Vegtables for Dummies

[Sandra94]

Thank you for all the posts thus far.... I added the length of time you can keep these certain vegtables and WHERE it is best to store them. I know you buy them out on the tables at the stores....but should you not use eggplant right away....should you keep it in the fridge, on the counter and when is TOO LONG? will I know, does it get all gross? What about spaghetti squash....does this go bad? can it sit on the counter. I don't want to buy things all in one day if they will go bad quickly. Thanks for helping someone get over the fear of trying NEW things.

Ok this might seem really dumb to most of you, however I didn't get fat eating all sorts of veggies. LOL
So my suggestion comes from not knowing anything about all those 'other' veggies out there besides salad veggies. HOW do you cut, cook, eat, use other veggies.

Spaghetti squash
Jicama
Avocado
eggplant
rhubarb


Iam sure there are others but I would have to walk through the grocery store again and see them all again.

[*Emma*]

i'll hit on the eggplant one, Elizellen told me how to cook it and it was yummay!!

peel and slice into rounds - arrange on a plate and nuke them for about 2-3 mins, til soft... add shredded cheese and bacon bits and place under the grill til crisp, YUM!

cant hit on the others as ive never had them!

[*Emma*]

you added rhubarb

boil it... you may want to add splenda when its done - it can be a little sour

[BluegrassMama]

I *love* avocado! One of my fave ways to eat it: Slice it in half (you will encounter a golf ball-sized pitt--don't try to cut through that, just pull it out and pitch it), and scoop out the inner flesh with a spoon and put it in a bowl. Add a spoonful of crumbled goat cheese, some diced tomatoes, a little cilantro (you can buy this dried in the spice aisle or fresh in bunches in the produce section), a squeeze of lime, and a dash of cayenne powder if you like spicy stuff. You can also replace the tomatoes, etc., with a couple of tablespoons of salsa instead.

Mix it up well, and use it as a topping for grilled burgers, or on baked low-carb tortillas as an appetizer. Also makes a wondereful dip for celery, zuchinni, etc.

[ValidRouge]

Jicama is my favorite on the list. And, guess what--it's considered a "SALAD" veggie, so you can have 2-3 cups PER DAY on induction. YAY!

Peel the brown skin off the jicama like you would a potato. Slice it, store in the refrigerator. Most of the time, I just eat it without doing anything at all to it! I love the stuff.

However, if you want to get fancy with it, you could slice very thin "matchsticks" out of it and put it on your salad with salad dressing. It's very good that way. And, when you get to the nuts rung, a salad made with jicama and walnuts is so delicious. I don't know what it is about the combination of the two that I love so much...but I do. I've also made "salads" just out of the jicama--chop it and some red or yellow sweet peppers (those are considered salad veggies too) and dress it with lime flavored olive oil (there actually is a brand of olive oils that are lime or orange flavored--they are WONDERFUL). In the absence of that actual olive oil, you could dress it with regular olive oil, a dash of lime juice, some sea salt and ground pepper. YUMMY!

The other day at the ethnic grocery store I buy it from, I asked one of the guys working there and he said in Mexico they do two things with it. Cut it up and put Chili powder and lime juice on it, OR they cut it up with watermelon, pineapple, mango and make a fruit salad out of it.

[Go99Edwards]

Hi,
I am new to the boards but not to this WOE.
I married an Italian and he LOVES his pasta! I have learned from his grandmother and his mother how to make some great sauces but with LC it is hard to want to make them. LOL Spaghetti squash makes everyone all happy again. My favorite way to make it is to cut it in half long ways, and then I take all of the seeds out of the middle. I use a square glass brownie pan and put them in upside down and add a little bit of water in the bottom(for steaming) and cover with clear plastic wrap then put it in the microwave for about 7 minutes. After 7 minutes I turn the pan and set for another 7 minutes. When it beeps I take out the pan and let it set for about 3-4 minutes. Then just use a fork and it looks like spaghetti. The fun starts with all the things you can do with it after that.. You could add your favorite sauce and dig in, or I like to put it in the oven with some meat sauce and cheese and bake it along side the pasta being baked for DH. It does not over cook and it stays firm even after 45 minutes in the oven. It has a slightly sweet flavor and it is very good and I get to enjoy my sauces and a pasta dinner with the family.

I also love using Jicama in place of fries! They were kinda strange at first but now I would rather have them instead of potatoes any day. After you peel the Jicama you cut it up like you would a potatoe for fries, and deep fry or pan fry them. With canned tomato and a dash of splenda in the blender and along side a juicy burger with pickles and mayo and mustard wrapped in lettice they are just like the real thing for me! Also I have found them already peeled and cut up and cut into "steak fries" shapes in the grocery store where you find the already cut up carrots and celery sticks! They are a bit more money by letting them do the work, but if you would like to try them first, they are easy that way.

Just a couple of ideas. enjoy!

[djluvsan]

Thanks, I'm going to use these suggestions to.

[Chef Kevin]

i like to roast spag squash whole, then scoop out the insides and serve with butter, salt and pepper.
very simple food, very rustic, easy to do, and good to get out of a rut.

[Sandra94]

bump for more info

[astrogirl]

I use zucchini for "pasta" some times. Use a mandolin slicer for matchsticking and go all the way down the zucchini. You will get noodle shapes the length of the zucchini. I usually prepare with olive oil, garlic and parmcheese and some fresh basil if I've got it. After I lightly saute the garlic, I put in the zucchini in the pan for a *very* brief time. It's a great way to get some fiber too.

As for the spaghetti squash, I make kind of a carbonara dish with it. It's not a belly bomb because at 6.8g net carbs per cup, I don't use more than a cup of spaghetti squash at a time. Carbonara is a butter and cream based sauce (I'm sure the OP knows this) with bacon and eggs added. I usually have 2 strips of bacon and 1 egg in there. Top with parmesan cheese.

Spaghetti squash is excellent with just butter, pepper and salt too.