How to prepare vegetables.
RAW -
You should wash your veggies. The are grown in dirt containing who knows what. Poop and Chemicals come to mind. Don't obsess. Truthfully, I don't always wash mine. I make this leap of faith that the giant washing machines at the vegetable factory are doing it for me. On top of that if I assume if I add heat (2,3,4,5) that it is killing all the bad germs.
You can add stuff to add flavor if you want to. The less you add the more flavor you will discover over time actually exists within your vegetables and you will discover that the same vegetable can taste quite different depending on a whole host of things like when and where you got it, freshness, firmness and how long is sat around. Be aware that most of the flavor stuff you are likely to add will be salt, sugar or fat, not particularly good for you, but your choice.
BLANCH -
This is my favorite way to cook veggies. Julia taught me this. Most of her veggie recipes start with a blanch.
Blanching is easy and fast.
I do a bunch of vegeies at a time all one after the other in same water. I'm sure some Chef's are blanching over that! I do organize it so i do the sweeter veggies (carrots) first and the bitter ones (spinach) last. Sometimes I even boil up a bunch of small potatoes in the final water.
Blanched veggies can go into the fridge and be used for several days. If you want them hot, just boil up some water and plunge them in for a half minute or so (yum), or zap them in the microwave (gross). Blanched cold veggies can go in a zip lock in your lunch bag. They can go on a sandwich.
enough for now... 5/23/17 9:10 am
- Raw
- Blanch
- Boil
- Bake
- Roast
RAW -
- Wash
- Eat
You should wash your veggies. The are grown in dirt containing who knows what. Poop and Chemicals come to mind. Don't obsess. Truthfully, I don't always wash mine. I make this leap of faith that the giant washing machines at the vegetable factory are doing it for me. On top of that if I assume if I add heat (2,3,4,5) that it is killing all the bad germs.
You can add stuff to add flavor if you want to. The less you add the more flavor you will discover over time actually exists within your vegetables and you will discover that the same vegetable can taste quite different depending on a whole host of things like when and where you got it, freshness, firmness and how long is sat around. Be aware that most of the flavor stuff you are likely to add will be salt, sugar or fat, not particularly good for you, but your choice.
BLANCH -
This is my favorite way to cook veggies. Julia taught me this. Most of her veggie recipes start with a blanch.
Blanching is easy and fast.
- Cut up the veggie if needed (carrots, brocolli, cauliflower).
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Optional: Put some salt in the water if you like. I don't.
- Put all the veggies in the biloing water and set a timer. The harder the veggie the longer the time. Spinach and leafy veggies are 3 minutes. Carrots and hard veggies are 5 to 7 minutes. Try different times and find the doneness you like. Long times make mushy veggies and extract all the goodness into the water which you dump out.
- Remove from heat into strainer and run under cold water to rapidly cool. (or just drain and serve hot immediately)
I do a bunch of vegeies at a time all one after the other in same water. I'm sure some Chef's are blanching over that! I do organize it so i do the sweeter veggies (carrots) first and the bitter ones (spinach) last. Sometimes I even boil up a bunch of small potatoes in the final water.
Blanched veggies can go into the fridge and be used for several days. If you want them hot, just boil up some water and plunge them in for a half minute or so (yum), or zap them in the microwave (gross). Blanched cold veggies can go in a zip lock in your lunch bag. They can go on a sandwich.
enough for now... 5/23/17 9:10 am