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If you love food like me, and are always looking for new dishes to try, it is just about time for the fresh vegetables to show up at the grocery stores in the North Woods!  I have discovered from living all over the world that in every place there are always some incredible recipes to try.  I would say that there are “ways” to cook vegetables that are as important, if not more important, than the recipe itself.  For example, I grew up in a home that had a very good cook, my mom, who loved to try different foods and prepare dishes from all over the world….beef tongue baked with garlic, (of course mom wouldn’t tell us what we we’re eating until we had a few bites), beef heart cut into strips and fried in butter, artichokes with lemon butter, soufflés, all sorts of unusual foods.  Vegetables we’re always….just vegetables, and I have over the years, come to love vegetables and have learned so many ways to prepare them; they are so versatile and of course good for you.  Why not find ways to make vegetables more interesting and edible?  So I am determined to share this passion with those around me.  Some important basics to preparing vegetables:

1. Pick out good fresh vegetables. If you don’t really “LOOK” at the vegetables you buy, you are missing the first important thing about preparing vegetables.  I had someone ask me if I “smell” the celery before I buy it; I don’t, but I will from now on.  I always check the firmness of celery, the color, the ends (to see if they are browning), but I didn’t realize that smelling celery would help me pick the freshest celery.  It matters that you take the time to “pick” the best vegetable.

2. Don’t overcook vegetables.  It is so important to undercook vegetables.  Not only do you retain more of the vitamins, but you also gain good digestive elements for your body and overall health by cooking vegetables less rather than more. They also taste better when you cook them “al dente”.  What is “al dente?”  It is when there is still a little crunch at the center of that bite of broccoli, cauliflower, green bean, etc. Two things; when making dinner, cook the vegetable last, and don’t cook the vegetable in a full pot of boiling water, use just a little water and cover the pot to steam the vegetable rather than boil the vegetable immersed in water. 

3. Don’t over season vegetables.  The subtle flavor of most vegetables is so beautiful; I believe that just a touch of salt and pepper is all that is needed and maybe a touch of butter. If you start enjoying the delicate, subtle flavor of vegetables on their own, then you can flavor the vegetable as you like knowing what the pure taste of the vegetable is, and that helps you to prepare each vegetable in other ways without losing the purity of the vegetable.

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