Most people are feeling the pinch with the raising of energy prices so thought I'd share a cooking tip I've used for many years. How to cook rice and veggies with about half the energy.
source:https://tse1.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.kO7pXw9okfjnBRln9Q6DYgHaEK
My sister taught me this trick many years ago and I've used it ever since even if energy was cheap and plentiful. Every little helps. This particular sister wasn't usually the one with advise, it as more the other way around. But this once she got it right.
So how many people just chop their veg up throw them in a pan with a ton of water and boil them to mush? All the while checking to make sure they don't boil over. Most people I know do. WRONG!
Not like this!
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Firstly, things that take a little longer like carrots and potatoes, cut them into smaller pieces. No bigger than an inch at their fattest point roughly.
Do not fill the pan with water. Put only enough water to almost cover what's in the pan. Less water heats up quicker.
No need to cover completely
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Bring to the boil and as soon as it's bubbling (steam is churning out the top) put on a well fitted lid and turn the heat right off. Yup turn it off completely. Not down. Off.
Go have a sit down or prepare something else. Leave on the ring for about 10-15 mins (for tough veggies) then check a potato or carrot with a fork. Should be done. Not mushy but al dente.
Other veg will cook through much quicker, just a few minutes (5) then give em a poke with a sharp fork.
(This tip pertains to FRESH VEG only obviously. Not frozen or tinned)
RICE
I was always taught you had to cook rice by boiling furiously with no lid. WRONG!
I decided to try this method with rice to see if it worked and YES it does. Even brown rice.
Just put water in so it is about 1 inch higher than the level of the rice. Bring to a good fast boil then same as before. Lid on, heat off. Leave for about 15-20 mins.
Nothing more satisfying than leaving these things to cook themselves, lifting the lid to find lovely fluffy rice and no water to drain, no steam filled kitchen and no energy wasted. Plus no watching the pot the whole time (BORING!) and it won't overcook.
Happy camping...........
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We won't save any money on this, because I do rice and veggies in this way for years. LOL. I wouldn't have known that so many people cook it the wrong way but then I probably forgot that I did do it wrong many years in my life until I forgot about it. Good that people caught on your tips and will use them for themselves.
The veggies and the rice taste so much better with this methods.
Yes, was a bit dismayed to hear a lot of people saying they already knew this but maybe there are lots out there that don't know it and don't speak because they maybe feel they should have known. But how are they to know if no-one tells them right?
Yes they do taste better too, which is why I hated veg when I was a kid LOL
Awesome tips! Re-blurting. The rice...this tip sure helps me and makes my life easier. I like to save energy too and not "kill" my food so much. El dente is what I prefer. Awesome, thanks!!!
so glad someone didn't know this tip already or it would have been a waste of time hahahaha.
Great tips👍
I have always been tempted to try cooking rice this way. I did before and it failed but your description seems more accurate. I will give it another try!
good luck and don't forget a dash of salt but you probably knew that
I hate it when I forget the salt in rice or pasta. It makes a very glum dish without!
Yes… this is how we cook our veggies and rice all the time. Great tips.
Nice tip! When I boil, this is often how I do it too.
But a lot of the time with veggies I use a steamer basket, for those that don't know it's a simple metal insert that sits in the pot and keeps the veg out of the water (but in the steam). It's fast, and more nutrients stay in the food. But boiling is definitely a mainstay for me too.
Ah yes the old steamer basket. I had one. Thing is you don't get steam when you turn the heat off so this doesn't work. You still waste gas and frankly that whole thing about the nutrition staying in the food is nonsense. It's the cooking itself that kills it. Veggies are still 'alive' even when picked, it's the cooking that kills so the less cooking the better. Steam is hotter than boiling water.
You can "al dente" with steam, too. Steam doesn't mean overcooked, unless you want it that way! A few minutes on medium is enough to steam most veggies, not that I'm really worried about my power bill.
When I boil colourful veggies, the water gets colourful. When I steam those veggies, it doesn't. My grandma's trick (probably everybody's grandma's trick) was to use the water from boiled veggies as broth, or starter for sauces, gravy, etc. That way you recapture some of the lost nutrients.
TRUE I never ever throw that juice out!!!
Assuming you use good water, and good veggies, that juice is basically nutritional gold... great starter for many things!
Yup it's like making a cuppa tea then throwing it down the drain. Silly. It's like veggie tea.
Learned to cook that way in Greece , on wood fires .
Water was miles away so i didn't want to spill any .
Even cooked rice and veggies in the same pot ,
just start with the rice and trow the veggies in , the softest last .
A complete meal in about 10 minutes .
( there was cut up sausage involved but that's just me )
The same can be done with pasta ,..
Ingredients prepared to add ,.. sticky-weed , some sweet yellow flowers from a plant connected to Demeter and the underworld and some herb tasting salty to ad some taste . . That salty herb was a mistake ,.. had all water taste extreemly salty for at least 24 hours .
Made a 4 hour detour the next day to get a bottle of water from a store ,.. only to find out that it tasted freaking salty to . Hemlock ?
But i drifting way of topic here ,.. wasting info for fun post's , that i probable never will make . ;-)
Not sure this method works with pasta? Doesn't it go all sticky and weird?
I do add the veg in with the pasta of course but not heat off, lid on method.
Know your pasta ,.. some are done in 3 minutes .
And with pasta the carrots go first sometimes because of that .
Add some virgin olive oil to keep the pasta from sticking .
Pasta alone cooked with very little water must be taken of the fire and put away for a few minutes with the lid on . You do this the moment they start to grow or suck up the water . To late and you got some serious pot cleaning to do after dinner . It needs stirring and watched while other ingredients can be added . But i did it on open fire , so little control over the heat source i had .
Still over all it's a 10 minute cook and not a half hour . All veggies still have a bite to them , as they should .
Speaking of bite ,. my neighbor just walked in with about 20 big fly agarics . dried a very tasty snack while cooked and backed after drying comes close to meat .
She found them just along the dirt road leading to town .
Today is the day ,.. i am of , got some gathering to do .
Cya . ;-)
haha see ya! have a good trip.
I use this method for solid vegetables such as potatoes and carrots, but not for vegetables such as broccoli, which I want to keep soft and green.
Do you mean still crunchy? Yeh me too barely boil them at all. I like a bit of chew in my veg. As a child I hated veg and it was because they were cooked to death. I fed my kids raw veg to start and they loved them.
I also like to eat vegetables such as cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli raw. I also like to boil them a little and sauce them with lemon juice, pomegranate juice, garlic and a few spices.
Oh me too. Love raw sprouting broccoli. It's hard to get it from the garden to the kitchen without eating it all enroute. Cabbage I love either way, stir fried, in a stew or my fave - coleslaw. I have plenty of em to eat too. I find if they're fresh from the garden no spices needed.
I like all veggies raw :) except like egg plant lol
I can't eat beans and courgettes raw, but I like cowpeas and peas.
courgettes are nice spiralled you can make a raw spaghetti :) you put a bit of olive oil lemon and salt on and they go soft
I didn't know that, I will definitely try it, thank you.
I cannot save money with food I’ll cut down every single thing before food. If I could no longer afford fruits and veggies I guess I would have to go gorilla plant somwhere cause that’s all I really eat. I’ve seem some ppl saying elec here is so expensive they cook one meal and freeze it for the week to not have to use the electricity multiple times! Insane that in 2022 a full time worker can’t cook a meal every night.
I always cook a big meal then eat the same thing for a few days. I don't freeze it often tho coz that destroys the flavours I find and the texture goes queer. In winter I can have the same stew going for ages, just keep topping it up when it gets to the bottom and the flavour gets better and better.