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| # Vegetables # |
| Asparagus An easy way to cook long stalks of asparagus without having to cut them into little pieces and without having to use a very large pot is to steam them in a tall coffeepot. Put about a 1-inch of water in the bottom, cover, and steam as usual for 5 minutes. Broccoli and Cabbage - All those tough green stems you find on broccoli are really tender hearts masquerading in stringy coverings. Peel off the |
| tender white heart into 1/4-inch thick circles. Saute up a feast. The tougher, larger leaves on the outer part of a cabbage don't have to be thrown away if they are in good shape. Blanch them and stuff them with a mixture of ground beef, raw rice, and tomato sauce, plus your favorite seasonings. Top them with sauerkraut or more tomato sauce and bake them in the oven, or freeze them for late baking. - Instead or blanching cabbage leaves before you stuff them, freeze them overnight. This little trick results in leaves just as limp and easy to roll as if they were blanched. Carrots - There's no reason to peel carrots (and potatoes); just scrub them with a good stiff brush that you save just for vegetable cleaning. The peel and skins are high in fiber and contain a number of nutrients. Unpeeled potatoes are wonderful as french fries and can also be boiled and cut up for potato salad. - Have more carrots than you'll be able to use in a few weeks and not enough room in your refrigerator? Wrap the unwashed carrots in wads of newspapers and then layer them in a large plastic bag. Tie it closed and put the bag in a cool, but not freezing, place----about 40F is just right. An unheated basement or garage is usually ideal. The carrots will keep for a few months, and so will other root crops, like turnips and parsnips. Celery - If you have some rubbery, droopy celery that you think is beyond hope, give it one more chance. Let it stand in cold water for a few minutes, shake it to remove excess water, then place it in an airtight plastic bag and leave it in the refrigerator for three or four days. Unless it was really far gone, you'll find it recrisped and usable once again. - Make your own dried celery leaves by cutting the good, fresh leaves from the stalk you're using. Wash them, pat them dry, and spread them on a baking sheet. If you've got a gas stove, put them in the oven with only the pilot light on, and in a little over 24 hours they'll be almost brittle dry and ready to store in plastic bags or glass jars. If your stove doesn't have a pilot light, set it at the lowest possible temperature, and check the celery leaves frequently. They should be dry in about 12 hours. Dried celery leaves can be crumbled into soups, casseroles, salads, and breads. Garlic - Peeling garlic cloves each time you need them can be a nuisance. Instead, peel several at a time, put them in a glass jar, and cover them with olive oil. The cloves will stay fresh for months as long as they are covered with the oil. And the garlic-flavored oil is wonderful for salad dressings or for sauteed vegetables. - To remove garlic skins easily, smash each clove with the side of a knife blade first; the peel will come off in a snap. If you're using a garlic press for one clove at a time, don't even bother peeling it; the press will squeeze the garlic right through the skin. - Garlic cloves will peel easier if you first separate the heads and then pour boiling water over the individual cloves. Let them stand for 5 minutes, then drain and cover with cold water until cool. - Mince garlic along with fresh herbs. The herbs add bulk to make mincing easier and also catch the garlic oil that usually ends up lost on your cutting surface. Ginger Root - To keep the cut ends of ginger roots moist, store the ginger with the cut end buried in sand. - You can also peel and slice the ginger root, place it in a jar, and cover it with sherry or a mild vinegar, like rice vinegar. As long as it's covered by the liquid, it will keep for several months. If you slice the ginger fine enough, you can spoon out just as much as you need and add it right to your recipe. Onions - To save time when you're cutting onions, peel one or two extra and refrigerate them in a plastic bag. They will keep for three or four days refrigerated, whether whole, sliced, or chopped. - When chopping onions, garlic, and other strong vegetables, save parsley for chopping last, since it helps remove any strong odors from your chopping board and hands. - Sauteing onions until limp is a step that is used to add butter or oil to onions and make them less pungent. Save time and cut out fat by using fewer or sweeter onions and just add them directly to the remaining ingredients, or steam the onions slightly first. - If you only need to slice half an onion, slice the top or sprout end. The root half will last longer in the refrigerator. - Net shopping bags (also called French shopping bags) are great for storing onions, garlic, and potatoes. Conveniently expandable, they maintain air circulation around these vegetables, which is important for their good keeping. For the best storage, hang them in a cool, dry spot, such as the top of your basement stairs. - Although they will look a bit bizzare, worn-out pantyhose will work just as well as net bags, particularly for onions and garlic. Drop one onion or garlic bulb into a toe of the pantyhose and tie a knot. Add another onion or garlic bulb and tie another knot. Keep going until both stockings are full. When you want an onion just cut off the bottom one, leaving the knot in place. - If some of your stored onions start to sprout, plant them as onion sets in your garden, provided it's springtime. If it's not, plant them in a flower pot instead, to grow in a sunny window; use the green tops that emerge as you would green onions. |
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