Microwave Vegetable Chart

I'm way behind, I know. I'm just now starting to discover microwaving fresh vegetables. Julie taught me to use the microwave to cook broccoli. I'll post my microwave broccoli ham and cheese recipe when I get the method and amounts written down. Evidently (as everyone but me knows) any vegetable that you would parboil or steam you can cook in the microwave. According to the article, vegetables taste better, have better color and may retain more vitamins when cooked in the microwave. It makes sense that the vegetables would have more vitamins because the vitamins aren't leaching out into the boiling water. Put the vegetables in a bowl with a tiny bit of water (or lemon juice) or none at all with some vegetables, cover and nuke. According to an article in the New York Times, here are approximate cooking times:

Asparagus.............2 minutes

Artichokes.............6 minutes

Broccoli.................9 minutes in my slow microwave

Cauliflower..............5 minuets (9 minutes in my slow microwave)

Potatoes or beets...4 minutes

spinach.................1 or 2 minutes

eggplant................7 minutes

Cooking times vary according to your microwave. Old microwaves take much longer. Under cook rather then over cook. When you figure out how long it takes to cook a vegetable, write it down so you can cook it again without constant checking. I'll update this chart as I make veggies in my microwave. I'm guessing some of these times are just to parcook the vegetables.

See my microwave broccoli, ham, and cheese recipe.