I think there are certain veggies that you can do all sorts of things with and others that are best cooked simply.\
For example, zucchini. I fry it, roast it, grill it, shred and make into pancakes, cook in a tart with cheese, cook it to a mush with onion, peppers and tomatoes, make it into a timbal, stuff it with sausage, stir fry it with a chinese bean sauce, bake it with tomato and parmesan....and probably other ways as well...
But broccoli, I either steam, roast, serve with cheese sauce or stirfry with garlic and sesame seeds.
Maybe we ought to arrange a thread with one vegetable at a time?
Linda C

Dang I thought this thread was about stuff to do with vegetables outside of the kitchen.

Ummm, Jessy - and of what vegetable were you thinking? And where were you going with it?

LOL!

seagrass

no ms jessica--that's another thread entirely :)

but i think linda has a good idea. my question was too broad/encompassing if people start responding to it. so i'll post a couple different categories and if linda or someone has ideas for a different subject, perhaps you could start a new thread? i really would appreciate some new ideas for our household!

San, there are dozens of vegetarian cookbooks, all of which would be useful to you. But of them all, let me mostly recommend Gardeners' Community Cookbook, compiled & edited by Victoria Wise.

What makes it special? The recipes don't come from vegetarians, per se, but from gardeners who present the most interesting uses for what they grow.

It may be out of print now (was published in '99), but I'm sure you could find a copy with a search.

GL--what a wonderful suggestion--thank you! and even MORE so for the recommendation! i spent more than a few hours in a couple of good-sized bookstores last year or the one before. i don't need another half dozen cookbooks and really wanted to get something that met my needs. and was amazed as all the ones i wouldn't buy, even if i could devote a whole room to the subject. and you keyed in on one of the problems--i felt as if the authors were leaning towards trying to give you 1-pot meals or something. nothing wrong with that but many of those recipes sort of obscured what i wanted--interesting uses for veggies as a vegetable or side dish! that book sounds like a winner--thanx!

I also like the Victory Garden Cookbook by Marion Morash. Since you are in New England, I would be very surprised if you did not find it in your town library.

seagrass

thanx, seagrass! i very much enjoyed the series when it was on and have several "victory garden" gardening books but hadn't even heard of this! it looks like a winner, too!

A non-recipe, but one of our favorite side dishes is sort of a vegie steam-fry. Lots (and lots) of garlic and a little onion sauteed in a little olive oil, then whatever vegies you like...I usually use julienned carrots, broccoli, mushrooms, red bell pepper and cauliflower, zucchini or green beans if I have them. Cook them covered for just a few minutes, then toss in a diced tomato or two and finish uncovered. I've also thrown in olives and a little feta cheese at the end.

San, I know exactly what you mean. When we went through a vegetarian phase we bought lots of books, and most of them provided great recipes for main-dish meals. But few considered side dishes.

There are, however, cookbooks that do consider veggies from all angles. The Time Life "Fresh Ways With Vegetables" comes to mind. Another is the Barnes & Noble book "Vegetarian," which in addition to recipes is a guide to choosing and using vegetables.

You should also check out some of the ethnic cookbooks. Many cultures are much more into vegetables than we are, and you can pick up some great ideas.

Another great source of published recipes are the annuals put out by many publications. The XYZ Magazine Cookbook sort of thing. Food & Wine does one every year, as does Southern Living and several others. These aren't strictly vegetable cookbooks, of course, but the veggie recipes they present often are spectacular.

Most good libraries have them in their cookbook collections, and I would look there before I actually bought one of these books.

Roasted Green Beans with Garlic

fresh green beans; washed and ends snapped off
extra virgin olive oil
salt & fresh ground pepper
fresh chopped garlic (to taste)
balsamic vinegar
Turn oven to 400ö. Spread green beans on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat evenly. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Place in oven and roast beans until tender and starting to brown. Partway throught cooking, sprinkle with garlic and toss again. Return to oven. When done, remove from oven, drizzle with balsamic vinegar and serve hot or at room temperature.
This recipe is also delicious with carrots or asparagus.

Corn-Chive Pudding

2 cups fresh corn kernels, divided (I used thawed frozen corn)
1 (8 oz.) container chive and onion cream cheese
3/4 cup half-and-half
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1-1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons chopped chives (I used dried onion)
1/2 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an 8" x 8" baking dish. Place 1 cup corn kernels in container of a food processor and pulse several times until coarsely chopped; pour into a large bowl. Add remaining cup of corn to chopped corn. Add cream cheese and remaining ingredients, stirring well. Pour into prepared baking dish. Bake 30 minutes, or until a tester inserted in center comes out clean.

Courtesy of Cooking With Paula Deen Magazine (July/August o6).

This sauce is good poured over steamed broccoli or yellow string beans:

RIPE OLIVE SAUCE

2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped, pitted black olives
1 or 2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp. salt or less to taste
1/4 tsp.pepper

Saute garlic in small saucepan over medium-low heat until golden, about 3 minutes. Do not let it brown. Add remaining ingredients and cook 1 or 2 minutes to heat olives. Pour over steamed fresh vegetables.

My favorite Fordhook Lima Beans recipe: (so delish!)

1 box/bag of fordhook lima beans
1 small jar diced pimentos
1 small onion-diced
1/2 cup sour cream-room temp
1/2 stick butter

Saute the onion & drained pimentos in the butter until tender. Meanwhile cook the limas & drain when done. Add the onion mixture to the pot of limas & gently fold in the sour cream. Add S & P to taste. Serve immediately.

San, Fine Cooking magazine is always a great source for new ways with vegetables. We love the recipe from them for Roasted Green Beans:

Roasted Green Beans with Garlic
Source: Marilyn (from Fine Cooking)

1 1/2 pound fresh green beans
1 small head garlic (I use only 6 to 8 cloves)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper to taste
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Wash, trim and dry green beans. Position oven rack in the top third of the oven and preheat to 450° (425° is using dark pan) and place a baking sheet in the oven. Peel each garlic clove and cut each into 4 pieces. Place green beans in a large bowl along with garlic, oil, salt and pepper; toss to coat evenly and pour onto hot baking sheet in a single layer. Roast beans for 10 minutes, stir and continue to roast another 5 minutes if beans are slim and another 10 minutes if beans are thick. Remove to serving dish and sprinkle with toasted pine nuts and grated parmesan cheese.

And yesterday I made a wonderful cauliflower dish from them. The cauliflower is browned first so it makes a beautiful carmelized combination:

Browned Cauliflower with Anchovies, Olives and Capers

1 medium-small head cauliflower (about 2 pounds)
1 large clove garlic
pinch coarse salt- sea or kosher
6 oil packed anchovy filets, drained (I used 1 tablespoon anchovy paste)
1/4 cup EVOO
15 black olives, pitted and roughly chopped
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, more to taste (this really made the dish pop!)
2 teaspoons capers, roughly chopped (I left these whole)
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest (I left out)
Large pinch crushed red pepper flakes

Clean and cut cauliflower into chunks, keeping florets attached to pieces of stem.

Crush garlic with salt into a paste and add anchovies and pound them to a paste as well (since I used anchovy paste I just stirred it into crushed garlic). Add 1 tablespoon olive oil, olives, lemon juice and zest, capers and red pepper flakes; stir well.

Heat 2 tablespoons EVOO in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat and add half the cauliflower pieces in a single layer, cut side down. Cook until cauliflower is well browned on all sides then transfer to plate. Add the remaining cauliflower and more EVOO if necessary and brown on all sides. Add cauliflower from plate to cauliflower in pan and turn the heat down to low. Carefully add 2/3 cup (I only used 1/4 cup) water; cover and let steam until the stems are just tender, 6 to 8 minutes.

Remove skillet from heat and pour off all but about 1 tablespoon cooking liquid (or place in a serving bowl). Gently fold in anchovy mixture. Serve warm or room temperature.

*This is my new favorite way to eat cauliflower!

Marilyn

CURRIED CORN & SWEET PEPPERS (serves 6)
8 ears fresh corn or 4 1/2 cups frozen whole kernels (thawed)
4 TBL butter
1/2 cup diced sweet yellow pepper
1/2 cup diced sweet red pepper
1/2 cup diced green pepper
2 tsp curry powder
Salt 7 pepper to taste
2 tBL unsalted butter
1/2 cup heavy cream

If using fresh corn, shuck & cook as usual. Cut the corn from the cobs.
Heat butter in a skillet & add all the peppers; sprinkle w/curry powder. Cook, stirring about 1 minute. Add the corn, salt & pepper to taste. Stir in 2 TBL butter & the cream. Bring to a simmer, stirring continually. Serve hot.~~Slice of Paradise

This one's very forgiving if you want to halve it or substitute ingredients. For the yellow rice, you can substitute 1 2/3 cups long grain rice & 1/4 tsp turmeric.

VEGETABLE PAELLA (serves 6)
Two 14 oz cans artichoke hearts
Lemon juice to taste
2 onions, chopped
2 TBL olive oil
Two 15 oz cans tomatoes, drained & chopped
3 leeks, white part only, chopped
3 green bell peppers, cut into strips
6 asparagus spears, cut into pieces
1/2 cup thawed frozen peas
Four 10 oz cans chicken or vegetable broth
1 clove garlic, minced (or more)
2 sprigs parsley, minced or 1 tsp dried
Salt & pepper to taste
Three 5 oz pkg yellow rice

Drain the artichoke hearts. Cut them into halves & sprinkle w/the lemon juice. Set aside.
Saute the onion in heated olive oil in a large skillet. Stir in the tomatoes, leeks, artichoke hearts, green peppers, asparagus, peas & 1 can of the broth.
Bring to a boil & simmer 10 minutes. Stir in the remaining 3 cans broth, garlic, parsley, salt & pepper. Add the rice.
Simmer, covered, over medium heat for 20-25 minutes or until the rice is tender & the liquid has been absorbed. Let stand, covered for 5 minutes before serving.~~True Grits

Marilyn I just made your roasted green beans for DS and DDIL last week and they cleaned the platter - I thought there would be enough for some leftovers and I had planned it that way, but no. They truly gobbled them down - big hit!

The recipe is on the original thread linked below.

SharonCb

nice additions--more beans, a couple of dishes that easily could become main course items (i'll bet both the vegetable paella and vegetable crumble would work), and even a sauce for veggies! we love cauliflower marilyn and the idea of adding some anchovies actually appeals to me quite a bit. thanx alot, guys!

Not exactly a recipe, but we love bussels sprout leaves. They have a different and more delicate flavor than the whole sprouts. I forget who it was who recently made them on a Food Network show but it's not a new technique as my mom used to make them that way and I would trim them while I was watching TV.

Cut off the end of the sprout and remove as many leaves as you can. The cut off another sliver of the core, remove more leaves, and repeat until you are down to the very wrinkly inner leaves. At that point, I discard the rest of the sprout, although I imagine they could be used for something like a cream soup.

I rinse them and leave a little water on them, microwave for a few minutes, drain, and serve with browned butter.

Ruthanna, when we were in Germany, I saw a cooking show that made Brussels Sprouts the way you recommended........it was for a Thanksgiving dinner and I made them that way...........they really are tasty.

Sweet Potato Casserole

4 large sweet potatoes
½ cup sugar
½ stick butter
1 Tbsp Half & Half (or more if it needs thinning)
1/2 - 1 tsp Vanilla extract
Walnut or pecan halves

Cook, peel & mash sweet potatoes. Add butter, sugar, Half & Half, and vanilla extract. Mix thoroughly and add walnut or pecan halves. (I whip mixture using high speed and place nuts on top of casserole).

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Recipe can be made ahead and refrigerated. Bring to room temp before baking. Sometimes I swirl brown sugar & 1/3 bag of miniature marshmellows through either before or halfway through baking. Also I add a little Penzey's Vietnamese Fancy Cinnamonmakes it taste great!

Ann

I made the brown cauliflower again and took a picture. I also made just a couple of changes in the recipe; I used a little butter to help brown the cauliflower better and reduced the amount of water. So good!

{{gwi:2044450}}

1 medium-small head cauliflower
1 tablespoon butter
3 tablespoons Extra-virgin olive oil-divided
1 large clove garlic
Sprinkle kosher salt
1 tablespoon anchovy paste
10 to 15 black olives; sliced
1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoon capers
Pinch red pepper flakes

Clean cauliflower and cut into 1½-inch chunks keeping the top of the florets attached to pieces of stem. Place 1/2 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large heavy skillet medium-high heat. When hot add half the cauliflower and brown on all sides turning gently, about 5 minutes. Remove browned cauliflower from skillet and add remaining butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil and remaining cauliflower; brown as before. Return first batch of browned cauliflower to skillet with the second batch and lightly sprinkle with kosher salt. Carefully pour in 2 tablespoons water, reduce heat and cover skillet. Allow cauliflower to steam until just tender, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile mince garlic and place in a small bowl; stir in a pinch of kosher salt, anchovy paste, olives, lemon juice, capers, red pepper flakes and remaining 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil. After cauliflower is tender, remove from heat and gently fold olive mixture into cauliflower and serve immediately or at room temperature.

*Inspired by Browned Cauliflower with Anchovies, Olives & Capers from Fine Cooking magazine.

Marilyn