k. Vegetables

Vegetables are often considered boring by many taste-uneducated people. Unfortunately, this is compounded by the protein bias of the food industry. Even in the rarefied atmosphere of many top restaurants, chefs just seem to tolerate vegetables, steamed or boiled, as a useless garnish to various protein preparations.

This is a sad state of affairs. Vegetables offer gourmets and cooks the widest variety of flavors and happy combinations, multiplied by the variety of processes which can be applied to most of them (glazed, sautéed, steamed, roasted, deep fried and any combination of those). Furthermore, as humans age, meat, eggs and fish lose much of their attraction; however, it seems that, once you like vegetables, you never tire of them. 

Buying Vegetables

A long time ago, at least in France, it was next to impossible to pick your own fruit or vegetables in a store. The calculating owner or some absent-minded employee would do that for you, while you refrained from commenting in case they made it worse. Supermarkets have had one good consequence: you can now choose your own selection practically everywhere. But this leaves you with a new responsibility no one has prepared you for. How to select the best items? Which items should you avoid although they might be in season? How much should you buy today? Will it keep?

In the U.S., the food industry has found many ways to enhance the visual quality and the shelf life of most vegetables. Very few behave like they did before in their natural state. Commercial organic produce is alarmingly as good-looking as standard commercial produce. Rot is not allowed. Taste has disappeared. Tomatoes might be the most striking recent example, with successful premium heirloom varieties becoming gradually as bland as all the rest while maintaining a sizable price difference. 

Short of several direct experiences with a patient, knowledgeable shopper, only practice, years of practice, trial and error, will make you competent. Some common sense rules will help you in the process:

-       Find one or two reliable stores, with limited refrigeration, which fit your demands and your budget

-       Buy what is in season.

-       Buy local food if possible.

In most places, this might be easier said than done, but in California, and especially the San Francisco Bay Area, close to a rich farmland and sunny, warm Mexico, inhabited by an affluent crowd and active minorities, I am sure you can reasonably succeed.

Cooking Vegetables

I volunteer a wide range of vegetable recipes, using different methods. These dishes can either stand on their own or be used as an accompaniment to a meat course. Probably, the former use will be associated with home meals, and the latter with receptions: most potential guests still associate a festive meal with protein consumption and expect just that.

I believe vegetables should taste like vegetables. Though I am far from a vegetarian purist, I personally avoid masking their taste with some meaty flavor, except in the last stage of a recipe where they will be associated with that meat. When combining vegetables, you must take into account that none of them cooks at the same speed. Even close relatives in the cabbage family will behave in their own way. But we are dealing now with the essence of cooking: there is no alternative to building that knowledge one step at a time. There is no alternative to the joy of learning.