by Amber Stephens

Created on: May 21, 2008

For me steaming vegetables brings out the taste far better than boiling them. The vegetables are far more vibrant in color, they are firm and not limp from being boiled to death. Plus the vitamins stay in the vegetable and not boiled out into the water that gets dumped down the sink.

I love steamed fresh vegetables, the vegetables have to be fresh they taste better and I believe they are better for you if you buy them fresh from the grocery store or even better you grow them yourself.

Growing vegetables yourself is the very best favor you can do for yourself and your family. If however you can't grow them you can buy organically grown vegetables at your local produce department. Let's not forget about the Farmer's Market that starts in the Spring and goes on until the very last drop of Summer. Buying at the Farmer's Market not only supports the local farmer's but it also puts local produce on your table.

While steaming my vegetables I like to put herbs in the water under the steaming basket, the herbs really flavor the vegetables. That technique comes in very handy when you want to add flavor to your children's vegetables without them going "Ew what's that green stuff on my cauliflower?!" I once steamed some peeled potatoes and I put some Rosemary in the water and wow it really tasted good when they where done. The Rosemary really brought out some very good flavor in the potatoes. I'm sure you could combine many different combinations of herbs and spices and come up with some very good tasting vegetable dishes.

What you would need to steam vegetables is a pan that would fit a steaming basket that has holes in it for the vegetables to sit in. There are pans that one can buy that is for steaming they also have bamboo steaming baskets that stack on top of each other that you can put seasoned fish in one layer then some vegetables in another layer continuing on until everything is all stacked an steamed ready to be served in a healthy meal for your family. You will then add some water to the base pan and you can add herbs and spices to it if you like then you put the basket of raw vegetables on top of that and make sure the lid fits snuggly on the steamer basket it helps the vegetables cook properly. You then put the burner on high and as soon as the water starts to boil nicely you turn it down to medium high and let it steam away for about 20 minutes or until a fork poked in the vegetables goes in easily. Serve them with your favorite main dish.

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