Animal Writings

I forgot a couple of essential equipment items in the last post.

• A steamer. I can't believe I forgot this! Such a simple but valuable device.
  
  Don't forget the steamer.
  If you're going to cook vegetables, you have to have a steamer.
  
  I don't know if this is the official way, but here's how I steam vegetables. It's worked for me for over 30 years...
  
  
  • Put the steamer, flattened out, in a fairly big pot. Fill the pot with water until the top of the water almost touches the bottom of the steamer tray.
  
  
  • Dump the veggies onto the steamer tray. Fresh or frozen, doesn't matter. Put the lid on the pot. Set the heat to medium-high.
  
  
  • Wait for the water to get to boiling. You can peek a couple times. The veggies will start to cook even before the water gets to a full boil. Once that starts, and throughout the process, rearrange the veggies a few times so they cook evenly. Otherwise the ones on the bottom will be overcooked and soggy, and the ones on top might be half-raw.
    
    Each time you shuffle the contents, afterward put the lid back on. I.e., the lid should stay on unless you need to remove it to do something.
    
    Once the water is boiling, lower the heat to medium-low or whatever will keep the water at a nice simmer level, moderately bubbling and gurgling.
  
  
  • When the veggies look almost done, you can keep the lid off and do some fine-tuning, making sure the least-cooked veggies get near the bottom of the heap. I tend to use tongs for this task; they give me more dexterity than a spatula or wooden spoon.
    
    What does "almost done" mean? Well, it's partly a matter of personal taste. Experience helps, too. After a short while, you'll just know, based on color, texture, and aroma. By the way—savor the aroma of this wonderful food cooking. Steaming is great at retaining flavor and nutrients. It's pretty easy, too. Anyway, you can cheat to see if the vegetables are done or getting near done. Grab a couple of pieces and taste them. Caution: They'll be hot.
    
    By the way, once the water gets to boiling, some vegetables, such as spinach, only need 2 or 3 more minutes, on average, whereas vegetables such as carrots and broccoli require several additional minutes. But a number of variables can affect these times, such as whether the vegetables were frozen and how small you cut them up. In any case, it doesn't take long.
  
  
  • Once the veggies are done, gently lift the steamer tray out of the pot, taking care not to drop any of the contents. Drain the water out of the pot. Usually you're going to add some seasonings, so put the pot back on the burner, which is turned off now, and dump the veggies back into the pot (just by themselves, not with the steamer; we're done with the steamer now). Add your seasonings, stir everything around a bit, and voila! Freshly cooked vegetables, teeming with flavor and nutrition, ready for your taste buds!


• You'll want a few things for roasting and baking. For smaller endeavors, you can often use the toaster oven and the roasting pan that most likely came with it.
  
  For larger items, when you have to use the actual oven, you'll probably want, as a minimum, a shallow baking sheet and a couple of casserole dishes.
  
  The standard metal baking sheet is fine. Some people prefer earthenware. The pans are about 10 by 15 inches or so and don't cost much.
  
  
  
  Tasty casserole
  For casserole dishes, I like glass—I'm not even sure why—but you may prefer stoneware, cast iron, aluminum, or some other material. It's hard to think of two sizes to recommend, since casseroles can vary in size so much. I'll say one that's 2 quarts or less, and one that's 4 quarts or more. Rectangular seems to work better for me (although a round lasagna would be interesting), maybe because it fits better into crowded ovens and refrigerators, but it's very much a personal choice.
  
  If you end up baking a lot of main and side dishes, you can go crazy with various sizes, shapes, colors, and configurations of casserole dishes down the road.
  
  FYI, Pyrex makes these units that are great for traveling; they consist of a decent quality glass casserole dish, with cover, and a thick traveling case that has a compartment into which you put a pad that you first heat in the microwave. So the food stays hot as you travel to your in-laws or company potluck.
  
  Side note: I love that casseroles are so totally un-hip. That might be what makes them so comforting.

Next: For real, a couple more miscellaneous tips for cooking vegetables, and then some quick and simple ways to serve specific vegetables.

To be continued...

Labels: cooking, vegetables