When I was a little baby, my mother would boil and mash all sorts of vegetables and lovingly feed me. No complaints then. Like any innocent and hungry baby, I just gulped down all that goey stuff. But when I developed a taste of my own (maybe around the age of seven), I remember how my mother did everything in the book to force me to eat my vegetables. ("No dessert until you eat up all your vegetables") Except for corn-- the only vegetable I seemed to like because of its sweetness. The rest, well I had found many ingenious ways to make my mother think I had truly eaten them. I would excuse myself from the table with vegetables discreetly on the sides of my cheeks, proceed to the toilet to spit and flash it all down. If I had done too many visits to the comfort room, I would next pretend to wipe my mouth with the napkin. After the meal, I would bring my plate and napkin to the kitchen and efficiently dump the napkin's contents into the garbage can. And when we started to have dogs, disposing of my vegtables was a breeze.
Well, as I grew older, I started to crave for that certain clean and fresh taste only vegetables bring to the palate. This is so true for veggies in soups, salads and those lightly cooked using the least seasoning. Now why is that? Does age bring about the realization that eating ones vegtables do have merit? Or are we no longer the rebelious child nor the dare devil who was once not afraid of vessel-clogging steaks and chops?
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Whatever the reason might be, there is no better time to begin enjoying your vegetables than NOW. To help you get a headstart, below is the basic cream style soup recipe and salad vinegarette that you can apply using any vegetable or a combination of vegetables.
Cream Soup- Basic
Ingredients
1 c milk
1/2 c cream
1 chicken cube dissolved in 1 cup hot water
3 T buter
1 t salt
1/4 t white pepper
1 t Worcestershire sauce
1 T dry sherry (optional)
1 c of any of the following boiled vegetables:
broccoli, asparagus, cauliflower, lima beans, corn, green beans, squash, spinach, mushrooms, potatoes, leeks
Procedure:
• Cut up the vegetable of choice to make blending easier and quicker. Put all ingredients into the blender's pitcher or food processor. DO not overload your appliance-- make sure that the blender is only two-thirds full.
• Press the liquify button for 30 seconds. Stop motor and push down with spatula if necessary. Blend longer if smoother consistency is desired.
• Empty contents into a saucepan and heat gently (do not boil) until hot.
• Serve with some croutons and a dash of cayenne pepper. You can also sprinkle some parmasan cheese to your soup.
Note 1: If you don't have cream, you can increase the amount of milk to cover for the absence of the cream. And if you find the soup to thick, dilute with some water or milk. Correct the seasoning after each addition.
Note 2: You can also use non-fat milk for this recipe
Note 3: Use the liquid that you boiled your vegetable in for the water to disolve the chicken bouillon.
Cream of Squash Soup
Basic Vinegarette
Ingredients:
Vinegar
Olive Oil or any cooking oil
Sugar
Salt
Pepper
Water
Start with a tablespoon each for the vinegar and the Oil and water. Add a teaspoon of sugar, a pinch of salt and a dash of pepper. Mix well. Adjust to your taste--- by adding more of any of the ingredients.
You may or may not heat up the vinegarette prior to adding to your favorite vegetable: carrots, salad greens, peppers, onions, tomatoes and the like.
Bitter Melon Salad (Ampalaya)
Mustard Greens Salad with Flaked Smoked Fish
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