Recipe: Micro Fast Veggies

My mother was probably the first person in our town to get a microwave. She saw it as the ‘wave of the future’ [pun intended…], a way to cut cooking time drastically since both she and my dad worked full time when I was a kid. She made EVERYTHING in it – not all the time, but she could if she had to. So I do use my microwave for a lot of things – like cooking anything that I would normally steam on the stove. It takes a fraction of the time, and sometimes, saving that little bit of time can be the difference between eating a healthy meal or going to the drive thru. So, today, for the Spicy Coconut Soup I made for lunch

, I used the microwave to get a head start on the sugar snap peas. That way as soon as everything was heated through I could just add them to my bowl, vs. simmering them in the soup. And I packed them up separately for use later – either on their own as a side, or added to the soup for another meal – instead of leaving them in it and turning that icky color of brown/green that is SOOOO unappetizing. 

Method:
– Take your veggie of choice: green beans, broccoli, sugar snap peas, asperagus… whatever… and put them in a microwave safe container with a lid
– You can add any liquid you want – keep it simple and just add some water [maybe 1cm or 1/4″ from the bottom], or you can add more flavor by using chicken stock, white wine, rice wine vinegar and soy sauce – whatever you like
– Season with salt and any other flavors – many times I’ll add a smashed garlic clove that I can take out later, that just gives that essence of garlic flavor
– Microwave on high for 2 minutes, then check for doneness, depending on the power of your microwave and how much vegge you’re steaming [I do artichokes all the time and they take between 4-5 minutes – I’ll post that recipe separately]
– That’s it. Add some slivered roasted almonds or pine nuts or leave it plain and just season to taste – it’s good to go.