Conference turris::cooks

    My boyfriend and I have been enjoying Stir Fry Veggies.  We usually
    spray the pan with Pam and throw in whatever we have on hand ie
    broccoli, cabbage, carrots, celery, green pepper, string beans,
    summer squash, zucchini, any or all of these in any combination.
    One night we might sprinkle lemon juice on it, another we might
    use Joyce Chen Stir Fry Sauce and fresh ginger.  Be careful of the
    ginger, it can become overpowering if you use too much.  You may
    add any type of leftover meat such as ham, chicken, pork, beef (we
    usually buy end cuts of meat for this, very inexpensive).  Last
    night I added some fresh pineapple.  This usually will make a large
    quantity of veggies, but they are great heated in the microwave
    with a couple of Weight Watcher's cheese on top.  So see, you may
    either have a side dish of veggies or a main course with the added
    meat.  

Ingredients:

Zucchini 
Rosemary
Vegetable oil (corn or whatever you use)

Cut zucchini in half or quarters depends on size of zucchini and space 
between grills. (Don't want zucchini to fall into coals!) Brush zucchini
lightly with oil and place on grill. Sprinkle with crushed Rosemary, then 
turn after about 6 minutes (this will depend on individual preference and 
temp. of coals). Sprinkle the turned side with rosemary and serve off 
the grill. I love zucchini this way. 

    mixed veggies on the grill.
    
    What I do alot is cut up zucchini, summer squash, onions, red and
    green peppers, and sometimes broccli and/or cauliflower; rap it
    in tin foil with butter and spices (I use mrs. dash) and throw it
    on the grill for about thirty minutes.  It taste great with kabobs
    or hamburgers.
    

    If you're really nuts about vegies, treat yourself to a copy of
    the Victory Garden Cookbook.  It is, bar none, the best veggie cookbook
    around.  It's organized with chapters on everything from artichokes
    to zucchini, and includes salads, soups, main dishes, translation
    tables going from weights to cups (how many cups in a peck?).  Best
    of all, everything comes out tasting right (no nasty surprises).
    
    Here's one menu we have at my house a lot in the summer:
    
        Rice pilaf
        Grilled chicken (marinate overnight in garlic, onion, and ginger,
           all ground to a paste in the food processor)- skin the chicken
        Cucumber-yogurt salad
    
    Salad:  Peel the cucumber if waxed.  Remove the seeds and grate
    the cuke coarsely.  Add 1 cup yogurt (lowfat if you're dieting),
    1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 tablespoon chopped onion or scallion,
    1/2 teaspoon sugar, pinch of salt and pepper, pinch of cayenne.
     Mix together and serve.  It will be runny, more like a lumpy sauce
    than a salad.  You can slice the cucumbers instead and pour the
    yogurt dressing over.  You can add fresh or dried dill,  or pour
    the dressing over chopped cooked eggplant instead.  (add some chopped
    tomato to the eggplant).  
    
    What you're preparing here is an Indian "raita", a spiced vegetable
    salad consisting of cold vegies (cooked or raw) and a yogurt dressing.
     If you like yogurt, look up some more in an Indian cookbook.
    
    But definitely, buy that Victory Garden cookbook.  (It also has
    one of the best carrot cake recipes I've ever tried!)
    

Another cucumber salad/sauce recipe (from Iranian friends):

1 cup of low-fat or non-fat yogurt, pinch of salt, generous
teaspoon of dried mint or equivalent fresh chopped, and peeled,
seeded, and drained cucumber (I use the burpless or English cuke)
diced.  Mix and store in fridge for approx. 3 hours for flavors
to mix.  You may add diced red onion to this, as well as diced,
seeded, drained fresh tomato.  This is a wonderful sauce for
grilled fish, chicken, or over plain grilled veggies.  You can
also add your favorite curry powder to make it Indian food.

    How do I make vegie pocket? I know I need pita bread.Then what?
    
    Rivka
    

	I believe that they saute peppers, onions, and mushrooms on
	their grill, then melt cheese over it (as if it were a cheese
	steak pocket).  The pita is stuffed with lettuce and tomato and 
	pickles and hot peppers (if you want), then the hot stuff is 
	loaded and you have a great sandwich.

	If I were you, I'd go to D'Angelo's and order one, paying close
	attention to which veggies are grilled, which are not, and
	ask them what sort of cheese they use.  Then, go home and
	make one yourself!

	Karen

    Karen has the ingredients right.  Mushrooms, peppers and onions on the
    grill, along with a squirt of oil.  (the peppers are not the kind you'd
    find in the produce section of your local store though - these come in
    large glass jars and the peppers are a mix of red and green).  Two
    kinds of cheese are used, 2 slices of provolone and 3 of American.  The
    basic additions of tomatoes, pickles, lettuce and hot peppers can be
    added to your liking.  Then stuff everything into a half slice of
    Syrian bread.

    Thanks for the "how to".It is easy to make.
    .7:Wouldn't I love to....But I don't think it's worth spending $1500 (I
    live in Jerusalem,Israel.....)
    Now off to the market for peppers etc..
    Rivka
    

I didn't know where else to put this. 

My friend brought us Brussels sprouts from his garden the other day. What
was remarkable to us was that he brought them on the whole plant, which
was the first time we ever saw how they grow. We were educated, to say
the least. 

The stalk was about 2" thick at the base, quite hard that stiff, and at
least 3' tall. The top foot or so had broad, oval leaves about 8" long by
3" wide extending outward from the stalk. The interesting thing is that
the sprouts themselves are tightly attached to the whole length of the
stalk, evenly spaced, and wrap around the stalk in a spiral fashion. It
looked just like a barber pole of tiny cabbages.

They were sweeter than those I buy in the supermarket.

Art

    If you strip the leaves and sprouts, you can make the Brussel Sprout
    stem into a walking stick. I can't remember how long it takes to dry,
    but I seem to remember a long time.
    
    Angus

    i saw them on the Victory Garden this past weekend and was amazed at
    how they grow.
    
    -sandy
    
    

    	I haven't pulled mine out of the ground yet. I was told I should
    	keep them in the ground until the first deep freeze, but maybe I
    	should check with the gardening notesfiles...

    	These are first ones I've grown, can't wait to taste them!

    	-Erik 

    .13> 	I haven't pulled mine out of the ground yet. I was told I should
    .13> 	keep them in the ground until the first deep freeze, but maybe I
    .13> 	should check with the gardening notesfiles...
    
    Yep, Brussel Sprouts should always be left until after the first frost
    before harvesting - don't ask me how, but it definitely improves their
    flavour. And you don't need to pull up the whole plant - just twist or 
    cut off as many as you need. Some sprouts will be more advanced than 
    others, so harvest those first and leave the rest to develop further. 
    They're completely hardy, but once the sprouts start to open up you'll 
    need to pull the whole plant otherwise they'll run to seed.
    
    

Frost is needed to make the sprouts "tight".

    
    I'm looking for vegetable recipes.  Not main dishes... I want
    side dishes.  My favorite way to have vegetables in in a tossed
    salad with lots of tomato, cuke, peppers, and raw brocolli.  I
    put a spicy vinagrette on it and have this every day with my lunch.
    
    For dinner, I'm looking for something else.  I find I'm very picky
    about my vegetables.  I don't like root vegetables except for
    potatoes and raw carrots.  I don't like lima beans, cauliflower,
    large peas (but the tiny ones are great if they are juicy), I don't
    like green beans unless they are well disguised and I really dislike
    winter squash (something about adding sugar to it makes me sick).  
    
    I'm looking for interesting ways to prepare vegetable side dishes
    that goes beyond the basic steaming and tossed with butter or
    lemon and/or a few seasonings.  I don't do cheese sause either 
    since I try to watch fat.  I'm getting bored having plain peas,
    corn, spinach, and brocolli every night for dinner!
    
    Here is one of my favorite side dishes...  if you have recipes
    that fit the bill, please enter them!
    
    
      Broccoli Casserole
    
    
    
    2 pkg. frozen broccoli spears, almost cooked
    12 oz can tomatoes, drain and reserve liquid
    6 oz can tomato paste
    1 to 2 tsp oregano (to taste)
    bread crumbs
    1/2 tsp season salt
    2 T Parmesan cheese
    Parmesan cheese for topping
    
    Place cooked broccoli in center of flat casserole. Slice tomatoes and
    arrange around broccoli. Combine reserved liquid, tomato paste,
    oregano, season salt and cheese. Pour over top. Top with bread crumbs
    and Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. 
    
                                                       

    Add sugar to winter squash?
    
    Gak.
    
    We have always just baked them cut face down for about 30 minutes at
    325 and then turned them upright and put a little butter into the
    cavity.  This works well with butternut and sweet dumpling squashes as
    well as buttercup squashes.  They are plenty sweet without adding
    a sweetener.  
    
    We don't sauce up veggies as a rule, with the exception of the
    greenbean/french-fried onion mushroom soup casserole.  I find most
    veggies best with a touch of rice vinegar or butter, and barely
    steamed.  
    
    meg

    
    re: sugar to winter squash...
    
    you know... maple syrup, brown sugar... I'm not sure because I
    won't eat it.  I also really cannot tolerate the texture.
    
    re: veggies best with vinegar or butter...
    
    I guess I like mine more camoflauged which is why I'm looking
    for recipes here!  To each their own!  Oh... and I HATE that green
    bean casserole!
    
    One of my favorite chicken recipes gave me an idea just now...
    
    I cut up boneless chicken into large chunks, toss into a casserole
    with chunks of pepper, onion, and mushrooms and pour a can of 
    tomatoes (stewed or Hunts pasta ready) over it and bake until done.
    I could do this without the chicken and make a great side dish!
                                                                   
    Karen

    I have a great veggie recipe that has the following in it (it's in a
    cassarole form with garlicky mashed potatoes on the top and then you
    bake it)
    
    Eggplant
    peppers (red, green, yellow, whatever you like)
    onion
    broccoli
    cauliflower
    spinach
    carrots
    mushrooms
    
    Of course, any of these is optional, you can add or remove just about
    anything and it still comes out great. I can enter the complete recipe
    tomorrow.
    
    You add a bunch of spices (can't recall all of them off the top of my
    head), add shredded cheese, and bake it with the potatoes on top.
    
    It does disguse things - I can even get my husband (who will only eat
    corn, as a vegetable, cooked) to eat it!
    
    ~Beth

    WHY is it that so many males won't eat vegetables unless you hide them
    in things, while females seem to be quite okay with them? Is this a
    macho thing, or what??
    
    ~Confused~
    

    If you like curry try putting green beans in a mild curry sauce.  Over
    rice it makes a meal.  Potatoes and peas are also nice this way.

    I do the following.

    Boil and then puree 3-4 good sized onions.
    Heat some oil in a large skillet.  Add 1 chopped red pepper, 1 chopped
    green pepper and 1 large chopped onion.  To this add 2-3 TBS curry
    powder and a tsp of tumeric and a few mustard seeds.   Fry the spices
    and onion until the spices are very aromatic.  Add 1-2 TBS of tomato
    puree, about 2 cups of water and the onion puree -- don't leave the
    onion puree out as it really makes the sauce.  Let the sauce simmer for
    15-20 mins and then add cooked vegetables as mentioned above.  Let
    simmer until heated through.

    Variations:  Add one or more of the following before simmering: coconut 
    milk, raisins, chopped fruit such as peaches, pear or mango.  If adding
    plain yogurt Stir in 1/2 cup plain yogurt just before serving or use a
    fruit yogurt to add extra flavor.

    Garnish:  Sprinkle with chopped green onion and cilantro (fresh
    coriander) or toasted coconut or crisp fried onions.

    Note:  If you like a hot curry use hot curry powder and add a chopped
    chili with the peppers.  If you like mild, omit the chili peppers and
    use mild curry powder.

You could try cooking your veggies in beef or chicken boullion (Goya, of
course). Crisp degreased bacon adds a lot to green beans. Dill helps a
lot of veggies.

Art

    Veggie Shepards Pie (re .19)
    
    Description: a deep-dish cassarole: vegetable has on the bottom, and
    garlicky mashed potatoes on top. Yeild 4-6 servings.
    
    45 mins to prepare (due to all the chopping)
    25-30 to bake
    
    Mashed Potato Topping
    
    2 large potatoes
    1 TBSP butter (optional)
    1/2 cup milk (lowfat or soy)*
    3 larg cloves garlic, mashed
    salt & black pepper to taste
    1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
    *I used 1/2 cup non-fat cottage cheese, whipped in the food processor
    until it was smooth
    
    Vegetable Hash:
    
    1 TBSP canola or olive oil		2 tsp dried basil
    1 1/2 cups minced onion		1/2 tsp dried thyme
    4 large cloves garlic, minced	1/2 tsp dried oregano
    1 tsp salt				1 cup peas (fresh or frozen)
    fresh black pepper to taste		3/4 cup grated cheddar (optional)
    1 stalk celery, finely minced	1/4 cup find bread crumbs
    1 lb mushrooms, chopped		3 TBS cider vinegar
    1 lb eggplant, diced		Cayenne to taste
    1 medium bell pepper, minced	paprika
    
    I. Peel or scrub the potatoes, and cut them into 1" chunks.  Cook in
    plenty of boiling water until soft.  Drain and transfer to a
    medium-large bowl.  Add optional butter, garlic, and milk, and wash
    well.  Add salt and black pepper to taste, and stir in the parsley. Set
    aside.
    
    II.  
    1.Preheat oven to 350F. Have ready a 2-qt casserole or it's
    equivalent (a 9x13" baking pan will work).
    
    2. Heat oil in large, deep skillet or dutch oven.  Add teh onion, and
    saute over medium heat for about 5 mins or until it begins to soften.
    
    3. Add garlic, salt, pepper, celery, mushrooms, eggplant, and bell
    pepper.  Stir until well combined, cover and cook over medium heat for
    about 10 mins, stirring frequently.  Add the herbs, stir, and cover
    again.  Cook for about 5 more mins, or until the eggplant is perfectly
    tender.  Remove from heat.
    
    4. Stir in the peas, 1/2 cup of the optional cheddar, the bread crumbs,
    and the vinegar.  Add cayenne to taste.  Transfer this mixture to the
    casserole or baking pan and spread it out.
    
    5. Spread the mashed potatoes over the vegetables. If desired, sprinkle
    the remaining cheddar over the top, dust generously with paprika.
    
    6.  Bake uncovered for 25-30 mins, or until lightly browned on top and
    bubbly around the edges. 
    
    This does make a lot, so I use two pans and freeze one.
    
    ~Beth

>    WHY is it that so many males won't eat vegetables unless you hide them
>    in things, while females seem to be quite okay with them? Is this a
>    macho thing, or what??

Interesting... In my experience, it's my wife and our female friends that are
real picky about veggies.  

I guess it's all how the individual was raised.  In our house, we were not
allowed to be picky.  A lot of what kids are allowed to get away with is
"hereditary", i.e., if dad/mom are fussy, it's likely their kids will be, too.

Me, I never met a veg I didn't like...

... except maybe dandelion green salad.

RE: 24

>> >    WHY is it that so many males won't eat vegetables unless you hide them
>> >    in things, while females seem to be quite okay with them? Is this a
>> >    macho thing, or what??

>> Interesting... In my experience, it's my wife and our female friends that are
>> real picky about veggies.  

I was going to say the same thing, except I'm the wife!  We were forced to eat 
everything on our plate when I was a kid....you know, the starving kids in 
China thing.  Anyway, now I only eat veggies that I absolutely like to taste.  
If I don't like it, it doesn't get cooked in my kitchen.  ;-)  

I had way too many overcooked, mushy, cold peas during my childhood, which 
killed my desire for peas.  I even pick them out of meals when they are 
included and give them to my hubby.  My basic cooked veggie menu included 
corn, green beans, beets, spinach, saurkraut, pinto beans, carrots, pototoes, 
squash and occasionally asparagus, turnips, rutabagas, parsnips and their 
greens and snow peas.  I know I have missed some.  No lima beans, peas, 
brussel sprouts.....  My menu for uncooked veggies that I will eat is much 
longer!  

Judy

>> >    WHY is it that so many males won't eat vegetables unless you hide them
>> >    in things, while females seem to be quite okay with them? Is this a
>> >    macho thing, or what??
    
    I think this has more to do with what vegetables your dad liked (or
    didn't) like, and with how good a cook your mother was, than with
    sexed-based preferences.  My dad liked some vegetables, my mom was
    a very good cook, so she taught us to properly cook (that is, NOT
    overcook) vegetables.  Our family (six sons, one daughter) like and
    eat a wide variety of vegetables.

Interestingly enough, my mom was a very mediocre cook.  I'm fond of saying that
it wasn't until I went away to college that I discovered broccoli was actually a
GREEN vegetable.  We were required to eat the veg that mom painstakingly
overcooked.  As a result, when I discovered the right way to cook veggies, I
found that they did not all taste the same!

>> As a result, when I discovered the right way to cook veggies, I
>> found that they did not all taste the same!

That is so true!

    From what I have observed, it is definately the Father who sets the
    tone of what will/will not be eaten.
    
    mj

    >From what I have observed, it is definately the Father who sets the
    >tone of what will/will not be eaten.
    
    in my family, yes and no.  My mother would occasionally make
    something for the family, and something else for my father -- 
    it was a workable situation for everybody (except, perhaps, my
    mother, who had to double cook.)

    re: last..
    My  mother did that for years, but for herself, since she had gone off
    meat. Usually she'd just cook a meat-and-three-veg thingy and serve
    herself only the veggies; this worked out quite okay. I have a friend
    who for a number of years was married to a veggie-hating vegetarian! -
    i.e. he would not eat meat for moral reasons (except prawns because, in
    his  ook, they are so stupid that they don't even notice when you kill
    'em - hypocritical yes, but he also recognised this :-) but he didn't
    really *like* vegetables. I suggested to my friend that she do the same
    as my mum, but it didn't really work ... and for years she was trying
    to come up with all SORTS of nutritionally-balanced, tempting meals...
    Eventually, for other reasons, the marriage broke down, and she's now
    happily and SERIOUSLY into the meat dishes again. I think one of her
    main tricks was to cover all his meals with shredded cheese - he was a
    cheese freak. Got a bit boring for her, though.
    
    ~S~
    

My mother opened a can, dumped veggies into a pan, and cooked them until
they were sorry. Peas, corn, stringbeans, iceberg lettuce... that was it.
She seasoned with salt and pepper. I never had cauliflower or broccoli or
romaine until I left home. My father always said that the worst thing you
could do to a steak was put it in my mother's hands.

I began experimenting in the kitchen as soon as I started batching (a
*long* time ago). With very few exceptions, I tend to go for heavily
seasoned foods with very hearty flavors. (Exceptions: I love the delicate
taste of some white fishes, so when I do them, I do them gently.) My
spices, seasonings, herbs and sauces occupy a couple of cabinets. (Much
to Nancy's dismay, I bought a new one last week: Maggi.)

I cannot think of a veggie that I don't dress up in some way.

But the very best is a tomato that's eaten in right in the garden while
you can still smell the scent of the freshly broken stem...

Art

    RE: -1  
    
    That kind of sums up my vegetable experiences as a kid, too. My mother
    cooked any fresh veggies to death and served lots of canned starchy
    veggies(peas/beans/corn).  Salad was iceberg lettuce with dressing. 
    But let's be fair--she cooked like most cooks of her generation!  Check
    out any old cookbooks from pre-60's and you'll find horrendously
    long cooking times for vegetables.   She was by no means a "bad" cook
    (I think some mothers in this string may be getting a unfair bad rap). 
    Dad ate everything he was served, 1 sibling and I loved our mushy,
    bland veggies, 3 other sibs hated anything other than corn and mashed
    potatoes.
    
    Mom's cooking styles have changed with the times, and she steams most
    veggies til tender-crisp, loads her salads with fresh veggies, and
    *rarely* serves canned.  My dad still eats everything she cooks, 1 sib
    and I still adore our veggies, and the other 3 still won't touch
    them unless they're heavily creamed/sauced/buttered or otherwise
    disguised.
    
    I think individual vegetable preferences are really more "nature" than
    "nuture".  That is, I think your preferences are based more on your own
    sense of taste than your Mom's efforts in the kitchen...or your Dad's
    tyranny at the dining table.
    
    Sue

In defense of my mom, she wasn't a victim of the times, she was just plain
mediocre.  Overcooking everything was her personal style (on nights she served
liver, we couldn't fill the glasses too high because the whole table shook from
the family sawing away at quarter inch thick shoe leather).  When my dad
retired, she relinquished the cooking to him (dad's a great cook by the way).

re nature vs nurture:  I don't think kids necessarily learn specific veggies to
hate from their folks as much as they learn that hating veggies is acceptable.

    Thanks for that last note.  I'm still laughing about the liver
    dinner (I'm sure my co-workers wonder what could be so funny).
    
    Thanks,
    Terry

    Is this my rathole then? *grin*
    
    Over the weekend i revised my theory from 'most men' to 'most
    AUSTRALIAN men'. So many of the m ales of my acquaintance are
    vegophobes! It seems to be some sort of badge of honour among them,
    too. Don't ask me why.
    
    My mother's cooking was much the same as one of those recent notes -
    meat and three veg - quite unimaginative - also the only meats we'd eat
    were steak, chicken and sausages, nothing else. Wht can do you do th
    fussy customers like that? These days she makes more interesting stuff
    - fork dishes 'n' stuff ... mind you she's really only cooking for the
    two of them... Family get togethers are invariably roast dinners with
    yorkshire puds, because WE ask for them!
    
    ~S~
    

    Well, as long as this is a rathole...
    
    When my son was in the 6th grade they had a semester on nutrition which
    he took quite seriously.  At the time my weekly hair appointment was at
    the same time as the firechief's wife.  She told me that he wouldn't
    eat anything but meat and potato.  
    
    My son was horrified to find out that his idol had such bad eating
    habits!
    
    mj