Proverbs 1:5 (NKJV)
A wise man will hear and increase learning, And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel,
Proverbs 9:9 (NKJV)
Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.
Romans 15:4 (NKJV)
For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.
Sautéing Vegetables
The word sauté comes from the French verb meaning “to jump.” It refers to the way foods added to a hot, lightly-oiled pan tend to jump. Sautéing is a quick and easy way to cook vegetables with relatively little oil. Sautéed vegetables retain their vitamins and minerals, as well as taste and color. This method is best suited for tender vegetables, such as asparagus, baby artichokes, snow peas, sweet peppers, onions, and mushrooms.
Kitchen Tip: Cut vegetables into bite-sized pieces so they can cook all the way through quickly. Heat the pan first over relatively high heat. Add oil. Wait until the oil begins to shimmer before adding the vegetables. Cooking time depends on the desired tenderness.
Stir-Frying Vegetables
Stir-frying is very similar to sautéing, with two important differences. Stir-frying is done over very high heat, and the food is constantly stirred to prevent it from burning on the hot pan. Stir-frying is often done in a wok, the classic utensil of Chinese cooking. But you can also stir in a sauté pan, as long as the bottom is thick enough to distribute the high heat evenly.
Kitchen Tip: Sautéing and stir-frying are best done with a cooking oil that stands up to high heat, such as canola oil. Once vegetables are done, you can toss them with a flavored oil such as olive or sesame oil.
Boiling or Simmering Vegetables
Like sautéing, boiling vegetables is a quick and easy technique. When you want to retain the flavor and crispness of vegetables such as green beans or broccoli, wait until the water is at a full boil. Toss in the vegetables and cook them quickly, a technique called blanching. Simmering also uses water to cook vegetables, but at a lower temperature, before the water begins to boil. This slow-cooking technique is great for dried bean, potatoes, beets and other root vegetables that require longer periods of cooking in order to become tender.
Kitchen Tip: Adding salt to boiling water enhances the flavor of vegetables. Don’t overdo it. Vegetables shouldn't taste salty. And of course excess salt increases the risk of high blood pressure.
Roasting Vegetables
Roasting vegetables such as asparagus, squash, or onions is as simple as putting them on a baking sheet, drizzling them with a little vegetable oil, and popping them in a 400 degree oven. “The high oven temperature of roasting cooks meat and vegetables quickly and caramelizes the sugars on the surface, creating a crunchy and sweet flavor,” says Scott Samuel, a chef and instructor at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone. Roasting helps to preserve not only vitamins and minerals, but also flavors that can be lost with boiling.
Kitchen Tip: Build a meal around foods that can all be roasted in the oven, such as roasted chicken or fish and roasted vegetables. Seasonings such as bay leaves, garlic, or mixed spices can be added for flavor.
Steaming Vegetables
Steamed vegetables are synonymous with healthy eating for good reason. Steaming cooks vegetables without submersing them in water, so they are more likely to retain vitamins and minerals. Unlike sautéing, steaming doesn’t require oil, so it’s a great way to prepare vegetables if you’re watching calories. The best vegetables for steaming include broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, green beans, leafy greens like spinach, and other relatively tender vegetables.
Kitchen Tip: Aromatic spices such as cinnamon sticks, lemongrass, and ginger can be added to the steaming liquid to permeate vegetables with subtle flavor.
Grilling Vegetables
When the weather is warm, grill vegetables outside on the barbecue. Like roasting, grilling locks in flavor and caramelizes the surface of vegetables, giving them a crispy sweetness. Grilling is a terrific way to prepare corn, sweet peppers, zucchini and other squash, onions, potatoes, and a variety of other vegetables.
Kitchen Tip: If you have a gas cook top, you can grill vegetables inside all year round. Hold the vegetables with tongs above the flame, turning to cook them evenly. Another option is to place vegetables on a grilling basket over the flame. Bell peppers, available most of the year, are perfect for grilling over a stove top.
Making Vegetable-Based Sauces
Vegetables feature in many classic sauces and spreads. A classic favorite from Spain, romesco sauce, combines roasted red peppers with almonds, hazelnuts, olive oil, and vinegar to create a flavorful sauce that can be used with fish or vegetable dishes. Classic Italian pesto sauce is made with generous handfuls of basil blended with pine nuts, olive oil, and parmesan cheese. To make a rich-tasting vegetarian pate, sauté mushrooms and onions, season with Italian spices or herbs de Provence, and blend in a kitchen blender.
Kitchen Tip: Invest in a good food processor, which makes vegetable-based sauces and spreads much easier.
Braise
Braising and stewing are techniques that, once you master, you'll want to use over and over again. They involve cooking ingredients slowly in flavorful liquid on a low heat, usually over several hours, and they guarantee soft, tender vegetables and meats. Once the prep is done, you can put it on the stove (or in the oven) and leave it until it's ready to eat. This method works best for sturdy and tough vegetables, like winter squash, root vegetables, and beans and legumes, or fibrous veggies like celery, fennel, and leeks. To add even more flavor to your vegetable dish (and to do a true braise), start by sautéing the ingredients in olive oil until lightly browned and caramelized, then add the liquids.
Bake
Baking is a go-to cooking method for a good reason — the warm air that circulates during the baking process cooks foods evenly all the way through, so you run less risk of ending up with one piece of food that's crunchy and nearly raw, and another that's mushy and overcooked. Baking is very similar to roasting, but foods don't necessarily need to be caramelized, so less oil or other fats can be used (making this a healthy choice if you're baking vegetables on their own). A slightly less healthy — but still delicious — option is to bake vegetables in a pie crust, piece of puff pastry, or other pastry to add contrasting textures and flavors to your meal, and to create an elegant presentation. One thing to note: some moist vegetables (such as tomatoes) can make pastry crust soggy. To prevent this problem, partially bake, or blind bake, the crust before adding a moist vegetable mixture or filling.
Philippians 4:9 (NKJV)
The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.
Titus 3:14 (NKJV)
And let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs, that they may not be unfruitful.
Resources:
Franklin, Jentezen (2008) fasting. Jentezen Franklin Ministries.
Gregory, Susan (2010) the Daniel fast. Ann Spangler and Company.
Feola, Kristen (2010) The Ultimate Gide to the Daniel Fast. Les Stobe
http://www.webmd.com/diet/healthy-kitchen-11/best-cook-vegetables?page=1
http://danielsfast.weebly.com/
http://www.biblegateway.com
A wise man will hear and increase learning, And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel,
Proverbs 9:9 (NKJV)
Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.
Romans 15:4 (NKJV)
For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.
Sautéing Vegetables
The word sauté comes from the French verb meaning “to jump.” It refers to the way foods added to a hot, lightly-oiled pan tend to jump. Sautéing is a quick and easy way to cook vegetables with relatively little oil. Sautéed vegetables retain their vitamins and minerals, as well as taste and color. This method is best suited for tender vegetables, such as asparagus, baby artichokes, snow peas, sweet peppers, onions, and mushrooms.
Kitchen Tip: Cut vegetables into bite-sized pieces so they can cook all the way through quickly. Heat the pan first over relatively high heat. Add oil. Wait until the oil begins to shimmer before adding the vegetables. Cooking time depends on the desired tenderness.
Stir-Frying Vegetables
Stir-frying is very similar to sautéing, with two important differences. Stir-frying is done over very high heat, and the food is constantly stirred to prevent it from burning on the hot pan. Stir-frying is often done in a wok, the classic utensil of Chinese cooking. But you can also stir in a sauté pan, as long as the bottom is thick enough to distribute the high heat evenly.
Kitchen Tip: Sautéing and stir-frying are best done with a cooking oil that stands up to high heat, such as canola oil. Once vegetables are done, you can toss them with a flavored oil such as olive or sesame oil.
Boiling or Simmering Vegetables
Like sautéing, boiling vegetables is a quick and easy technique. When you want to retain the flavor and crispness of vegetables such as green beans or broccoli, wait until the water is at a full boil. Toss in the vegetables and cook them quickly, a technique called blanching. Simmering also uses water to cook vegetables, but at a lower temperature, before the water begins to boil. This slow-cooking technique is great for dried bean, potatoes, beets and other root vegetables that require longer periods of cooking in order to become tender.
Kitchen Tip: Adding salt to boiling water enhances the flavor of vegetables. Don’t overdo it. Vegetables shouldn't taste salty. And of course excess salt increases the risk of high blood pressure.
Roasting Vegetables
Roasting vegetables such as asparagus, squash, or onions is as simple as putting them on a baking sheet, drizzling them with a little vegetable oil, and popping them in a 400 degree oven. “The high oven temperature of roasting cooks meat and vegetables quickly and caramelizes the sugars on the surface, creating a crunchy and sweet flavor,” says Scott Samuel, a chef and instructor at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone. Roasting helps to preserve not only vitamins and minerals, but also flavors that can be lost with boiling.
Kitchen Tip: Build a meal around foods that can all be roasted in the oven, such as roasted chicken or fish and roasted vegetables. Seasonings such as bay leaves, garlic, or mixed spices can be added for flavor.
Steaming Vegetables
Steamed vegetables are synonymous with healthy eating for good reason. Steaming cooks vegetables without submersing them in water, so they are more likely to retain vitamins and minerals. Unlike sautéing, steaming doesn’t require oil, so it’s a great way to prepare vegetables if you’re watching calories. The best vegetables for steaming include broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, green beans, leafy greens like spinach, and other relatively tender vegetables.
Kitchen Tip: Aromatic spices such as cinnamon sticks, lemongrass, and ginger can be added to the steaming liquid to permeate vegetables with subtle flavor.
Grilling Vegetables
When the weather is warm, grill vegetables outside on the barbecue. Like roasting, grilling locks in flavor and caramelizes the surface of vegetables, giving them a crispy sweetness. Grilling is a terrific way to prepare corn, sweet peppers, zucchini and other squash, onions, potatoes, and a variety of other vegetables.
Kitchen Tip: If you have a gas cook top, you can grill vegetables inside all year round. Hold the vegetables with tongs above the flame, turning to cook them evenly. Another option is to place vegetables on a grilling basket over the flame. Bell peppers, available most of the year, are perfect for grilling over a stove top.
Making Vegetable-Based Sauces
Vegetables feature in many classic sauces and spreads. A classic favorite from Spain, romesco sauce, combines roasted red peppers with almonds, hazelnuts, olive oil, and vinegar to create a flavorful sauce that can be used with fish or vegetable dishes. Classic Italian pesto sauce is made with generous handfuls of basil blended with pine nuts, olive oil, and parmesan cheese. To make a rich-tasting vegetarian pate, sauté mushrooms and onions, season with Italian spices or herbs de Provence, and blend in a kitchen blender.
Kitchen Tip: Invest in a good food processor, which makes vegetable-based sauces and spreads much easier.
Braise
Braising and stewing are techniques that, once you master, you'll want to use over and over again. They involve cooking ingredients slowly in flavorful liquid on a low heat, usually over several hours, and they guarantee soft, tender vegetables and meats. Once the prep is done, you can put it on the stove (or in the oven) and leave it until it's ready to eat. This method works best for sturdy and tough vegetables, like winter squash, root vegetables, and beans and legumes, or fibrous veggies like celery, fennel, and leeks. To add even more flavor to your vegetable dish (and to do a true braise), start by sautéing the ingredients in olive oil until lightly browned and caramelized, then add the liquids.
Bake
Baking is a go-to cooking method for a good reason — the warm air that circulates during the baking process cooks foods evenly all the way through, so you run less risk of ending up with one piece of food that's crunchy and nearly raw, and another that's mushy and overcooked. Baking is very similar to roasting, but foods don't necessarily need to be caramelized, so less oil or other fats can be used (making this a healthy choice if you're baking vegetables on their own). A slightly less healthy — but still delicious — option is to bake vegetables in a pie crust, piece of puff pastry, or other pastry to add contrasting textures and flavors to your meal, and to create an elegant presentation. One thing to note: some moist vegetables (such as tomatoes) can make pastry crust soggy. To prevent this problem, partially bake, or blind bake, the crust before adding a moist vegetable mixture or filling.
Philippians 4:9 (NKJV)
The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.
Titus 3:14 (NKJV)
And let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs, that they may not be unfruitful.
Resources:
Franklin, Jentezen (2008) fasting. Jentezen Franklin Ministries.
Gregory, Susan (2010) the Daniel fast. Ann Spangler and Company.
Feola, Kristen (2010) The Ultimate Gide to the Daniel Fast. Les Stobe
http://www.webmd.com/diet/healthy-kitchen-11/best-cook-vegetables?page=1
http://danielsfast.weebly.com/
http://www.biblegateway.com