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Farm Kitchen:  veggie-stupid- help me!  |
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Carolinagirl
True Blue Farmgirl
486 Posts
Kim
Rutherfordton
NC
USA
486 Posts |
 Posted - Oct 11 2007 : 1:53:20 PM
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Okay,girls... I don't eat 'em. Not at all. Not even a smidgen of them. However, I'm not here to ask for help in starting to eat them; I need y'all's help in finding ones I can cook seven nights a week so taht my family does have them.
I'm pretty good at getting them cooked correctly, so that they taste good (which is a feat without actually eating them). But I am completely stumped when it comes to what to serve with a main dishes SEVEN DIFFERENT MEALS A WEEK. I hate to cook something that they might not eat- do you have any favs of your family?
Can y'all give me some side dish ideas that I could try?
Thanks-
Kim in NC |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Oct 11 2007 : 4:39:43 PM
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I usually keep my veggie dishes pretty simple..not alot of sauces or like that..but I bet some of the farmgirls have great ideas. I like to make salads with lots of things in them. I am lucky that everyone in my family will eat about any veggie. I love them.
Just something simple like frozen corn with salt, butter and a little chopped red pepper is always a hit..and broccoli with cheese sauce is one they all LOVE. I like it best with just salt and pepper.
Jenny in Utah
Inside me there is a skinny woman crying to get out...but I can usually shut her up with cookies
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
Posted - Oct 11 2007 : 5:20:27 PM
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Growing up we never mixed anything in with our veggies- just warmed up if we liked them that way. Sometimes I put a little butter in with corn or green peas. But really I like to let the natural taste show through instead of hiding it behind a bunch of spices or sauces.
Kim- Can I ask why you don't live veggies?
Alee
The amazing one handed typist! One hand for typing, one hand to hold Nora!
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Carolinagirl
True Blue Farmgirl
486 Posts
Kim
Rutherfordton
NC
USA
486 Posts |
Posted - Oct 11 2007 : 5:56:51 PM
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It's the texture. I don't like mushy or slimy. I don't like cold foods (other than frozen treats like ice cream...). I don't mind the taste of many veggies... I like onion flavor, and the taste you get when you saute meat with peppers... that kind of thing. But to eat them would be a different story. If I was pushed to point to a veggie I would eat, it would probably be corn- either on the cob or off.
When I was little my mom and dad MADE me eat veggies, which only increased my dislike of them. That's why I don't make my kids eat anything they say they don't like. We do usually convince them to try a bite, but after that, they don't have to eat anything. They don't have to fill their plates up with everything I cook, and I don't make them special dinners if they don't like what is served.
Kim in NC |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
Posted - Oct 11 2007 : 6:07:12 PM
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I don't like mushy or slimy either so I eat my veggies when they are still nice and firm. You can eat most veggies raw while they are nice, firm and crisp.
I watched a cooking show that made the claim that our generations parents did a huge disservice to us. Not only did not very many of our parents actually cook veggies in an appetizing way, but they forced kids to eat the nasty mess that came out of a bargain basement can. So it isn't hard to understand why so many hate veggies now.
Maybe eventually you will learn to like veggies if you try eating them fresh or barely steamed or slowly incorporating them into meals like stir fry?
Alee
The amazing one handed typist! One hand for typing, one hand to hold Nora!
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kissmekate
True Blue Farmgirl
890 Posts
Kate
Delano
Minnesota
890 Posts |
Posted - Oct 11 2007 : 9:07:25 PM
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We ate mostly canned veggies in our house growing up. As I got older, and my parents made more money, we ate fresher veggies. Now that is all I will eat. I have some canned goods in the cupboard in case of bad weather, but I choke them down. If I can't get fresh, I go with frozen. If I don't have frozen, I go with they mushy canned as a last resort.
I live on salads. I have at least one per day. I only use a smidgen of dressing.
I will eat them in a stir fry too, yummy!
My daughter LOVES veggies too. My son would rather die than let a veggie pass his lips. I gave up the battle with that a year or so ago. I didn't have it in me any longer to argue about it, and ruin dinner every single night. I exhausted every tactic in my arsenal to try to get him to eat them. Nada, zilch, zip. And now that he is bigger than me, well, I can't force him to eat them. But, dinner is much more peaceful. Now if we could only find a mute button for my chatterbox of a daughter...LOL
Also, he automatically thinks I am a hippy because I prefer organic foods over conventional or prepackaged over process junk. I told him I am probably not the only republican hippy in the world, and I wear the label proudly.
But he is coming around, he choked down broccoli at my Mom's and didn't die. BUT, I think that is due to the fact that my Dad gave him "the look" and Gramps is the only person in the world that is more stubborn than he is.
Don't miss out on a blessing, just because it isn't packaged the way you expected. ~MaryJo Copeland |
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willowtreecreek
True Blue Farmgirl
4813 Posts
Julie
Russell
AR
USA
4813 Posts |
Posted - Oct 12 2007 : 04:57:52 AM
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I LOVE Veggies but HATE salad!!! WE do a lot of steamed broccoli, asparagus, corn (which I don't really consider a veggie cause it is really a starch), squash and sweet potatoes are also a big favorite in our house.
The key with green veggies is to steam just until they turn BRIGHT green. That way they are nice and hot, still retain thier nutrients and are not mushy. I usually add a TINY bit of butter and just a smidge of salt and that is it. Sometimes with the Asparagus I put a tiny drizzle of REAL MAPLE SYRUP! That little sweetness makes em so yummy!
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KYgurlsrbest
True Blue Farmgirl
4853 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4853 Posts |
Posted - Oct 12 2007 : 05:42:55 AM
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Wow, Kim, you sound a great deal like my dh. When we met he would only eat potatoes and corn. We've been married for 6 years, and he will eat some vegetables--lots of potatoes (both sweet and white), green beans, the "tree" part of broccoli, asparagus, butternut and acorn squash, corn and peas. Mostly the starchy veges, I guess. I don't force it, but he does his best and this is the way I prepare them...he also has a texture thing with mushy/slimy....No cooked peppers, by the way!!!!!
These are some favorite sides that I use all the time...I tend to keep it simple, unless it's Sunday, when I have more time for, say, a vegetable gratin, or something baked.
I steam my green beans whole, until crisp tender-you can tell by the color, and I periodically check with a toothpick (steamer inserts work well), then toss with olive oil, salt and lemon pepper. Great with all meats!
Asparagus, skewer, brush with olive oil and grill for 3 mins. per side (crisp tender again, not slimy, not mushy), dust with sea or kosher salt. YUM, and the only way he'll eat asparagus. Our favorite with filet mignon and garlic mashed potatoes.
Potatoes: I like variety--rarely do we have a baked regular potato, but we do have baked sweet potatoes. He likes his with brown sugar and pecans. I like mine with butter. We eat steamed new potatoes with fresh parsley and butter. Don't need anything else with those!
I also peel and slice sweet potatoes, sautee in olive oil until browned and a little crisp, with a little cajun seasoning. Nice salty/spicy/sweet combo. Mashed sweet potatoes and Mashed regular potatoes are a life saver when you need a side in a pinch! Garlic makes the world go around, and you can use roasted cloves in your potatoes and it really rounds out the flavor.
Peas, steamed until bright green, usually served with a cream sauce. We usually eat this with meat loaf and a baked sweet potato.
Acorn Squash and Butternut Squash, usually baked in the oven, served with butter and pecans or whatever I have on hand. I use these with meat and another green vege. Also, make them into curried soups and such with a crusty loaf of bread.
Broccoli, well, that's a hard one. The best way I know how to cook it is to steam it (crisp tender), drizzle with lemon/garlic/butter. It's good that way, but I'm broccoli'd out, really.
Good luck trying out new things. I realize it's hard--I just learned that I liked squash 2 years ago--before that they were only "for decoration" in the Fall!!!! I made a shepherd's pie that called for sweet potatoes and butternut squash instead of regular potatoes, and I'm a stickler for following recipe's to a "T", so I did, and found that it's not much different than a sweet potato!
"She was built like a watch, a study in balance ... with a neck and head so refined, like a drawing by DaVinci"...
NY Newsday sportswriter Bill Nack describing filly, Ruffian. |
Edited by - KYgurlsrbest on Oct 12 2007 07:48:39 AM |
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ivmeer
True Blue Farmgirl
409 Posts
Amanda
Pawtucket
RI
USA
409 Posts |
Posted - Oct 12 2007 : 2:53:52 PM
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| I'm a big fan of sauteeing 1 zucchini (sliced), 1 small onion (halved and sliced), and a few mushrooms (4-6 cut in slices) in olive oil with a little rosemary, salt, and pepper. |
Edited by - ivmeer on Oct 14 2007 5:09:56 PM |
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Tina Michelle
True Blue Farmgirl
6948 Posts
Tina
sunshine state
FL
USA
6948 Posts |
Posted - Oct 12 2007 : 6:14:41 PM
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I tried something different last night for dinner...here we love veggies. So..I had some bell peppers..green, red and even a couple small purple ones. I sauted them in a large skillet with a wee bit of butter..then while they were sauteeeing I cooked up some bow tie pasta and during the last 3 minutes of the pasta boiling I added about 1/2 of a large bag of frozen broccoli cuts to the pasta water.I then added 1/2 jar of roasted tomato pesto and 1/2 jar of sun dried tomatoes to the skillet/with just a touch of the sun dried tomato oil...along with the sauteeing bell peppers. Drained the pasta. Mixed all of these things together in a larger pot. Then tossed it with about 3 Tablespoons of real bacon bits.
Then at serving time sprinkled with a touch of parmesan cheese.
It was oh so yummy.
And colorful too.
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Jana
True Blue Farmgirl
482 Posts
Jana
Eau Claire
Wisconsin
USA
482 Posts |
Posted - Oct 13 2007 : 01:32:16 AM
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I boil my veggies, but not to the point that they lose color. And they remain somewhat firm. I use a toothpick to test them much the way you would test a cake. I like mine plain mainly, but a sprinkle of salt or butter and salt is good. Carrots are good tossed with a little brown sugar and dill weed. Mashed potatoes with chives and parmesean cheese mixed in is good. Also parmesean on broccoli is good. The flavor of "stronger" flavored veggies like rutabagas that are served mashed can be sweetened up a bit if you mash a cooked potato in with them as well. Don't be afraid of trying a LITTLE sugar or salt to help the flavor if its getting you and your family to eat your veggies. Also, making dishes like cabbage rolls or stuffed peppers or chili with corn, beans and tomatoes, is a good way to make one dish meals that include a veggie or two.
Jana |
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Farm Kitchen: veggie-stupid- help me! |
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veggie-stupid- help me!
