Instructions usually start with "cut the vegetable" as if that's not problematic.
I'm a relatively experienced cook, and when I started with my CSA share even I had to Google image search some vegetables and then use How to Cook Everything as a guide.
But yeah, I have some friends who have never learned how to cook. The height of their ability is opening a can and heating something up. I've had them watch me, utterly baffled, as I made soup without a recipe. Like they don't even know how to go to there.
And it assumes you can't learn. It's pretty easy to be on the conservative side about what will shrink and what will run, etc. Those are not mistakes that need to be made more than twice.
Well, the good thing about hand me downs is that they tended, in my case, to be cheap polyester crap, which is pretty much impossible to destroy in the wash.
I think the only things I've accidentally damaged were wool, but it's been so long since I ruined anything that I can't remember.
Paul, OTOH, has probably ruined things since we've had the new machine, which is only 3 or so years.
This after over twenty years of laundry.
Oh, hey--usability gurus--what am I missing? When I have typed in a user ID and clicked on "forget password" why do 90% of you take me to a screen and ask me to type in my user ID again?
I have NO idea how to prepare and cook vegetables. Aside from dump it in a pot and boil it until it's dead, which was my grandmother's/mother's technique and that's probably why I hate them. Instructions usually start with "cut the vegetable" as if that's not problematic.
Another easy method that works for tons of veggies is: Cut them up into more or less bite-sized pieces. Spread them out on a tray, drizzle with olive oil (enough to coat them lightly), sprinkle with salt & pepper, and whatever other herbs you want. Roast in the oven (350 or 375 ought to do it) until they look nice and brown and done. (If you take them out and they are not done, put them back in.) Nom.
Simple, easy, and delicious.
Happy Birthday, Plei!
(Is it a matter of concern that Google told me that it was your birthday. . . they are our unseen overlords, aren't they?)
Happy birthday, PMM!
Man, I spent an hour and a half with a vendor yesterday using their tool to "build" an "app", and now I'm testing it on mobile and the results are, in order of mobile browsers tried (FF, Dolphin, Opera), crash browser, freeze before completely loaded, certificate error with no options available.
Bravo, guys! How can I possibly recommend your tool even slightly?
Plei,
many happy birthdays!
Zenkitty re: vegetables.
The barefoot contessa has a fantastic recipe for roasted broccoli that I have used and adapted. I think she also roasts potatoes and winter veggies this way as well. They taste delicious and hold their flavor more than boiling.
My favorite is asparagus and mushrooms roasted in a little olive oil, garlic, and sea salt. Deb Grabien made them during the SF2F, and I loved it.
One of my favorite new vegetable recipes is baked zucchini fries. It's a little bit of prep, and a lot of panko, but they're delicious.
