Vegetables

Easy Vegetable Side Dishes

Steamed, boiled, or sautéed veggie side dishes are easy to make and can often be cooked in 10 minutes or less. Here’s how:

— Choose the vegetables you want to cook. You can use just about any veggie you’d like, but here are some fun options:

• Asparagus (cut off the denser ½ inch at the bottom of the spears and save for your bone or vegetable broth)
• Bok choy
• Broccoli or broccoli rabe
• Brussels sprouts
• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Celery root (celeriac)
• Collards
• Green beans
• Kale
• Swiss chard
• Turnips
• Yellow squash
• Zucchini

— Wash and prepare the vegetables. Remember to save the ends and scraps for your bone or vegetable broth !

— Decide how you want to serve them:

• Sliced, diced, or chopped: You can slice them by hand or use a food processor if you have one. If you want slices or julienned vegetables, your food processor can do this in seconds with the right attachments (the long slits will slice, and the small holes will julienne). The S-blade will do either a rough chop of vegetables if you use the pulse button a few times, or finely chop or puree, depending on how long you let it run.
• Mashed or blended: If you want to make a mash, or blended vegetables with the consistency of mashed potatoes, chop up the vegetables first (any which way in large chunks), boil or steam them, then drain out the water, leaving about ⅓ cup of water for easy blending. Add sea salt, pepper, and chosen herbs or spices; then pour into your food processor and puree with the S-blade. Alternatively, you can use an immersion blender right in the same pan you cooked the vegetables in, which is fast and easy. If you don’t have equipment, you can use a potato masher—just make sure your vegetables are softly cooked enough to do this.

— Directions for cooking:

• Steaming or boiling option: Place about 2–4 cups of vegetables in 2 cups of water, add ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper (and any other spices you’re using). Boil or steam for 5 minutes or until your vegetables are as soft or firm as you like them. Drain water; add another ½ teaspoon sea salt and drizzle with your favorite healthy fat or oil (see Chapter 5 for ideas).
• Sautéing option: On low heat, place 2 tablespoons healthy cooking fat or oil (such as coconut oil or a healthy animal fat like raw butter, ghee, or our favorite, duck fat). Add ¼ teaspoon pepper, ½ teaspoon salt, and the herbs or spices you’d like to use, and allow the herbs and spices to get warm for about 2 minutes. Make sure the fat does not get too hot. Add the vegetables of your choice (see the list on the previous page for ideas) and turn the heat up to medium low. Cook for about 5 minutes or until the vegetables are as firm or soft as you like them. Remove from heat and serve .

— Taste your vegetables after you’ve cooked them, and add sea salt and/ or fresh ground pepper to taste. You might also feel that they need a little more of a healthy fat or oil after cooking. Some people like to have flaxseed oil, olive oil, or some other oil at the table so that people can serve themselves according to their own tastes. Pumpkin-seed oil makes a wonderful addition to cooked vegetables and can be a fun new twist to have at the table.

— Be creative. Most vegetables go beautifully with thyme, basil, and rosemary; alternatively, you could use a mixture of turmeric, allspice, and fennel powder (¼–½ teaspoon each). If you want to add these herbs or spices, feel free to experiment—and check Chapter 6 for herbs and spices that work on health issues you want to resolve!

♥