Unbore your veggies! (Vegetables)

Member Name: GentleGenius

Product:	Vegetables
Date:	07/12/08 (284 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Tasty, easy to prepare & cook, makes vegetables more exciting

Disadvantages: None that I can think of

Though I'm more of a vegetable than a meat person, sometimes I can find them a tad boring, and am always looking for ways to make them more appealing.

I thought I'd share with DooYoo users, 10 methods I've discovered (some by accident) over the years that for me have made the world of vegetables a little more exciting.

All of these following recipes/suggestions are suitable for vegetarians (vegans too if you substitute any cheese, milk or yoghurt used in the recipes for soya alternatives), and they certainly have brightened up my own life. You can eat all these things either on their own, or as part of a main meal.

Here we go..........

1) BROCCOLI WITH LEMON SAUCE

I'm not the world's greatest fan of broccoli myself, but find it pleasantly edible done this way.

For 2 people you will need......

1 large head of broccoli, de-stalked and cut into preferred sized pieces
1 flat teaspoon cornflour
A knob of margarine or butter (approx. the same as you'd spread on one slice of bread)
Juice of half a lemon, or 1 tablespoon Jiffy or PLJ lemon juice
Half an Oxo veggie stock cube, crumbled
A generous grinding of fresh black pepper
2 tablespoons milk

Cook the broccoli in your normal way. A couple of minutes before it's ready, melt the knob of margarine or butter in a small non-stick pan over a gentle heat. Stir in the cornflour, and cook for one minute...stirring continuously. Add the milk and beat quite vigorously. Then add the Oxo cube, lemon juice and black pepper. Beat vigorously again and bring gently to the boil, stirring all the time. Serve the cooked broccoli onto plates and drizzle the sauce as decoratively as you can over the top.

2) SEEDY HONEYED CARROTS

For 2 people you will need......

2 medium-sized carrots, peeled and cut however you like
2 flat teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
Just a little butter or margarine (about half a teaspoonful)
2 flat teaspoons runny honey

Cook the carrots in your normal way. Drain and place into a shallow flameproof container. Pop the butter into the middle of the carrots, drizzle the whole lot with honey, then sprinkle with the sesame seeds. Place under a medium pre-heated grill, and cook for a total of 6 minutes. During the 6 minutes cooking period, turn the whole mixture over a few times to evenly distribute the butter, honey and sesame seeds.

3) CHEESY COURGETTES

For 2 people you will need......

2 courgettes, washed and de-stalked
2oz strong grated cheddar cheese
2 flat teaspoons paprika
Half a small peeled & finely chopped onion

Slice the courgettes lengthwise and using a sharp knife, scoop out about two-thirds of the flesh from the middle. Mix the flesh with the cheese, onion and paprika - blend very thoroughly. Lay the courgette halves (skin side downwards) onto a plate, and fill each half with the cheese/onion/paprika mixture. Heat the grill to medium, and lay the courgettes (skin downwards) onto the grill pan, and cook for about 6 minutes, or until the cheese/onion/paprika mixture is browned and bubbly.

4) BEEF TOMATOES WITH SPICY CORN YOGHURT

For 2 people you will need......

2 large beef tomatoes
1 small carton plain yoghurt or unsweetened fromage frais
1 tablespoon tinned sweetcorn, drained
1 large pinch of each of these (powdered): turmeric, black pepper, cumin, paprika, chilli powder, mint

Slice the tops from the tomatoes, and scoop out the pulp - making sure you leave the firm flesh attached to the tomatoes. Discard the pulp, or save to use for something else (e.g. a sauce), but keep the tomato tops. Beat the turmeric, black pepper, cumin, paprika, chilli powder and mint into the yoghurt or fromage frais, making sure everything is thoroughly blended. Mix in the sweetcorn, and pile the mixture into each of the tomato centres. Place the tops back on the tomatoes, and chill in the fridge for a minimum of one hour. Eat cold - this doesn't work hot.

5) GREEN BEANS WITH CHILLI & PINE NUTS

For 2 people you will need......

1 standard sized pack of green beans, trimmed & cut into 2" pieces
1 heaped tablespoon toasted pine nuts
1 small red chilli, de-stalked, de-seeded and cut into very thin rings
2 teaspoons ground nut oil

Heat the nut oil in frying pan and over a fairly high heat, cook (stirring frequently) the green beans for about 3 minutes. Mix in the pine nuts and chilli slices, fry for a further minute, then serve.

6) ORANGE HONEY-NUT GLAZED PARSNIPS

For 2 people you will need......

2 medium sized parsnips, peeled & cut into chunks
A generous quirt of runny honey (approx. 2 tablespoons)
2 teaspoons unsweetened orange juice
2 rounded tablespoons broken or chopped brazil nuts
2 tablespoons ground nut oil

Parboil and drain the parsnips. Put one tablespoon of the oil into an oven-proof container (metal or foil is best) and place in a hot (approx. 425C to 450C) oven for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and arrange the parsnips in the hot oil. Mix the honey with the orange juice and pour over the parsnips....then pour over the final tablespoon of oil. Sprinkle with the nuts, and bake in the oven for about 40 minutes.
NB: Instead of ground nut oil, you can use margarine or butter if you like.

7) FLASH-FRY GARLIC & PARSLEY MUSHROOMS WITH CHERRY TOMATOES

For 2 people you will need......

1 generous knob of butter or margarine
1 peeled & crushed garlic clove
1 tablespoon fresh washed & chopped parsley
6oz button or closed cap mushrooms, wiped & finely sliced
Between 10 and 16 cherry tomatoes (however many you want)

Rub the garlic clove generously over the surface of a non-stick frying pan, and plop the butter or margarine into the pan. Over a medium heat, melt the butter or margarine. Turn the heat up high, and when it begins to sizzle, quickly add all the other ingredients (leave the tomatoes whole). Fry on that high heat for about 5 minutes, stirring and shaking the pan frequently.
NB: If you can't get fresh parsley, use 1 rounded teaspoon of dried. If preferred, you could use nut or olive oil instead of the butter or margarine.

8) FOUR-CHEESE CAULIFLOWER

For 2 people you will need......

A few raw cauliflower florets......enough for 2 people
A generous pinch of cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons plain yoghurt or unsweetened fromage frais
A good few shakes of freshly ground black pepper
A few shavings of fresh Parmesan cheese
1oz (grated) of each of the following cheeses:
- Red Leicester
- Jarlsberg
- Emmenthal

Steam or boil the cauliflower just for a few minutes, so it retains its firmness. Mix the grated Red Leicester, Jarlsberg and Emmenthal cheeses thoroughly with the yoghurt or fromage frais. Place the cauliflower into a flameproof shallow container, and cover with the cheese or fromage frais and yoghurt mixture. Sprinkle the cayenne pepper and black pepper over the top, and place under a hot grill for about 7 minutes, until bubbling and beginning to crisp around the edges. When cooked, poke the Parmesan cheese shavings into the top at random (as decoratively as possible), and serve.

9) CHEATIN' ROAST POTATOES WITH ROSEMARY

For 2 people you will need......

A quantity of parboiled potatoes (for 2 portions)
4 tablespoons corn oil or nut oil
1 tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary, or 1 rounded teaspoon of dried

NB: Use a non-stick saucepan to parboil the potatoes

Drain the water from the parboiled potatoes using the saucepan lid over the pan method....keep the potatoes in the pan, and once the water is all drained off, hold the lid firmly in place and give a really good shake. Pour the oil over the shaken potatoes, and put the pan over a high heat (on the top of the cooker, not the oven). Cook for about 15 minutes, shaking occasionally, and turning the potatoes at least twice during the cooking time. They should brown well, and go nice and crispy on the outsides. Serve sprinkled with the rosemary.
Note: This is a good way of doing roast potatoes when the rest of your meal is done on the top of the cooker, and you don't want to use the oven for just one small thing.
NB: If you wish, add a few couple of snipped chives or a couple of spring onions cut into small pieces to the pan a couple of minutes before the potatoes have finished cooking.

10) ASPARAGUS IN TOMATO SAUCE

For 2 people you will need......

A bunch of tender baby asparagus, washed
4 very ripe tomatoes, cored, de-seeded and skinned
2 tiny drops of white wine vinegar
1 pinch of dark brown sugar

Lightly steam the asparagus in the way you normally would. Chop the tomato flesh very finely, and in a small non-stick saucepan, heat gently until almost, but not quite boiling. Stir in the sugar and white wine vinegar, and cook for 30 seconds, stirring gently. Drain the asparagus, arrange in a serving dish, and drizzle the hot tomato mixture over the top.

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All of the above recipes have been tried, tested and are now trusted by me. The Beef Tomatoes With Spicy Corn Yoghurt dish goes best with cold meats, or as part of a salad. All the other recipes are best eaten hot, as part of a main meal or on their own as a light snack. If you are vegetarian or vegan, you can combine 2, 3 or more of the above dishes to make a main meal.

That's all folks, thanks for reading, and I hope if you find some vegetables can be rather bland, that the above may help a little.

Summary: Mmmmmmmmmmm !!!!