Vegan for Life - Jack Norris [97]
When it comes to cooking fresh veggies, the same technique works well for almost all vegetables: steaming followed by a quick sauté. (The exception is leafy greens: They require their own cooking technique, which is described below.) Here are the steps for cooking just about any type of vegetable:
1. Clean vegetables and remove any inedible portions.
2. Cut into bite-size pieces.
3. Place a steamer basket in a large, deep pan filled with about an inch of water. Heat the water to boiling, place the veggies in the basket, cover and steam until they reach desired tenderness.
4. Lift the steamer basket out of the pot (use a pot holder) and pour off the water. You can eat them as is, or do a quick sauté to bring out their flavor.
5. Add a tablespoon or two of olive oil to the pot and add the veggies. Add any seasonings you like and cook for a minute or so.
Cooking Leafy Greens
Steaming vegetables is one of the most healthful ways to cook them, but it doesn’t work for leafy greens like collards, kale, mustard, and turnip greens. Here is a good technique from the cookbook Greens Glorious Greens.
1. Tear the greens into bite-size pieces. You can include the stems or not—it’s up to you.
2. Plunge the greens into a big bowl of cold water and swish them around to clean. Drain the water. Repeat a couple of times to remove the grit that sometimes clings to the leaves.
3. While cleaning the greens, bring about two cups of water per pound of greens to boil in a large pot. Add the greens. Cover and boil for eight to ten minutes. Drain the greens.
As we directed for the vegetables above, you can give the greens a quick sauté in a bit of olive oil and season them. Here are tasty flavoring ideas for leafy greens:
Sauté onions with a clove of minced garlic and a pinch of cinnamon. Stir in the cooked greens.
Sauté chopped onions and garlic in olive oil. Add ¼ teaspoon of ground cayenne (more or less to taste) and salt and black pepper. Add a pound of cooked greens.
If you find that the taste of fresh greens is too strong at first, try tempering them with something creamy and bland. Puree silken tofu and mix into the greens with salt and pepper. Or mix in leftover mashed potatoes and soymilk.
METRIC CONVERSION CHART
• The recipes in this book have not been tested with metric measurements, so some variations might occur.
• Remember that the weight of dry ingredients varies according to the volume or density factor: 1 cup of flour weighs far less than 1 cup of sugar, and 1 tablespoon doesn’t necessarily hold 3 teaspoons.
General Formulas for Metric Conversion
Ounces to grams ➡ ounces × 28.35 = grams
Grams to ounces ➡ grams × 0.035 = ounces
Pounds to grams ➡ pounds × 453.5 = grams
Pounds to kilograms ➡ pounds × 0.45 = kilograms
Cups to liters ➡ cups × 0.24 = liters
Fahrenheit to Celsius ➡ (°F - 32) × 5 ÷ 9 = °C
Celsius to Fahrenheit ➡ (°C × 9) ÷ 5 + 32 = °F
Linear Measurements
½ inch = 1½ cm
1 inch = 2½ cm
6 inches = 15 cm
8 inches = 20 cm
10 inches = 25 cm
12 inches = 30 cm
20 inches = 50 cm
Volume (Dry) Measurements
¼ teaspoon = 1 milliliter
½ teaspoon = 2 milliliters
¾ teaspoon = 4 milliliters
1 teaspoon = 5 milliliters
1 tablespoon = 15 milliliters
¼ cup = 59 milliliters
⅓ cup = 79 milliliters
½ cup = 118 milliliters
⅔ cup = 158 milliliters
¾ cup = 177 milliliters
1 cup = 225 milliliters
4 cups or 1 quart = 1 liter
½ gallon = 2 liters
1 gallon = 4 liters
Volume (Liquid) Measurements
1 teaspoon = ⅙ fluid ounce = 5 milliliters
1 tablespoon = ½ fluid ounce = 15 milliliters
2 tablespoons = 1 fluid ounce = 30 milliliters
¼ cup = 2 fluid ounces = 60 milliliters
⅓ cup = 2⅔ fluid ounces = 79 milliliters
½ cup = 4 fluid ounces = 118 milliliters
1 cup or ½ pint = 8 fluid ounces = 250 milliliters