Mushy VS Crispy

I confess. I am a picky eater.

I am an adult. But I am still a picky eater.

Especially when it comes to veggies.

I do not like mushy vegetables. My mom was a good cook. But, she grew up and learned to cook an era where all vegetables were canned vegetables from the garden. Canned vegetables are always mushy, never crispy. I honestly don't think my mom knew how to cook a hot crisp vegetable. I did not like them.

Then in my 20s I met a wonderful lady who is a great cook. She cooked crispy vegetables! Wow! I liked those. She taught me how to stir fry veggies and from there I learned how to roast and par-boil veggies so that they were hot, but still crispy.

Then, 10 or so years later, along came my kids. As soon as I gave my kids table food they stopped eating vegetables. They had loved the baby food veggies. They refused to eat my crispy veggies. Ugh. This was a problem. They needed veggies in their diet. What to do? What to do?

I finally came up with this plan -- When I chop/dice/slice veggies, I do not chop in uniform sizes. I make some big, and some small. This goes against everything that a professional cook will tell you.

"Vegetables should be chopped all the same size so that they cook in the same length of time," they will tell you. That may work great in a fancy restaurant. But it doesn't work in my house. I don't want them to all cook in the same length of time. I want some to be crispy and some to be softer.

So, I cut them up into varying sizes and cook them all the same length of time. When I pull them out of the water or oven - some are crispy and some are softer. I am happy. My kids are happy. Our dinner time conversation is much more peaceful. This makes Daddy (and Mommy) very happy.

Variable sized vegetables.

This kitchen tip definitely works for me.

Are you a Cripsy Vegetable fan? or a Softer Vegetable fan? Vote for your favorite in the poll on the left.

For more great kitchen tips visit Tammy's Recipes.
For other great ideas that work visit WeAreTHATFamily.