plain jane cooking - recipes for the novice:

cooking frozen vegetables

Firstly a quick word about nutrition. Due to advances in cold storage these days, so called "fresh" vegetables and fruit bought in supermarkets can be weeks or months old (up to 12 months) so they are fresh only in the fact that they are not frozen or dried, etc,

The longer they are stored the less nutrients and flavour they will contain, as anyone with their own vegetable patch can attest to,

So frozen vegetables for most households can work out cheaper, and more flavourful and nutritious,

But how to cook and retain those nutrients?

Cook them as little as possible and as quick as possible with the minimum amount of water. The vitamins are water soluble and are therefore lost in prolonged cooking.

Personally I prefer to steam them in the microwave, its quick, its efficient and retains the nutrients,

microwave steaming vegetables

No water is required to be added, as the vegetables are frozen and with the butter added there will be enough steam created to cook.

One cup of vegetables will cook in approximately 3 minutes, add and extra 2 minutes for every extra cup used.

The method below uses exactly the same principle as those frozen vegetables in a steam bag, so by buying the much cheaper bulk frozen vegetables, you can save lots of money on your budget.

• place vegetables in a microwaveable bowl
• add small knobs of butter or garlic butter (no salt should be needed either as the butter will probably contain enough)
• place a lid on top or a plate to make a seal
• cook until softened

For vegetables that are a bit more special try these ideas

• rather than plain salt, try sea salt crystals, or a flavoured salt like garlic, celery or onion salt
• try a little chicken stock powder or crumbled stock cube for seasoning
• just before the vegetables are fully cooked, add a few spoonfuls of cream cheese or cheese spread

chef notes:

 

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