Saturday, October 16, 2021

Thursday Thirteen on a Saturday

I forgot on Thursday.  Better late than never. 

Vegetables I use

1.  Potatoes.  I've seen some articles that say good old spuds shouldn't be counted as a vegetable because they're unhealthy.  Well, they grow in the ground: that makes it a vegetable, I don't care what you put on them.  I come from a generation whose parents served potatoes almost every day.  I don't cook them as much as I used to when I had children at home, but Cliff and I love us some taters, be it mashed, scalloped, baked, or fried.

2.  Onions.  I seldom go a day without using onions.  I put them in casseroles, soups, potato salad, meat loaf, and so many other dishes.  I made a four-serving ham casserole yesterday that calls for two teaspoons of minced onion.  Really? why bother with so little?  I put half a cup of onions in it every time I make it, and it's delicious!

3.  Cabbage.  Boiled, made into slaw, or stir-fried... with or without kielbasa; a little bacon grease doesn't hurt it.   It's also an ingredient in my hamburger stew. 

4.  Carrots.  I'm hardly ever without them, and they keep well.  They're good in soups, or cooked with pot roast.  If I'm low on vegetables for a meal, I'll make creamed carrots or glazed carrots.

5.  Celery.  I'm not a big fan of celery by itself, although I will occasionally put some peanut butter on a rib of it for a snack.  But so many of my recipes call for it that when I buy a bunch, it seldom goes bad. 

6.  Sweet peppers.  Cliff and I are crazy about stuffed peppers, and they are also a frequent ingredient in main-course recipes.  They go bad really fast, so I dice a lot of them from the garden and freeze them in a freezer bag.  That way they are available when I'm making spaghetti sauce and chili in winter.  

7.  Broccoli and cauliflower.  I like broccoli with butter or cheese sauce.  Cauliflower is good with cheese sauce too, and it's nice to munch on raw or use in salads.

8.  Lima beans.  I forget about them sometimes, but we both like them.

9.  Green beans.  Ah yes, the old staple almost everybody likes.  My sister, the best cook in the world, once told me green beans are better if you just put a teaspoon of sugar in it per can (or for two cups of fresh ones), so I add that, along with a little bacon grease.  They are also good cooked with kielbasa.

10.  Corn.  I like frozen corn from our own garden, but I don't buy much canned corn at the store.  I do have a meat-and-corn bread recipe that calls for a can of creamed corn, so I usually have a couple cans of that around.

11.  Sweet potatoes, any way you make them.  Mashed, baked, candied or just buttered a little.

12.  Tomatoes:  Home-grown for eating fresh, and canned, chopped ones for chili and spaghetti sauce.  I like to make my own sauce.  I also use canned tomatoes for my smothered okra, speaking of which...

13.  Okra when it's in season.  Fried is our favorite, but we like smothered okra too.  Sometimes I slice some and freeze it; I'll throw it in most any vegetable soup or hamburger stew, but not too much, or it will make the soup taste kind of slick-ish.

 

5 comments:

  1. One of my sons works as a Dietitian in a Care facility and he’s said the opposite in regards to potatoes. Potatoes are rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, which make them very healthy. Studies have linked potatoes and their nutrients to a variety of impressive health benefits, including improved blood sugar control, reduced heart disease risk and higher immunity.

    Granted it’s all about balance as in everything. I’m like you-potatoes was a staple growing up. I pretty much eat the same veggies as you. I figure God created potatoes so how can they be that bad!

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  2. I love all but #6. My mouth watered when reading this post. :)

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  3. Love all those vegetables.

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  4. We use a lot of onions and carrots too. And yes, broccoli.

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  5. Love almost all of them, just not wild about 8 and 13.

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