How to Cook Vegetables

I'm Chef Egg and I want you to get cooking today. But the big question is how do you start cooking when you don't know where to get started? The answer is, we are going to start small, learn some basics and then grow from there. You don't need special food or equipment, just a desire to get cooking today!

The first lesson we are going to learn is how to cook vegetables. There is no real recipe, just a couple of tips you can follow for endless possibilities of healthy vegetable options.

1. First, clean your vegetables and chop them into small pieces, about 1/2 inch insize. When all of the vegetables are the same size they will all cook at the same time and look really nice when you serve them. Today I have diced half of an onion, diced one red bell pepper and cut a zucchini into ¼ inch cubes. All of these veggies are inexpensive, healthy and versatile.

2. Next, put a large skillet (any kind will do) over medium heat. Now here is the big trick, a medium flame will be perfect for most cooking methods. At this heat level, the food will brown nicely and cook perfectly on the inside. If the fire is to low, the food will never brown properly and your veggies will steam and get mushy. If it's too high you will burn the outside before the inside cooks through. You will also smoke your kitchen out and that is never fun.

Once your pan is hot, add a tablespoon of oil and cover the bottom of the pan. If the pan is hot enough the oil should smoke just a little. Once it starts to smoke, add the veggies and toss. After that first toss, don't touch the food and let it cook for 2 minutes. This will allow the food to brown and become flavorful.

3. Once the food has browned, toss it around again and let it cook for another 2 minutes. Do this for 8 minutes, until the veggies are cooked through, but slightly undercooked. They should have a little bite to them.

I like to season my vegetables with salt and pepper because it is simple and brings out the natural flavor of the food. You can always add a dash of dried Italian herbs and a pinch of red pepper flakes for heat.

You can use this technique to cook most soft vegetables like squash, snow peas, corn kernels, greens and even apples and pears. Hard vegetables like green beans, carrots, potatoes, cauliflower and broccoli can be either boiled in salt water for 2-3 minutes or microwaved for 3 minutes before adding them to the pan. This tossing or "Sauté" technique works well with frozen vegetables or canned as well.

Switch up the theme by changing the sauce, whether it is a sweet teriyaki, spicy salsa and hot sauce, creamy curry, tangy tomato or herbal Brazilian chimichurri. Match the sauce with the sides like rice and grains, beans, cous cous or pasta for a complete meal.

Don't worry, me and my crew will set you on the path to culinary eggcellence! Next time I am going to teach you how to cook chicken, steak and fish perfect every time.

Now let's get cracking'!

Chef Egg