Steaming Vegetables

The entire purpose of using fresh vegetables in any recipe is to preserve the flavor and nutritional content mother nature intended.  As usual, we ruin the health benefits of vegetables during preparation.  Boiling vegetables leeches out nutirents, including vitamin C, folate, and flavonoids.  Frying vegetables is great in theory until you account for the oil you need to add to the pan and the amount of time it can take to fully saute an entire batch of vegetables.  Steaming is a fast, simple, and foolproof way to cook your favorite veggies with minimal fuss and virtually no mess, and it protects their nutrient content.

As usual, there is more than one way to approach this.  You certainly can invest in a bamboo steamer, but I find using them time-consuming and clumsy, so I use my microwave.   Ziploc makes  steam bags designed for vegetables with cooking times printed right on the side of the bag - super convenient, right?  But I have had trouble finding these in my local store and they aren't large enough to handle a large batch of veggies called for in some recipes.

To steam, put your chopped vegetables in a microwave-safe bowl, add 1/4 cup water, and cover  with microwave-safe plastic wrap.  Poke a small hole in the top to vent.  Microwave 5 minutes for small batches (1-2 servings) or 10-15 minutes for large batches (8 cups or more).  When making large batches, stir your veggies halfway through cooking and test for desired doneness.  Be very careful when removing the plastic wrap to avoid burns, I like to pull a corner back using tongs keeping my fingers clear of the area.

Place your prepared veggies in a microwave safe bowl with 1/4 cup water.

Cover with plastic wrap, poke hole in center to vent, and you're ready to steam.

I haven't found a veggie yet that can't be cooked by steaming in the microwave.  As you can see I don't worry about mixing veggies together either, provided they are all cut to approximately the same size for even cooking times.  Keep in mind, the larger your pieces the longer your cooking times will be.  The best part of steaming veggies in the microwave is I don't feel the least bit guilty about topping them with a drizzle of olive oil or a small pat of butter because I know they are loaded with nutrients.  Enjoy!