Re: OT: Kitchen appliance weirdness

I think most of us nuke veg these days, except for roasting.

NT

Or browning; brussels sprouts or broccoli really benefits from a little hot-oil excursion.

We don't "boil" anything (in water), other than potatoes (prior to mashing) and pasta noodles. Potato sticks (to make 'fries), wontons and eggrolls are boiled in various types of oils.

The only veggies that we steam are carrots, broccoli and cauliflower. We use a sauce pot and a steamer basket (on the stove top!) so we don't have to store a "specialty appliance" (and the counter space to USE it!) to do something that can be done just as easily using more "conventional" methods. But, we rarely eat more than one "steamed" veggie in a meal.

Rice, lentils, dried veggies are rehydrated in a similar sauce pot -- also on the stovetop -- to likewise avoid the need for a "rice cooker" (it's relatively easy to make "perfect rice" if you do it more than once or twice).

Every other veggie (often 3 or 5 at a time) is sauteed -- though rarely in "oil": snow peas, sugar snaps, jicama, onions, bok choy, Julienned carrots, pineapple, broccoli (after steaming), etc. This allows us to keep the veggies crisp as well as imparting specific flavors to each that will stand out when assembled into the eventual meal. E.g., the carrots are excellent lightly sauteed in chili oil!

To each his or her own, but there is an article in the paper today saying the fast frozen or even tinned food loses less vitamins and nutrients than supermarket veg, which may take a week or more before it reaches you to be cooked.

Still don't understsnd why you need six burner rings at a time, which is what prompted my initial comment...

Chris

It's not about nutrients but, rather, taste and texture. Many frozen veggies taste like crap.

At the start of the "lockdown", we brought a bunch of frozen veggies in thinking we could store them in our "big" freezer (colder than the freezer compartment of a traditional refrigerator). This would, in theory, save us the hassle of having to venture out every couple of days to buy fresh produce.

With the exception of things like corn niblets, we were universally disappointed in the results. We've resolved ourselves to making frequent (but highly focused!) trips to the store for fresh items.

We don't have 6. I commented that *some* STOVETOPS have 6. We manage well enough with just four. We carefully plan what we'll cook at each point so we can maximize use of the available burners and not have to "reheat" anything prepared too far in advance.

But, having just two burners would lengthen our meal prep time in many cases as we'd have to serialize many of the activities.

I do hope that's not the well informed voice of experience :)

Curry them, it doesn't matter too much then.

NT