For the love of vegetables - I need help!

[Anonymous]

+1 on roasting. Also, lemon, salt and garlic will make any vegetable shine. If you steam or boil, do it for minimal time, aim for it to stay crunchy.

[Anonymous]

I steam broccoli florets in a bowl with a couple tablespoons of water, covered, for two minutes in our 1300 watt microwave. For larger quantities I use the steamer basket in the Instantpot, set to zero minutes and then quick release.

[Anonymous]

Cut broccoli small and saute - so much better than steaming. Just add a little liquid of any sort to let it "steam" in the pan.

Asparagus, saute with no liquid in olive or sesame oil.

Everything else, roast!

Lemon and parmesan makes everything better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lower heat and less time

This. Less is more when it comes to cooking most vegetables, exceptions being root vegetables.

[Anonymous]

Broccoli works well with stir frying too. You don't need to pre cook, just cut/ prep so that they are all the same size and use high heat.
Otherwise, as people have noted, roasting is a great and hands off way to cook veggies. Just make sure not to crowd them on the sheet pan. Once you've done a couple of batches you'll figure out the number of minutes each veggie needs to be cooked to your liking. I do a half sheet of broccoli at a time, tossed in olive oil and salt, at 400 for 15 minutes.

[Anonymous]

Whenever we grill meat I throw my veggies on as well. I use a grill basket and just chop everything up and toss it in with some soul and seasonings. Very easy very tasty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Roasting works well for a lot of veggies. I love roasting for cauliflower, asparagus, summer squash, sweet potatoes etc. Just wash, chop, mix with olive oil, salt, and any other spices you want, and roast. I usually do 350-400 degrees and start with 5 minutes, then stir and put in for longer if needed.

Okay this is really easy - thank you! I know that I'm cooking for too long, which I think is probably related to timing the cooking of my other items. For example I focus on making perfectly grilled salmon and forget that my veggies have been cooking for too long - which ruins half my meal.

For things like broccoli, green beans, summer squash, etc you prep them (wash & trim), have a hot pan ready, but don't start cooking until everything else is finished. They only take a few minutes tops.

You are doing too much at once.

[Anonymous]

I purchased a pack of four mini timers with a really loud beep. I use the green one for my veggies to track steaming time. Typically I like 4-6 minutes for broccoli depending on how big its cut. For asparagus, I roast it for about 7-9 minutes in the oven at 400 degrees. No mush.

[Anonymous]

Roasting is definitely tastier, but for those days when you are short on time, steaming in the microwave works well. You don't need a special dish. Just put them in a microwave safe container with a bit of water, cover, and cook for about two minutes, check them and repeat as needed.

[Anonymous]

My family really like my broccoli, beans etc. Roasting takes too long, so here is what I do: Cut broccoli into florets, spread them on a microwaveable plate, sprinkle some water and microwave for 3 mins. On a skillet, take butter/olive oil and brown some minced garlic - can do this while veggies are mw’ing. Add the mw’ed broccoli and stir fry for 3-4 mins until they begin to brown. Add salt and any other seasoning you like. Toss with some lemon juice when done. Adjust the stir fry time based on how crisp-tender you like veggies. So good that I can eat an entire plate at a meal.

[Anonymous]

I wash and cut up 2-3 broccoli crowns (so I have very little stem), place the broccoli in a glass Pyrex bowl, add a few pats of butter (totaling 1 to 1 1/2 T) on top, cover the bowl with plastic wrap (leaving just a tiny opening for steam to vent) and the microwave for 7 minutes (8 if using lots of broccoli). The only liquid is the residual water from rinsing the broccoli crowns. I leave the plastic wrap on to hold in the heat until I’m ready to serve. Sprinkle on kosher salt to taste and stir to coat evenly. Comes out perfect.

For asparagus, I place a pan with about a half inch of water in it on the stove and bring it to a boil. Add the trimmed asparagus pieces to the pan and let them boil for 2-3 minutes. Turn off stove, drain asparagus and return it to pan, and place pan back on burner. Lightly drizzle asparagus with lemon infused olive oil, sprinkle with kosher salt and toss to coat evenly.

[Anonymous]

Why aren’t you checking as you steam?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Roasting works well for a lot of veggies. I love roasting for cauliflower, asparagus, summer squash, sweet potatoes etc. Just wash, chop, mix with olive oil, salt, and any other spices you want, and roast. I usually do 350-400 degrees and start with 5 minutes, then stir and put in for longer if needed.

Okay this is really easy - thank you! I know that I'm cooking for too long, which I think is probably related to timing the cooking of my other items. For example I focus on making perfectly grilled salmon and forget that my veggies have been cooking for too long - which ruins half my meal.

If you know what the problem is, why aren’t you setting timers and checking, or simply doing one thing at a time? Why are you repeating the same flawed process instead of trying a new proces?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Whenever we grill meat I throw my veggies on as well. I use a grill basket and just chop everything up and toss it in with some soul and seasonings. Very easy very tasty.

I'm assuming you meant oil, but I just want to say that I love the idea of adding soul to your roasted veggies .

[Anonymous]

If I cook salmon, I cook the broccoli or asparagus after the salmon is finished. To sauté, cut up broccoli takes 5 min, asparagus takes 2-3 min tops, depending on their size. As soon as you see them turn bright green, stop cooking.