how can I make vegetables taste better? (freezer, paprika, odor)

[GrandviewGloria]

Cabbage: Cut into thin wedges, and cook in a quarter-inch of water for six minutes. Sprinkle with celery seeds (don't overdo), salt, and a good pepper blend. Drizzle with your favorite oil, once cooking is finished.

Swiss Chard: Just steam for a few minutes. Chard has a perfect flavor, without any additions. Needs nothing. Just spritz lightly with Olive Oil after cooking.

Carrots: Steam with Rosemary and a good pepper blend. I like butter or Walnut Oil with Carrots.

Beets: Just dip in boiling water to disinfect the outside, then peel and slice. Beets are wonderful raw. Their flavor combines well with Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Clove, Fennel...

Collard Greens: Finely chop them raw in a food processor, then fold them into a grain dish like rice, toward the end of cooking. I like Garlic and Nutmeg with Collards. Collards only get gross and stinky when they're cooked to death. When they're pureed and barely-cooked, they have an exquisite flavor.

Eggplant: Chop finely, and use as a SEASONING for other vegetables or soups. They add a meaty flavor, and the "bitterness", once diluted, is actually an addition to the overall flavor of a dish.

Broccoli: blanch in boiling water for thirty seconds. Remove with tongs. Cut off the tender top portion and plate it. Squeeze on lime, lemon, or tangerine juice, add salt and a good pepper blend, and your favorite oil. This is what my Husband has for breakfast, most mornings. The thick Broccoli 'trunks' are saved for soups or snacks. To steam Broccoli, thin-slice the 'trunks' and put them in the steamer tray, first. Then add the tender 'florets'. Sprinkle with Celery Seed, pepper blend, and salt. Remove the florets after they have steamed for a few minutes. The sliced 'trunks' can stay in longer. Add your favorite oil at the table.

At our house, we like to 'build a steamer tray', combining several vegetables so that their flavors will complement each other. Generally, whoever is building the tray will sprinkle in whatever spice blend(s) I've ground-up and left in the fridge.

And we love to have vegetable soups in summer. We add all sorts of herbs, spices, and aromatic vegetables, once the heat has been reduced. Fennel, Garlic, Onions, Shallots, Chives, Horseradish, Rosemary, Carrots, Ginger, Cumin... the list of Aromatics is endless.

The best way to learn is to just get in there and do it. Your instincts will take over and it will become second nature very quickly, if you're willing to experiment.

[kyle19125]

Roasting will convert most into vegetable lovers. Beets, Fennel, Turnips, Rutabagas and Eggplant are some prime examples of overlooked/unfamiliar vegetables that are delicious when cut up, tossed in olive oil w/salt and pepper, and roasted at 325 degrees until lightly browned. To speed up the process on roasting veggies, microwave on high for a few minutes after cutting up (cover in plastic and add a little water). This cuts the roasting time in half and doesn't affect the flavor at all.

[lucknow]

Originally Posted by nmnita

I love Vidalia onions. They are just coming into the markets now; to me, you can do anything with them, from using them in place of shallots to grilling them, using them in all recipes, etc. I only wish they didn't have such a short growing season..

It's a strange thing seeing they are from Georgia and all, but we can get them about 8 months of the year here in Canada.

[Mightyqueen801]

Originally Posted by Angorlee

Maybe a certain kind of spice or something. Any ideas will help. I will probably try them all to see which ones are best.

Cheese sauce works for most of 'em. There's nothing that will make turnips palatable, however.

[Mightyqueen801]

Originally Posted by MAXIALE02

You have to balance with some fat. Pick your poison: butter, bacon, or oil. Also add seasoning for a trifecta of flavor. Voila!

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I was beginning to think that every CD poster believes this is spelled "walla".

[DontH8Me]

Originally Posted by Mightyqueen801

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I was beginning to think that every CD poster believes this is spelled "walla".

If we missed an accent, in this case the accent grave over the second a, we would have got dinged by Mme Compeau, my first French teacher.

Et voilà!

Fat is flavor, whoever said bacon, butter or oil, correct! I can't think of any veggie that doesn't have a flavor improvement when one of those are added. I actually use both bacon and butter in my potato leek soup recipe. Artichoke leaves dipped in seasoned, garlic melted butter; carrots braised in butter and finished with maple syrup and fresh dill; a sautéed vegetable medley of cubed zucchini, onions, tomatoes and garlic in olive oil and Italian herbs; the list is never ending. I'm going to have to go make some lunch now, thanks!

[Dirt Grinder]

Originally Posted by DontH8Me

...a sautéed vegetable medley of cubed zucchini, onions, tomatoes and garlic in olive oil and Italian herbs...

Leave-out the Italian herbs, toss-in some eggplant, cook it 30 more minutes and you'll have...

[DontH8Me]

Originally Posted by Dirt Grinder

Leave-out the Italian herbs, toss-in some eggplant, cook it 30 more minutes and you'll have...

Ratatouille, bien-sûr!

[Dirt Grinder]

Originally Posted by DontH8Me

Ratatouille, bien-sûr!

Show-off . I love a good ratatouille - especially using fresh summer veggies.

[PennyLane2]

My favorite way to eat green beans is dry-fried string beans like the ones on the Chinese buffet. My plate will usually have about 1/3 of it covered with them.