boring old steamed veggies

[RiJaAr]

is there any way to dress up steamed peas?
corrots?
brocolli?
besides a cheese sauce or butter!

[aroques]

Toasted sliced almonds on your carrots?

Miso or soy sauce on steamed broccoli!

I like to steam my broccoli in a pan with a little water coating the bottom. I cook the stems first to get them soft, and I cook them with one or two tomatoes. Wait a couple minutes, then throw in the brocco tops. When its all done, the tomatoes cook down to a kind of sauce.

I like adding garlic raw after the veggies are all cooked, but I'ma garlic fiend.

[arlingtonite]

This takes about 10 mins, 1 pot and tastes out of this world: saute 1 roughly chopped onion, 1 inch of ginger, sliced, and 3 cloves of smashed garlic for about 2 mins in a pan/pot. Add half a lemon and/or half an orange (I always seem to have these in my fridge), some soy sauce, ~1 tsp of toasted sesame oil, and just enough water to almost reach the bottom of the steamer basket. Bring the liquid to a simmmer. Add your broccoli florets, baby carrots (it's quicker, but you could just chop big ones too), cauliflower florets etc. and steam on medium for ~4 mins or until just tender. Oh, and just quarter the lemon/orange so it fits under the basket. Sprinkle a little soy sauce on top if you like. Yummy with rice (and something really decadent like brownies for dessert!)

[Emme]

My other suggestion if you are interested in steaming additions, while I tend to end up boil/steaming, if you're using an actual steamer, you can add all sorts of things to the steaming water, garlic salt, all sorts of spices that infuse flavor as they cook... even chicken broth or soy sauce. Also, steaming veggies sprinkled with dried chopped onions infuses a nice flavor as well.

[HoneyHoneyNY]

coarse salt and olive oil is what goes on most of my steamed veggies. It's simple and good.

peas are good with a bit of minced fresh tarragon

I put nutmeg on carrots, or ginger and lime juice with a tiny sprinkle of salt

I like broccoli with garlic and crushed red pepper.

[revsharkie]

Sometimes when I steam asparagus I add about half a lemon's worth of juice to the steaming water. It adds a nice but subtle flavor.

Another thing I've done from time to time is to sprinkle the steamed vegetable with a little Parmesan cheese.

[piccola]

I'm a big fan of sprinkling them with toasted sesame seeds.

You can also toss them with either lemon juice, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, pesto, jalapeno jelly, or tahini.

[jcanncuk]

I love steamed veggie - esp when still a bit crisp. Here's my "regulars"
I add fresh shaved parmesean ontop of broccoli or cauli.
Homemade Hollandaise or cheese sauce for a fancier dinner on broccoli, carrots, cauli or a mix.
For sugar peas or green beans, I toss them with a tiny bit of sesame oil and sesame seeds for an asian twist.
Another green bean trick is gently toasted slivered almonds, lemon zest, a bit of fresh lemon juice and a little really good EVOO.
My mouth is watering......

[LenaNE]

Instead of steaming how about roasting?...toss the carrots in olive oil salt and pepper and roast at 450° for 20 minutes or so..really brings out the sweetness

for the steamed broccoli I make a sauce of olive oil, lemon, chopped olives and feta cheese and pour that over..delicious!

[chowser]

That's my thought, too. Roasting is so much better than steaming. I use a little olive oil and different seasoning. Plus, your body needs some fat to absorb some of the vitamins in vegetables.

[synergy]

When I steam veggies, to add flavor after it's steamed I add & mix in a big dollop of sofrito (Goyo's).

[hungryabbey]

If your steaming for health/low fat , I would recommend just steaming them, then tossing them in lemon juice, its a nice way to add some flavour without any fat

[RiJaAr]

i'm not really worried about fat, i just like them steamed... although i never thought of sauteeing them

[Emme]

Nature's Seasoning and Garlic Salt are great powerful punch flavors... I love garlic salt particularly on eggplant and mushrooms, grilled or steamed.

I like to steam or stirfry mushrooms and onions, adding white balsamic vinegar, soy sauce or Bragg's amino acids, a little lemon juice, and a little parsley or tarragon.

Personally, I'm a ketchup nut, so I love ketchup with steamed veggies... yes, all of them.

Also, consider putting a garlic head in tinfoil and baking or putting in a toaster for an hour or two until soft, then turn the cloves into a paste (which you can puree with carmelized onions and chicken broth if desired) to serve with veggies.

You can puree cauliflower with a little chicken broth for caulitatoes.

Fat free ranch dip from the packet of ranch seasoning and fat free sour cream.

I like steamed veggies with salsa too; it provides just enough moisture and sweetness.

[will47]

Some sort of dressing or sauce - maybe a sesame and / or peanut dressing - all over rice (I like brown rice, but whatever)? And don't over-cook the vegetables. Nothing worse than overdone vegetables.

You could also try taking them out a little early and sauteeing them with a little garlic and olive oil.

[poulet_roti]

I blanch my broccoli and then plunge into ice water to stop it from cooking. After is has largely dried, toss it in a pan with some olive oil, shallots and red pepper flakes to finish it off. Can even hit it with a dash of a dry white wine as well. The whole deal works out well as can do the blanching earlier in the day and just wait until dinner time to finish the job.

Peas with a little fresh mint are excellent.

Carrots are best eaten raw in my opinion.

[orangewasabi]

how about sauteeing the brocoli and tossing with a bit of sesame oil. really pumps up the taste

[Nora Rocket]

I give a high recommendation to Penzey's Mural of Flavor herb blend. It's high flavor and no salt, but the real selling point for me isn't health, it's taste. Great sprinkled on veggies.

[wayne keyser]

Why steamed? You want vitamins, take a pill.

I'm Southern ... I boil peas or carrots or limas gently with a bit of sugar, or microwave them with a bit of sugar thrown in (just a modest amount of water). Eat 'em with nothing added after that at all.

Same with broccoli, brussels sprouts - but no sugar. I think they're just fine without a single addition - no butter, nothing.

[RiJaAr]

whats exactly wrong with steaming my veggies? i like steamed veggies.

[MaspethMaven]

Peas with chopped fresh mint

Carrots with honey and ginger glaze, or dressed with sesame oil

Broccoli with olive oil and red pepper flakes

[tartetatin]

what are you serving them with ?