Lazy Veggies, Part I: Nuked tomatoes and zucchini

A word of warning: This is the first of a series of messages which will thoroughly and entirely bereave you of any and all excuses to skimp on your daily rations of vegetables. These tasty recipes are so easy you can literally set them up while cooking spaghetti with canned tomato sauce and not lose any time. (And before you ask: no, canned tomato sauce does not count as a serving of vegetables…)

Microwaving is not only a convenient and quick way of preparing vegetables, but also a particularly healthy one, since the cooking time is minimal and there is no loss of nutrients from drained-off cooking water (see Wikipedia).

Source public domain Difficulty trivial does not even begin to describe it Time 2–5 min for preparation; 3–7 min for microwaving Serves 1–2 as a side dish

Freshly nuked tomatoes with a very conservative amount of cheese. ;o)

Baked cauliflower

This delightfully simple yet addictive recipe is stolen wholesale from Caroline Peterson’s cooking blog, Just Clean Food. It makes an ideal healthy side dish — just set it up and prepare the main course while it’s baking!

Source  Just Clean Food blog Difficulty your goldfish could do it Time 10 min preparation, 30 min baking Serves 2

Baked cauliflower, here with the breadcrumbs options and a few tomatoes and potato slices to fill out the dish. I think I’ll leave it to brown a bit longer next time, though.

Tomato and pine-nut risotto

Among the many delicious options for enriching the basic risotto recipe, tomatoes are a classic choice, and pine nuts round out their taste just perfectly. With its built-in portion of vegetables, this risotto can easily stand on its own as a dinner meal, but also works nicely as a sophisticated side dish.

Source improved on public domain Difficulty easy Time 35 min Serves 2 as a main dish, 3–4 as a side dish

Tomato and pine-nut risotto.

Prosecco and shallot risotto

An incredibly versatile dish, risotto bears an undeserved reputation of being challenging to cook. Admittedly, it can go wrong more easily than macaroni and cheese, but that can be avoided with just a bit of preparation and diligence. Although commonly used as a mere side dish, this «plain» risotto may well eclipse whatever fancy main course you’re inflicting it upon. Risotto can also be turned into a complete dinner with the inclusion of a few vegetables and herbs — in fact, I have a few particularly good combinations lined up for future posts —, but here I’ll concentrate on perfecting it in its purest form.

Source public domain plus some improvements Difficulty way easier than its reputation, but does demand your full attention for a while Time 30 min Serves 3–4 as a side dish; 2 as a main dish with some salad or vegetables on the side

Prosecco and shallot risotto…  sorry for the bad photo, I was too hungry to do better. I’ll try again next time.  ;o)