Vegetables Recipes
I use a variety of cooking methods for fresh vegetables. In this page, you will find recipes for
- Stir fried vegetables,
- Stuffed bell peppers,
- Sauteed kale,
- Microwaved beans,
- Roasted curried vegetables, and
- Sweet corn on the cob.
Stir Fried Broccoli
I learned this easy method from watching my mum cooking in her kitchen. This technique can be used to cook other vegetables such as bok choy, choy sum and kai lan.
Ingredients:
1 broccoli crown, 1 tsp minced garlic, 1 tsp oyster sauce, 2 tbs water and 1 tsp olive oil. Pepper to taste
Procedures:
1. Clean and cut the broccoli crown to bite size
2. Heat oil in frying pan over medium heat. Stir garlic till slightly brown
3. Add broccoli pieces, water and pepper in the pan and stir to incorporate
4. Cover to let the broccoli cook through. The broccoli will turn bright green
5. Mix in oyster sauce and cook for another min
6. Serve with rice
Stir fried broccoli
Stuffed Bell Peppers
I bought a club pack of green bell peppers and thought maybe I should try cooking stuffed peppers. The recipe is inspired by several recipes but I put my own spin on it.
Ingredients:
4 large green bell peppers, 1 cup cooked Jasmine rice, 0.5 lb ground venison, 0.5 lb ground beef, 4 shallots, 2 garlic cloves, 1 large tomato, 1 tsp crushed red peppers, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp ground ginger, 4 dashes of Worcestershire sauce, 4 slices of Swiss cheese, 0.5 cup grated mixed Mexican cheese, 2 tbs olive oil, salt and ground black pepper to taste
Procedures:
1. In a large pot, fill with water and bring it to boil
2. Cut the tops of the green bell peppers. Remove seeds. Add the peppers in the boiling water and place a lid of a smaller pot to keep the peppers submerged in the water. Cook for 3 to 5 mins until the skins are slightly tender. Remove and drain the peppers
3. Slice garlic and shallot. Cut tomato
4. Preheat oven to 350 degF
5. In a skillet, heat to medium. Add 1 tbs olive oil and stir in shallot and garlic. Add tomato chunks and cook until liquid is reduced. Remove the mixture into a mixing bowl
6. In the same skillet, add 1 tbs olive oil and stir in ground venison and beef. Add spices, Worcestershire sauce and salt and cook until the meat mixture is cooked through
7. Add the meat mixture and cooked rice in the mixing bowl with the garlic-onion-tomato mixture. Blend well
8. Place drained peppers in a greased baking pan. Crumble Swiss cheese into the bottom of each pepper
9. Fill each pepper till the top with meat and rice mixture. Sprinkled grated cheese on the top
10. Place in peppers in the oven and bake for 30 mins
11. Serve with more cheese or tomato sauce. Enjoy!
Use the same technique above when incorporating other vegetables like bell peppers and carrots. Add them like you would do with broccoli in Step 4.
Stir fried broccoli, bell peppers and carrots with sprinkles of fried shallots
Sauteed Kale with Tomatoes
Kale is part of the cabbage family and high in beta carotene, vitamins C and K, and calcium. It can be eaten raw when it is tender, sauteed or baked into delicious chips.
Roasted Curried Vegetables
This is a good recipe if you want to make 6 to 8 servings in one go and not sweat over the kitchen stove. It's a versatile dish so feel free to add your favorite vegetables, keeping in mind of different cooking times. Root vegetables usually require longer baking while leafy vegetables require less time. I like my food spicy and eyeball my spices so feel free to adjust to your heart's content.
Ingredients:
5 lbs white potatoes (I kid you not!), 1 large eggplant, 1 large zucchini, 1 large onion, 1 large red bell pepper, 2 carrots, 2 tomatoes, a handful of green beans, 1 can of chick peas, 1 cup vegetable stock or water, 0.5 tbs garlic powder, 1 tbs chili flakes, 1 tbs smoked paprika, 5 tbs curry powder, 1.5 tbs salt, ground black pepper, and 3 tbs olive oil
Two 9x13 inches baking pans
Procedures:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degF
2. Rinse vegetables. Cut potatoes to quarters and the rest of the vegetables to 0.5 inch thick slices
3. Drain chickpeas and set aside
4. Divide all the potatoes, onion, and carrots into the baking pans
5. In a bowl, mix 2tbs olive oil, chili flakes, smoked paprika, 4 tbs curry powder, and 1 tbs salt. Pour half of the mixture onto the ingredients in one of the baking pans and the rest in the other baking pan. Toss the vegetables in the spice mix and ground black pepper. Pour half cup of liquid into each pan. Bake in the oven for 20 mins
6. While the potatoes are baking, toss the rest of the spices and olive oil with the rest of the vegetables and chick peas in a large bowl
7. Remove the baking pans from the oven and lower the oven temperature to 375 degF. Divide the mixture in the large bowl into the pan and stir everything together. Bake in the oven for another 30 mins or until the potatoes are cooked through, making sure to stir and rotate the pans every 15 min
8. Remove pans from the oven and serve by itself or with a slice of bread, over rice, or noodles
Curly kale leaves
Ingredients:
Bunch of kale leaves, 2 tomatoes, 2 garlic cloves- minced, half tablespoon of olive oil, salt, and ground black pepper. Optional sesame oil
Procedures:
1. Wash kale leaves. Remove stems from the leaves and cut to large bite sizes. Cut tomatoes to bite sizes
2. In a saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add minced garlic and stir for a minute
3. Stir in tomatoes and cook for a minute
4. Add kale leaves and cover to let the leaves start to wilt
5. Mix and season with ground black pepper and salt
6. Remove from heat. Stir in sesame oil (optional)
7. Serve as a healthy delicious side dish
2-min Italian Beans
I learned this trick from college. It's an easy way to cook your fresh veg from your garden! I use Italian beans because that's what I get from my garden :)
Ingredients:
Handful of fresh Italian beans, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1 tsp water and freshly ground pepper
Procedures:
1. Clean and cut the ends of Italian beans
2. Place the beans in a microwavable bowl. Add sesame oil, water and pepper. Mix until the beans are coated
3. Place bowl in a microwave. Set to high for 1 min and hit start button
4. Remove the bowl and serve the Italian beans!
Sweet Corn on the Cob
Ingredients:
1 very fresh sweet corn with husk and 1 tbs salted butter
Procedures:
1. Soak sweet corn in water for 10 mins or until the husk is completely soaked
2. Remove layers of husk until 1 layer is left. Place corn on a flat microwavable plate
3. Set to High for 2 mins and zap the corn
4. Turn the corn and zap it for another 2 mins. Check to ensure the corn is cooked. If not, continue to cook in 30 seconds increments until achieved your likeness
5. Cool for 2 to 5 mins. Remove husk and silk
6. Butter the corn. Be careful, it may be hot! Enjoy the scrumptious corn