If not eaten raw most of our vegetables get boiled or put into stew and soups. We do not can but freeze what we want to use later. In the summertime we eat a lot of fajitas or cover naans with fried vegetables, more like stir-fry.

[brownrexx]

Sept 27, 2018 2:35:02 GMT -5 daylilydude said:

boiled, fried, raw, soups, stews

All of the above except I would replace fried with sauteed. We eat a lot of stir fried (sauteed in olive oil) veggies and in the summer we grill a lot of veggies too.

[coppice]

There needs to be a salt shaker in a second container out in the garden. Sun warmed tomato is made complete by it.

[octave1]

Not much boiling here when it comes to fresh vegetables from the garden, except for green beans.
Everything else is cooked fast, but never fried.

[pepperhead212]

I cook things in coutless ways, though I don't fry things, as a rule. Once or twice a year I'll get some fried okra and chicken at Church's, if I'm in that area. I'm glad they aren't in my area! lol

[ladymarmalade]

Roasted is my preferred treatment for vegetables. Sheet pan, olive oil, salt and pepper, maybe some slivered garlic, toss the chunked up veg around and pop in a 425ºF oven until golden brown around the edges and fragrant. Stir a few times.

This works great for broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, eggplant, summer squash, green beans, cherry tomatoes, beets, turnips, etc. Just about everything except greens. Greens become salad, slaw or go in the soup & stew pot with other delicious things.

[Laura_in_FL]

Gonna fess up here: I use the microwave a lot. After nuking, sauteing and stir frying are my most common methods of cooking vegetables, but I also grill and roast them, and occasionally I make soups or stews or saucy dishes. I rarely just boil veggies, though. I love fried foods (way too much!) but I don't fry at home much because of the mess. I'd rather pay someone else to clean up the after-frying mess.

(Yes, I know spatter covers are a thing. I own one. But you have to move/turn stuff occasionally, and you have to take it out of the oil sometime. Every time the spatter cover comes off, I can't help but think that the oil had been just *waiting* for its chance to go everywhere!)

I have been frying more, or rather supervising and cleaning up after frying more, since I started making sons #2 and #3 cook regularly. They love their breaded and fried foods, even if they have to make them.

[mgulfcoastguy]

Sauteeing, slow cooker, grill and roasting with the air fryer slowly taking on a new place. Boiling other than in stews or soups isn't common.

[Gianna]

Golly, there are so many options. I probably nuke most often just to get them cooked, then add flavorings such as butter. Or partially nuke for stir-fries. Or sauté when to be used in more complicated dishes. I love a big batch of oven roasted veggies with olive oil, etc. Never boil. Never 'fry' as in deep fry, though I have nothing against that. Many raw, and often in soups and stews.

I purchased some Brussel sprouts today, which I will sautee till slightly browned, then covered to steam a bit to make sure they are totally cooked. I prefer veggies totally cooked (soft but not mushy) rather than al dente.

[brownrexx]

Sept 28, 2018 0:20:17 GMT -5 Gianna said:

which I will sautee till slightly browned, then covered to steam a bit to make sure they are totally cooked. I prefer veggies totally cooked (soft but not mushy) rather than al dente.

I cook mine the same way but in reverse order. I cut them in half so that they cook quicker and then I boil them for about 3 minutes, just enough to soften them a bit but they are still bright green. Then I saute them in butter. They are delicious this way.

[Deleted]

I either like veggies totally raw or cooked through to soft not mushy texture. I do like to quick blanch my fresh green or wax beans until about half done, drain, toss into a skillet that you have cooked butter with plenty of garlic and shallots in and finish them by "frying" them, tossing them in the pan to get them all buttery and seasoned. So good hot and also coll on a salad.

Tip for roasting vegetables - season with the oil and seasonings you like, and toss you veg with a maybe a tablespoon of corn starch to a pound of veg, then roast; his makes the outside crispier and is good. Not coated a lot with the cornstarch, I often use a bigger baggie to shake them up with all the seasonings and oil all at once. Less mess.

If you like oven roasted carrots, try roasting the carrots whole, just scraped and topped, in a much slower oven. It takes longer, but the carrots get almost like a carroty custard texture inside with really intense flavor. If you do a double batch of carrots this way, not only good in an omelet or salad the next day, but whip them up in a vitamix or strong blender for an excellent carrot soup.