Spin off from Roast Dinner posts

Aveline

Microwave for me. I have a couple of great microwave steamer bowls. Max 4 minutes whatever veg is going and less for some

Microwaves weren't made for ready meals, they were made for vegetables. And fish.

kittylester

Cabbage is delicious very thinly sliced and stir fried with thinly sliced onions, lots of blackpepper and mixed with crispy bacon and it's fat and then a little double cream.

Freezes well.

Lovely with Roast Beef

I love that so much that I sometimes have it as my main meal.

If there is any left over, growstuff, dh will have it for lunch next day with yet more bacon on top!

Many years ago I had a cookery book - IIRC by a NZ writer - which told you to boil cauliflower for 20 minutes! Or ‘stew it in fat’ 🤮.

If simmered, I do my cauliflower (in florets) for exactly 3 minutes after the water’s boiled - we like it al dente. However my mother (who was otherwise a very good cook) would have said that definitely wasn’t properly cooked - she liked e.g. cauliflower and carrots very soft, aka pretty much boiled to a mush.

In general, I simmer or steam all veg for the least possible time. Frozen peas, once the water’s boiled, for us, they’re done.

I have always cooked vegetables very lightly. Potatoes obviously are cooked until soft, but cabbage 5 minutes or less after the water comes to the boil, and I start with boiling water.

Microwaves weren’t meant for ready meals, they were made for vegetables. And fish.
Hear, hear!

I’d have more than one in the kitchen but it’s not a good visual. (I have another stashed.)

Discovering that you can cook a whole swede in the microwave without peeling it was a game changer for me. I stand the swede on a plate and microwave on high for 20 minutes, turning it over half way. Once it’s cooled a bit you can either peel it or scoop the cooked swede out. Add butter and pepper as you mash - delicious.

Thanks for that teabagwoman.
👍

My MIL used to cook her Brussels sprouts until soft and then mash them with butter and plenty of white pepper. They were surprisingly good!

teabagwoman

Discovering that you can cook a whole swede in the microwave without peeling it was a game changer for me. I stand the swede on a plate and microwave on high for 20 minutes, turning it over half way. Once it’s cooled a bit you can either peel it or scoop the cooked swede out. Add butter and pepper as you mash - delicious.

You can also microwave butternut squash. We kept getting them in lockdown veg boxes (no choice) - I didn’t really want them because they’re so hard to cut or peel.,

I stabbed them all over before putting in the microwave for 12-15 mins, scooped the flesh out once cooled, and with onion, chilli, ginger and coconut milk, plus a stock cube, they would make a lovely Thai-style soup. Now and then I’d add some swede, that worked fine with the BS too.

No wonder I had difficulty with greens as a child. They were boiled to a mushy mess. Luckily I persevered and learned and love them now more than ever.

My mother was a very good cook and her cabbage was fine, as were all vegetables. She did use bicarb, though.

I get the best results by boiling them ( not too long) then straining them and immediately running very cold water over them. You can watch the colour brightening up! Then back in the pan with a little butter so they don't cool down too much.

Professionals even use iced water but that's a bit too much of a faff for me. Running the cold tap until it is really cold does the job well enough.

My mother didn’t overcook vegetables, I am not sure why as everyone else did.
Cabbage was lightly steamed with a little butter.
My version was discovered by accident, melt butter in a pot with some caraway seeds a good teaspoon full. Cook until the butter is nutty brown and seeds are toasted. Toss in cabbage and steam lightly.
The brown butter and caraway is delicious with crunchy cabbage.

I am another whose mother didn't overcook vegetables, and was an excellent and adventurous cook.

I steam carrots and turnips then mash with butter and pepper. I steam greens I don’t like soggy greens I like them with butter and crushed caraway seeds.
I eat any colour pepper raw or stir fried I roast cauliflower to give it more flavour. I shred veg and make latkes very lightly fried they go with any meal beside roast.
I eat lots of sauerkraut and my favourite is a green tomato salad a Polish product in a big jar. I can easily eat half a jar at a time it’s delicious.

I prefer veg cooked al dente (pardon my French) but I'll eat it anyway.

I dislike undercooked carrots, although I know they shouldn't be overdone. My absolute favourite is cabbage, particularly sweetheart cabbage. I could eat it every day. Sometimes I'll add a bit of pasta and then cover the whole lot in cheese sauce.

Oh I love that, too.
I slice it into "rounds" and keep them intact.

I'm so glad my mum force fed me veg when I was little.

Yes, sweetheart cabbage does lovely 'rounds' doesn't it. We grew a lot of veg when I was young so it's a lifelong habbit.

It does.
All the gravy seeps into the "rounds", too.

Oh I've just thought, brussel tops!! I love those, too.

I use sliced sweetheart cabbage instead of pasta on a low carb diet

That sounds lovely, too.

I've often thought that sweetheart cabbage is underrated.

Its reasonably priced, barely any waste, or insects, and it keeps for ages, too.

Razzamatazz

My Mum also put bicarb in green veg, she was upset when I didn't do it. She also used to peel the veg Christmas Eve and leave them in water, which I also didn't do.

My mum did both of those things too, Razzamatazz.

My MiL used to refer to veg that wasn’t mush as “half raw”. She also had big jars of dried marrow fat peas which she cooked with giant tablets of bicarbonate, just in case a vitamin might be lurking still🙄
I grew up on a Market garden and was used to better. But would not have dared criticise. Hilariously DH now looks back on her cooking with nostalgia. 😱

I like tinned marrowfat peas, and I usually grow them so I can eat the shoots as salad leaves. (Well, I used to)