Quick Tip: Braised Vegetables

Much of my meals rely on a small number of techniques that I use so often I forget they are learned skills. In order to demystify cooking a little further, I'm going to walk through these skills step-by-step. Hopefully these "Quick Tips" will be beneficial and if you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments and I'll either answer them there or use that as the subject for another "Quick Tip."



*Chef's Note: "Braising is a combination cooking method using both moist and dry heat" (thanks, Wikipedia). Thus braising vegetables combines sauteing (dry heat) while steaming the vegetables in their own juices (moist heat). This is my go-to way to prepare vegetables for dinner. In my 4 years of more serious attempts at cooking I have yet to mess it up. It works amazingly well for frozen veggies and, let's be honest, when I'm putting effort into a main dish I don't often feel like prepping and cooking raw vegetables. Regardless of the vegetable you use, these bad boys go from the freezer to the table in less than 10 minutes. And they're awfully tasty. Even Husband, who feels apathetic toward most cooked vegetables, goes back for seconds. *

Braised Vegetables
A Snozzcumber Soup Original

Prep: 2 minutes
Cook: 8-12 minutes
Makes: as much as you want to make

Ingredients

fresh or frozen vegetables
oil
salt-based seasoning

In a medium skillet, heat the oil on medium heat. The amount of oil obviously depends on how many vegetables you plan on cooking as well as the finish of your skillet; if you're working with a non-stick skillet and have 2 cups of veggies, you'll only need a quarter sized drizzle of oil, but If you're working with a stainless steel skillet, you'll need more. Also remember that frozen vegetables will shrink when cooked, especially smaller ones like corn and green beans.



When the oil is hot enough to sizzle when a vegetable is placed in the pan, add the vegetables and sprinkle with your seasoning. I'm a big fan of Lawry's Seasoned Salt with pretty much all vegetables (you can see the paprika bits in the picture) but you can mix it up with some Cajun Seasoning, or a steak rub that has a high salt content. Or you can go the purist route and just add salt and pepper. Stir things around to get everything seasoned and cover with a lid.

Every 3 or 4 minutes give the vegetables a quick stir to keep things cooking evenly. The water in the vegetables should be enough to steam everything through, but if you cook them on too high heat you may need to add a few teaspoons of water if things look dry. Once the vegetables are as done as you'd like, pull them off the heat and serve.

There's no real "right" time when the vegetables are done--it's up to you; Husband and I like our green beans more done that other veggies so they get a few more minutes in the pan. The only way you can botch this is if you drastically over-cook or over-salt your food. And then you're only out a couple bucks worth of food, right?

This is a great way to add vegetables to a meal like meatloaf or a casserole. When that dish has 15 minutes left in the oven, go to work at the stove with your vegetables and you'll have a beautifully choreographed dinner that's done at the same time. It can also piggyback off a skillet previously used for the same meal. I got this technique from my mom who had to cook for a family of 7, so it works for single serving meals as well as hordes of hungry people.

Enjoy!

Tortellini and Roasted Red Pepper Soup

*Chef's Note: This recipe was sent to me by a long-time friend and blog reader, Mitchell. I know his dad is a foodie and must have passed that love of food onto Mitchell, because this soup was great. It's simple, albeit a little expensive, and would be perfect for a night of entertaining where you want something fancy but no-fuss; it goes beyond regular noodles-and-tomato-sauce without being too weird for the less adventurous eater.*

Tortellini and Roasted Red Pepper Soup
[slightly] Adapted from Mitchell's recipe

Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Makes: 6 main dish servings

Ingredients

8 oz white mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 TBS olive oil (or butter)
2 (16 oz) jars roasted red peppers (found in the salad dressing aisle)
2 (14.5 oz) cans chicken broth
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 (9 oz) packages fresh cheese tortellini, uncooked

Directions

Place the roasted red peppers and liquid in a blender or food processor, and blend until smooth.

Heat olive oil in large saucepan. Chop mushrooms and, once the oil is hot, add mushrooms to the pan and cook for 5 minutes or until the mushrooms begin to brown. Add the garlic and cook one minute.

Stir in the pureed red peppers, chicken broth, and seasonings. (It will look really runny but it will thicken substantially as it cooks.) Bring the mixture to a boil. Add the tortellini and continue cooking, uncovered, on medium high-heat for 8-10 minutes, or until pasta is al dente.

Tips
*This can easily be made into a sauce instead of a soup by using less of the chicken broth (half? maybe more?) and cooking the pasta in a separate pot of water. You would still need to cook the sauce for 8-10 minutes to allow it to thicken.
*To cut down on costs, this could be made with canned roasted tomatoes--the roasting would give it more depth than a regular tomato soup.
*Try browning some diced onions and adding a TBS or so of white cooking wine before cooking the mushrooms--this would give the dish a hint of sweetness and balance the boldness of the red peppers.
*Stick with the cheese tortellini. The soup doesn't leave you a lot of room to taste a more complex flavored pasta.

Sweet French Dressing

*Chef's Note: I recently jumped into the world of eating lots of fruits and vegetables (you know about that whole food pyramid thing? Genius!). One thing that smoothed my transitions from a few veggies to a lot of veggies was this dressing. I could eat a whole raw cucumber dipped in this shockingly bright orange sauce and be a happy happy girl. It's particularly tasty on slightly bitter veggies like spinach and cucumbers rather than sweeter, milder ones like carrots.*

Sweet French Dressing (a.k.a. Nikki Sauce)
from my little sister's friend Nikki

3/4 C sugar
1 tsp salt
1 TBS Worcestershire Sauce
1/4 C ketchup
1/3 C apple cider vinegar
1 scant C vegetable oil (NOT Canola oil)
1 tsp grated or finely chopped onion (of if you're lazy, 1/2 tsp onion powder)

Combine ingredients in blender and blend for about 60 seconds. The dressing will be the color of a bandaid (no kidding), but as it sits it will deepen to a bright orange.

Tips:
*The oil shouldn't separate, but if it does, blend until it emulsifies.
*If you like a more acidic dressing, only add 1/2 C of sugar
*I make this in a pint sized wide-mouth Mason jar with my hand blender--it stores nicely in that same container and makes very little mess.
*This recipe halves well (especially if it's feeding two people) and keeps in the fridge for about 2 weeks.

Starving-College-Student "Homemade" Salsa

*Chef's Note: These measurements are an estimate. Each batch of salsa is different for one reason or another--for instance, older onions aren't as potent but older jalapeños are probably able to burn off people's flesh--so you need to work with your ingredients to find out what jives. I suggest having a bag of chips handy to taste test your salsa during its creation.*

Prep: 20 minutes
Makes about 1 quart

2 16 oz cans diced tomatoes (drained if you want thicker salsa, but I never drain mine)
1TBS diced hot jalapeños (makes for a mediumish hot salsa for me but it burns Jenny's nose hairs. This is also a great way to use up the rest of the jalapeños from an earlier recipe.)
2 tsp chopped garlic (Jenny always wants MORE!)
1/2 of a medium onion, chopped finely
1/2 C chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 lime, squeezed (or is it squozen?)
2 tsp sugar
Salt and Pepper to taste (the tomatoes are pretty salty already, definitely add some pepper)
Any other things you feel compelled to put in there like chili powder or cumin or green onions--a lovely touch but unnecessary

Combine everything in a medium sized bowl and mix it up. If you have a blender handy and would like to make the bits a little smaller and give some body to the juice you can pulse it until you're satisfied. I wouldn't puree the whole thing--that turns everything into tomato slush. A hand blender works amazingly well because you can blend it directly in the bowl (I have pledged love to mine over and over and will probably continue to do so). Taste and add more ingredients until you are satisfied with the outcome.

Serve with your mom and tortilla chips, or in anything that requires salsa.

Really Fast and Tasty Rice and Beans

*Chef's note: I made this recipe up right after being married out of sheer desperation and it has served me well since. It makes enough for dinner and 1 or 2 days of lunch each.*

Prep: 2 minutes
cook: 20 minutes
Makes 6 main dish servings

2 cups white or brown rice (this would be a killer good-for-you meal with brown rice)
1 can black beans, undrained
1 can diced tomatoes with green chilis, undrained (we like Western Family brand)*
grated cheese

*note: if you can't find these specific diced tomatoes, just buy 4 oz. hot diced chilis or jalepenos--making sure this will provide spice. I once got chilis sans spice and they tasted and smelled like diapers-- use 1 1/2 tsp if it's hot and this will be plenty spicy. Add more or less to taste.*

Cook the rice according to the directions on the package, or if you're lazy like me, use a rice cooker. Dump the undrained tomatoes and beans together in a saucepan and boil and stir uncovered for about 15 minutes. The "sauce" should have thickened up a little.

Once done, dish out rice and top with beans and tomatoes combo and grated cheese to taste.