Plantes Vertes

OK, thanks for the tip! Your enthusiasm convinces me to give it another try, but I suspect the problem is that it always has Pimms in it

Pimms. *shudder*

You can also achieve a light garlic flavour by seasoning the pan with garlic before cooking the courgettes; just semi-crush a garlic clove and rub the juice over the cooking surface.

I've really loved reading your thread, @FrogPrincesse. I hope you'll have time for more posting soon!

Some special equipment can be fun for this type of cooking too; a spiraliser, dehydrator, turning strip slicer and sprouter (you can make sprouts with a sieve or jar; the special item is for convenience), as well as the more common blender/food processor, microplane, spice and nut grinder, steamer, pressure cooker, mandoline and so on. It is also interesting to know that microwave steaming is the cooking method by which the maximum of nutrients are preserved - better even than traditional steaming.

A stewed ratatouille is possible as well, with all of the ingredients cooked together. It's good!

Well, I am late here, but I also cook for one. Nowadays I'm a vegan and that does simplify the game; I buy a lot of produce and have no problem finishing it all . But I have cooked all sorts of things in the past. Rely on the simplicity of food in its whole state; a tomato, an egg, a carrot, a crottin de Chavignol, a small trout, a bread roll; they are already 'for one'. Shop in produce markets, cheesemongers, fruiterers, bakeries, fishmonngers, dry goods stores, butchers, not in the supermarket; then you can buy your food in whatever quantity you like. You can get a single slice of cheese.Cook on a cycle of ingredients. For example; day 1 - spanakopita (spinach, feta, pastry); day 2 I have leftover pastry; make baklava; I bought honey and pistachios for my baklava, so day 3 I make honey-roast veg; now I have some left-over veg so on day 4 I make soup and top it with the rest of the pistachios, etc.Eat the same ingredient more than once in a row. It's nice to let one ingredient predominate for a few days and experiment with different ways of preparing it. Sometimes I pick a themed section from a cookbook and make several recipes centred on the same food for a few days. Then I have a little cluster of recipes for clams or whatever that I wouldn't have otherwise.Change your sauces; they are very easy to prepare for one, if you're prepared to accept the freezer; you can make a healthy quantity of stock and freeze it in portions, then use it as the base for infinite variations. Then your food can involve the same main ingredient twice in a row but be served in a different way.Use dry goods. If you have a pressure cooker you can buy your chickpeas in whatever quantity is sold and get a handful done quickly whenever you wish.Freeze things before you cook with them if you dislike eating reheated dishes; chicken parts, sausage, blanched vegetables, herbs, milk... many things can simply be divided up for freezing and used as and when.Use cooking equipment suitable for small quantities of food; this will reduce wastage, as there is often an instinct to use more of an ingredient that necessary if large vessels are employed.Reduce recipes by slightly more than indicated; a recipe for four will often contain more than a strict four portions.

They're so lovely!

Ah, how beautiful! I have prepared artichokes: Steamed and stuffed with a mixture of sauteed garlic and spinach, breadcrumbs cooked in olive oil and chopped mint with parmesan (optional) and toasted pine nuts Steamed and stuffed with crab mayonnaise cut with creme fraiche and a little nutmeg and/or paprika Quartered and chargrilled as an accompaniment to white fish, all served in a sauce matelote with some small shrimps in it As fritters, prepared and steamed, then coated in a club soda batter and deep fried and served with lemon wedges As an addition to pasta vognole As chokes, cooked and stuffed with a coarse paste of cannelini beans, raw garlic and lemon juice topped with a piece of quickly grilled tuna, the whole wrapped in pancetta and grilled until crispy You can also freeze them after blanching.

A pleasure! and thank you for the welcome, LindaK! I have only recently discovered eGullet, but have very quickly become addicted, and am delighted to be able to join in now

I tried to think of a no-fat way of cooking each of these vegetables. I tend to prefer simple recipes, which is reflected in the list. Artichoke - chargrilled: prepare the artichokes as for boiling, stuff a lemon wedge and a bayleaf in each, wrap in a damp sheet of baking paper and then in foil and place on the edge of a coal fire or at the back of a gas barbecue for about an hour, turning to cook all sides. Remove lemon and bay and serve with a dip of roasted garlic mixed with lemon juice, parsely, smoked paprika and salt and pepper Asparagus - chargrilled: grill on a ridged skillet - no oil necessary (or, of course, boil or steam). Dress with salt and lemon juice. Aubergine - boiled: cut into 1cm slices, then cut the slices into quarters. Distribute over the bottom of a heavy-bottomed frying pan in an even layer or layers. Add tomato juice to cover and chopped tomatoes in the same volume as the aubergine with 1Tbs fresh mint, and simmer until the aubergine is soft but not entirely translucent. Add cooked chick peas (a slightly smaller volume than the aubergine) and simmer until the aubergine is translucent. Season. Beetroot - roasted: roast the beetroot doused in orange juice and sprinkled with grated root ginger and and little honey. Serve sprinkled with some toasted caraway seeds. Bell pepper - flame roasted: roast it over an open flame, turning until all the skin turns black and blisters. Put it immediately into a plastic bag and close the bag to trap the steam. Leave the peppers to cool, then remove from the bag and peel the skins off. Eat in salads or blend with garlic, raw or roasted cherry tomatoes, a few sundried tomatoes and some basil for a pasta sauce. Brussels sprouts - roasted: roast doused in vegetable broth, soy sauce and lemon juice in a hot oven for 10mins. Carrot - roasted: chop and roast the carrots doused in orange juice and sprinkled with cumin seeds, alongside oranges cut into eight wedges. Once roasted, chop the orange wedges finely and caramelise them with caster sugar in a frying pan. Coat the carrots in the caramelised orange. Celeriac - soup: Roast a head of garlic still in the skin. Cut the celeriac in 1in cubes and steam until soft. Blend garlic and celeriac with a couple of soft pears, put in a saucepan and add vegetable broth until soup consistency over a low heat. Serve garnished with finely grated apple. Celery - braised: cut the root off a head of celery and cut the stalks in half. Slice 1lb of onions and lay the onion slices between the celery stalks in an oven-proof dish. Pour over vegetable stock to cover and cook in a medium oven for an hour. Serve sprinked with chopped parsely. Cabbage - sauerkraut: shred the cabbage as finely as possible. Stuff into a mason jar sterilised with boiling water for five minutes. Take a rolling pin and smash the cabbage a bit, then sprinkle a tsp of salt on top, cover the cabbage in water and use a whole cabbage leaf as a lid to keep the shredded cabbage under water. Seal the jar and leave in a warm place for four days (or more; the longer the sourer). You can add whatever other hard vegetables edible raw that you like. Keeps for a month in the fridge. Cauliflower - riced: pulse in processer until you achieve a rice-like consistency. Serve the cauliflower rice with the same quantity of chopped mint and chopped tomato and twice the volume of chopped parsely, dressed with lemon juice and salt. Corn - brined: cut 2 hulled corn cobs into 1 1/2in rounds, steam for four minutes and allow to cool. Put in a mason jar with 1Tbs salt, 1tsp black peppercorns, a sliced red chile and 3 garlic cloves. Cover with water and use a saucer that fits inside the jar to push the vegetables underwater. Seal the jar and leave for 4 days or longer (the longer the sourer). Keeps for a month in the fridge. Courgette - stuffed: cut the ends off the courgettes and cut them in half. Roast the courgettes in a hot oven, sprinkled with sliced garlic, water and lemon zest, until soft but not charred or translucent. Carefully remove the centres with an apple corer and blend the flesh removed with cooked peas, lemon juice and a small amount of raw garlic, and toasted pistachios if you eat them, diluted with vegetable stock to form a smooth paste. Use an icing bag to pipe the paste into the empty courgette cavities. Serve stacked like logs or end-up arranged in the centre of the plate, garnished with courgette flowers. Florence fennel - salad: slice very thinly along with a pink grapefruit and a small red onion. Cut a clove of garlic in half and smear it over the inside of your salad bowl. Put the salad ingredients in, toss and sprinkle over chopped black olives and parsely. Garlic - aïgo boulido: boil 14 cloves of garlic in 4 cups of water with 5 sage leaves and a bay leaf until the garlic is soft. Strain out the garlic and herbs; discard the herbs. Season the broth. Squish the softened garlic onto croutons, place in bowls and pour the broth over. Green beans - boil the green beans; add half the volume of cherry tomatoes chopped in half. Season with salt. Jerusalem artichoke - salad: cut a quantity of mushrooms equal to that of the artichokes into 1/2cm slices and marinate for an hour in lemon juice and salt. Roast hazelnuts, if you eat them, in a hot oven until the skins go brown, then rub the skins off in a teatowel. Peel the artichokes and slice them on a mandolin, then hold in acidulated water if preparing in advance. Toss the ingredients together, spinkled with white wine vinegar. Put a heap of rocket in each bowl, place the dressed ingredients on top and garnish with chopped parsely. Kale - spiced: steam 1lb finely chopped kale until soft. Meanwhile toast 1tsp cumin seeds and 1/2tsp each turmeric, ground coriander and black mustard seeds, or more to taste. Finely chop 3 green chillies and an inch of fresh ginger; add these to the spices with a few Tbs water and simmer for 5mins. Add the spices to the kale in a serving bowl and toss with a large handful of chopped coriander leaves and the juice of one lemon. Leek - puree: cut the leeks into 1in lengths and boil in stock for ~15mins. Drain and puree in a blender. Transfer to serving bowl and mix in lemon juice and seasoning to taste. Lettuce - wilted: boil 300g peas and 15 halved pearl onions in separate pans for 5 mins. Add to a frying pan with 3 finely chopped baby gem lettuces and a little cooking water, simmer until lettuce is just wilted. Mushroom - marinated: marinate in lemon juice and salt, with sliced garlic if desired (slice thickly to make it easy to remove after). Eat in salads or sandwiches. Parsnip - crisps: slice the parsnips on a mandoline or with a vegetable peeler. Toss the strips in lemon juice. Arrange on baking sheets in single layers and bake in a preheated medium oven for half an hour, turning halfway through. Salt. Peas - crushed: boil and drain; crush with plenty of chopped mint, salt and pepper. Spinach/chard - with apples: chop an onion and simmer in scant water until soft. Meanwhile soak 3Tbs sultanas in boiling water, remove the tough stem parts from 2lb washed chard leaves, chop the leaves finely and core and dice two sweet apples. Add the chard to the onion and cook for 5 minutes, then add the drained sultanas with the apple and cook until the apple softens. Take off the heat and add 1Tbs cider vinegar. Swede - roasted: peel the swede and chop it into large chunks. Pour over a cup of vegetable broth and roast in a hot oven for half an hour, turning half way. Meanwhile toast 2tsp cumin seeds and chop a handful of parsely and a deseeded red chili. Pour off 1/2 cup of the broth into a cup and discard the rest; dissolve 1Tbs clear honey in the reserved liquid, then add it back to the roasting tin and roast the swede for 10 more minutes. Remove the swede from the pan and toss in the chilli and parsley. Sweet potato - wedges: mince 2tsp rosemary. Cut 3 small sweet potatoes into 1/8ths and place on a baking tray; sprinkle with rosemary and 1tsp mustard powder. Bake in a very hot oven for 1/2 hour, turning half way. Tomato - home-dried: put halved and deseeded cherry tomatoes on a baking tray lined with baking parchment in an oven preheated to the lowest setting for 3hrs, or with the pilot light on over night. Turnip - creamed: peel and roughly chop 1lb turnips and boil in water with 2 cloves, a bayleaf and some salt. Remove the turnips and discard the water and aromatics. Return the turnips to the pan and add 1/2 cup almond or other non-milk. Squish with a potato masher. Add salt, white pepper and grated nutmeg to taste. Watercress - salad with horseradish and apple dressing: roast 2lb whole beetroot wrapped in foil in a hot oven for 1-2 hours, depending on size. Chop 2 peeled apples and cook with 1Tbs sugar and 1Tbs water, covered, until the apples go mushy. Add 2Tbs cider vinegar and blend, then add 5Tbs grated horseradish and ~3Tbs non-milk to make a sauce. Lie piles of watercress on plates, put the chopped beetroot on top and dress with the sauce. Temperatures: low oven gas 2; medium oven gas 3-4; hot oven gas 5-6; very hot oven gas 7-8 And of course you can simmer any boilable vegetable in vegetable broth, not just onions!