drain.
Directions for preparing a steamer pot for any kind of veggies
Fill a large soup pot with 2 to 3 inches of cold water, fit your steamer basket into the pot, cover, and bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling, place the veggies in the steamer and cover. If you don’t have a steamer basket, no worries, just fill the pot with 2 to 3 inches of water, cover, and bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling, place the veggies directly into the boiling water and cover. We call this boil/steaming, or stoiling—but no one else does, so never say the word aloud.
Asparagus
What’s better than crisp-tender asparagus in the height of spring? Okay, maybe there are a few other things but shhhh . . . we’re totally grooving on steamed asparagus right now.
Prep: Remove rough stems.
Steam: 8 to 14 minutes, depending on thickness. Asparagus should be bright green and still crisp. To serve: Drizzle with Dill-Tahini (page 215) or Cheezy Sauce (page 214).
Broccoli and Cauliflower
Since this is what everyone thinks vegans live on, why not prove them right?
Prep: Cut into medium-size florets.
Steam: 10 to 12 minutes, tossing with tongs a few times.
To serve: We love these with Dill-Tahini Sauce (page 215).
Dark, Leafy Greens
A little bit of boiling water is really the best, lazy way to cook up quickly a bunch of collards or kale. It makes you feel really healthy, too, and levels you up in the vegan echelon.
Prep: Wash and chop the greens into bite-size pieces.
Steam: 10 to 14 minutes. Toss the greens with tongs as they start to wilt. In the South, it’s popular to keep on boiling these greens to form the famous delicacy of “pot liquor”; but being north of the Mason-Dixon Line, we just like ’em bright green and with a little bit of crunch left in them.
To serve: A simple and old-school hippie restaurant way to enjoy steamed greens is sprinkled with plenty of sesame salt (known as gomasio, which is just a blend of crushed, roasted sesame seeds and sea salt), with maybe a touch of lemon juice or a sprinkle of malt vinegar. We also like them with Citrus-Date-Sesame Sauce (page 215).
Green Beans
Nothing scares a green bean more than being boiled to death and canned. Fortunately, we grew up on gently steamed green beans before they were the “in” thing.
Prep: Trim off ends.
Steam: 8 to 10 minutes, depending on size, tossing with tongs a few times.
To serve: Sprinkle with coarse salt and enjoy. Or try with Mustard Sauce (page 204).
HOW TO COOK A GRAIN
T here’s a reason that grains were found in the tombs of the Egyptian pyramids as well as at the base of our food pyramid: they’re packed with so many nutrients, vitamins, minerals, fiber, and even protein, all while being low in fat. But grains aren’t just life-giving sustenance. They’re also a culinary jewel, adding notes of nuttiness, earthiness, and sometimes even floral hints to round our meals out. And their affordability will make you wanna do an infomercial about them. Following is by no means a comprehensive list of grains. There are hundreds of edible ones worldwide; these are just some that
we consider essential and that are easy enough to find. We give you the simplest preparation methods to serve four people, but feel free to double the quantities; however, anything more than double, you will have to adjust the amount of water used. A good rule of thumb is to remove one-quarter cup of water for every multiple increment above doubling. So if you are quadrupling the recipe, subtract one-half cup of water. You’ll notice that some of these preparation methods are simply to boil and simmer the water and grain together, whereas some are steamed by pouring the water over the grain and covering tightly. Still others benefit most from being toasted and then boiled. Like we said, these are the simplest preparation methods for grains meant to be served as side dishes, but of course we include all of