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October 20, 2016 - Image 10

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The Michigan Daily

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W

hen I was younger, I
detested vegetables.
My mom, always the

overbearingly health-conscious
cook (though I love her for it),
incorporated a serving into
every meal. I would hungrily
await dinner, then remember
that eating dinner also meant
having to eat vegetables,
and apprehension replaced
my hunger. Broccoli with
the night’s dinner? Couldn’t
stand to look at it. A salad for
lunch? I would rather lose TV
privileges.

Now, I can’t get enough of

them. Literally. I can’t get
enough vegetables. As a busy
college student that makes it
to the grocery store twice a
month, it often gets difficult
to stretch my produce supplies
through
the
month.
Most

produce goes bad within the
week — so buying them in large
quantities isn’t always the best
option. But, there’s a great big
world of produce out there that
holds various opportunities to
incorporate more veggies into
our sparse college diets. When
stored and used properly, these
veggies stand the test of time
and bolster simple, nutritious
meals.

Ever since moving out of the

comfort and security of college
dorm life, which inherently
included a coveted meal plan,
and into the scary threshold of
off-campus home cooking, I’ve
developed a means of optimally
preserving and using up all of
my favorite vegetables. I haven’t
thrown out moldy tomatoes or
found myself vegetable-less in
over a year –– yes, that’s right.
I didn’t have to buy less produce
to do so. I simply developed
a few habits and tricks that
helped make the most out of all
the
glorious,
nutrient-packed

produce our (sometimes) friendly,
local grocery stores have to offer.



If you’re trying to pack your

diet with more veggies and
diminish the hassle of cooking
week night meals or just trying
to get your mom to stop nagging
you about eating your vegetables,
then read on. There’s a plethora of
places where your vegetables can
go rather than in the trash. Here
are a few, just to name them:

The oven
If you have a lot of veggies (and

not a lot of time), you can use
my favorite method of cooking
them, which is to roast ‘em. Just
crank your oven to a toasty 400º.
While it’s preheating, slice up
your veggies (they don’t have
to be perfectly sliced, just give
them a few rough slices). I like to
do this best with vegetables like

bell peppers, onions, eggplant,
zucchini,
carrots,
portobello

mushrooms and sweet potatoes.
Just toss them in some olive oil
and salt and let them roast for
about 25-30 minutes (the sweet
potatoes and eggplant may take
a little longer). Your veggies
will get a nice burnt crisp on the
edges, which brings out a ton of
flavor.

This method is great if you’re

short on time. You can eat them
plain, straight out of the oven
(which I often do, with some nice
crusty bread and olive oil to dip
in on the side). You can also toss
them with some quinoa and fresh
herbs for a salad or pile them up
on bread with mozzarella for an
easy sandwich. The options with
these are pretty much endless
and definitely delicious.

Note:
if
you’re
roasting

eggplant and zucchini, make
sure to sprinkle them with salt

after you slice them, let them sit
for 10 minutes, then pat dry with
paper towels to get out any excess
moisture before roasting.

The freezer
This is probably the quickest

and easiest way to preserve your
vegetables when overcome with
uncertainty as to how you’ll
utilize them and subsequent
anxiety about having to toss them
out. I know, I know –– you can
buy already frozen veggies at the
grocery store, but I personally
believe that buying them fresh
and freezing them tastes better
and is better for you. And you
can freeze them in individual
portions for quick use. I like to
use this method with broccoli,
cauliflower, greens and herbs.
This way, I never run out of my
beloved spinach or kale (which
I sautée for almost every meal).
For cauliflower and broccoli, it’s
best to blanch them first (a.k.a.
quickly boil them). Simply boil a
pot of water, throw them in for
2-3 minutes, then quickly remove
them by dumping them into a
strainer or colander and rinsing
under ice cold water for a minute
or so. Just note, any vegetables
you plan on freezing will be best
if used for cooking rather than
eating raw (i.e. Do not try to make
a salad with thawed spinach).

In a scramble, omlette or

frittata

This one is pretty much a free

for all. Eggs are an essential
component
of
any
college

student’s diet and don’t believe
anyone who tells you otherwise.
You can put anything in a
scramble and it’ll probably taste
great. A few of my favorite veggies
to throw in are mushrooms,
kale, spinach, sweet potatoes,
asparagus, tomatoes and redskin
potatoes. If you’re making an
egg dish, it’s best to cook the
vegetables first (either in the pan
or the oven). For the potatoes, you
can cheat and microwave them
on high, wrapped in a wet paper
towel, for 5-7 minutes. Let them
cool a little, then dice them up and
fry them in the pan with some oil
or butter for a few minutes before
adding the rest of your veggies
and eggs.

My favorite frittata recipe

uses sweet potatoes (roasted in
the oven, or boiled if you’re in a
hurry), sautéed kale or spinach,
caramelized onions and goat
cheese. I whisk 4-5 eggs with salt
and pepper to taste and about a
¼ cup of milk or cream. Once
my sliced onions are nice and
browned (about 10 minutes) and
the greens have wilted in the pan,
I add in the sweet potatoes, eggs
and cheese and stick it in an 425º
oven for 20-25 minutes.

In a soup
There’s nothing like hearty

soup to get you through those
cold winter months in Ann Arbor.
I lived off of mostly soup for the
entirety of junior year because it’s
so easy to make and store. Like in
the latter method, you can do this
with most vegetables — especially
beans,
tomatoes,
zucchini,

squash, potatoes, greens, etc.

My favorite recipe: Winter

Tuscan kale and bean soup. This
soup is great because it uses most-
ly pantry items that are cheap
and easy to have on hand. Dice
an onion, celery and some garlic
and sautée in a large pot for a few
minutes. Then add some chopped
kale (stems removed), two 15 oz
cans of cannellini beans, two 15
oz cans (or one large 28 oz. can)
of diced tomatoes with the juice
(alternatively, you can dice up
fresh vine or heirloom tomatoes if
you have them on hand), a 32 oz
box of chicken or vegetable stock
and 1-2 additional cups of water.
Bring it to a boil with salt and
pepper to taste (or whatever other
herbs you have on hand, such as
dried parsley and oregano) and
let simmer for 20-30 minutes (or
until all the vegetables are ten-
der). This soup is great as a meal
with macaroni noodles and par-
mesan cheese sprinkled on top.

To freeze, simply store the

soup in a large Tupperware con-
tainer and let thaw overnight
before reheating. Or, you can let
the soup cool and ladle into Zip-
loc bags for individual servings
(just make sure to lay them flat
in the freezer).

Buddha bowls
You
may
be
wondering,

“What the heck is a Buddha
bowl?” or, “But I don’t even go
to yoga!” Fear not, you don’t
have to contort your body
to
eat
these
delicious
and

filling bowls. Buddha bowls
are simply what bowls filled
with grains, veggies and other
healthy toppings are referred
to. They are a great way to use
up veggies and pantry items.
I typically make mine with
quinoa (just cook according
to the package instructions ––
and you can substitute chicken
broth for water if you have it).
Then I roast some chickpeas
(drain and pat dry a can of
chickpeas, drizzle with olive
oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder
and paprika and bake at 400º
for 30 minutes), sweet potatoes
(same thing, except I only use
salt and pepper to season), kale
(toss in olive oil and lemon
juice or sautée in a skillet for a
few minutes until wilted), and
whatever other veggies I have
on hand (like carrots, avocado,
or shredded cabbage). If you
have a tub of hummus laying

SHIR AVINADAV
Daily Food Columnist

Help your produce stand the test of time with innovative ideas

Better places for

your veggies

FOOD COLUMN

EL CLUB

This looks like the opening shot of Boogie Nights.

The greater Detroit area is

peppered with charming, rela-
tively small venues that host a
plethora of local and upcom-
ing acts week after week. If
you
are
relatively
familiar

with the indie music scene, you
might recognize names like the
Majestic Café, Marble Bar and
UFO Factory (among others).

Most recently, El Club has

been added to the growing ros-
ter of hip concert spots, hosting
shows by Car Seat Headrest,
Porches and Titus Androni-
cus in its first six months of
operation. Despite the unde-
niable coolness of the venue
and of the many acts who have
already graced its stage, there
has been one markedly uncool
aspect of every show I have
attended at El Club: people just
don’t seem to understand the
certain unspoken rules to fol-
low when attending a show at a
small venue.

At first glance, my com-

plaint — we’ll call it a griev-
ance — might sound like indie
snobbery, but hear me out.
Understand first that I do not
seek to blame El Club for its
misbehaved clientele; there’s
nothing the venue can do about
it. Eventually the hype will die
down, and El Club will no lon-
ger be the extra-hip new spot.

But until then, as is com-

mon for newly opened bars
that double as concert venues,
locals will attend for “alcohol
and live music!” rather than
for, say, Joyce Manor or Twin
Peaks specifically. This results
in a crowd that is an interest-
ing mix of young professionals
— for whom the show is a spec-
tacle — and fans of the specific
artists, for whom the show is
the only reason to attend.

At a large venue, it may be

acceptable to shout and scream
“we love you!” between (and
during) every song, primarily
because the performer prob-
ably can’t hear you, and the
rest of the audience is being
loud enough that you’re not
distracting anyone.

In a smaller venue, this

changes
considerably;
any-

thing said between songs at a
volume normally reasonable
for conversation can and will
likely be heard by everyone in
the venue, including the per-
former.

So
when
one
individual

decides to be particularly loud,
that person, whether they real-
ize it or not — and often they
don’t — is drawing attention
away from the performance
and directly to themselves. In
the extreme, these individuals
essentially become hecklers,
and more than once I have seen
performers at these small ven-
ues stop their shows to directly
ask the person to stop or leave.

Therefore, I implore you: do

not be the kind of individual
who is so loud that you draw
attention away from the actual
show. By all means, cheer at the
end of every song! Lose your
voice in doing so! But don’t
repeatedly shout the name of
the song you most desire to
hear them play, even if you
just “need” to hear them play
it. And no matter how “clever”
or downright “hilarious” your

borderline jeering may be, I’d
put my life on it that the show
as a whole will be at least mar-
ginally more enjoyable without
your contribution.

These notes about etiquette

should really go without say-
ing, and they may seem under-
whelmingly
apparent.
They

are, but, for whatever reason,
there remains a small portion
of the population that remains
oblivious, or just doesn’t care.
Anyone who has been to any
general admission concert has
likely witnessed — if not dealt
directly with — someone push-
ing straight through rows and
rows of strangers to guaran-
tee themselves the best spot
possible. In and of itself, this
behavior is relatively harmless,
but the ideology from which it
proceeds is dangerous.

Maybe the person believes

that they deserve a better spot
because they’re a more ardent
fan than everyone else in the
audience — that’s why they
showed up early to get a good
spot, right? Or maybe they’ve
adopted a contortedly capital-
ist approach in which he who
shoves hardest deserves the
best spot — politeness is weak-
ness, and non-confrontational
tendencies simply a reflection
that you aren’t a serious enough
fan.

I have only the desire that

you realize the following (or,
even better, that the following
is already painfully obvious):
the show is not about you. It’s
about the performer, who has
spent innumerable hours pro-
ducing art for not only you, but
everyone in the audience. If
you truly have respect for the
artist and their work, then you
will also respect your fellow
audience members. Your goal
should be to ensure that every-
one has the best experience
possible, not just you.

SEAN LANG

Daily Arts Writer

Rule one: don’t take attention away from the performance

The unspoken rules to follow when
attending a small and local venue

MUSIC NOTEBOOK

around, you can also scoop
a healthy spoonful into your
bowl and you’ve got a meal.

For inspiration, you can check

out this one on @eggs_n_baecon
(I apologize for the shameless
plug for my food Instagram).

If you can’t make it to a gro-

cery store but are desperate to
replenish your vegetable sup-
ply, here are some other great
options:

Fruit fairies
For just $17, you can place a one-

time order for a basket of hand-
picked (by “fairies?”) vegetables
that is delivered to your doorstep
for free. A weekly subscription
only costs $15, or alternatively, you
can create your own custom bas-

ket from their selection of produce
(individually priced).

You can find more information

on their website here.

Replenish
Some
of
the
produce
at

replenish is actually, shockingly,
decently priced.

Though I usually resort to

Replenish as my last option, a
container of spinach or an onion
will cost you the same (if not a
few cents more) than at a grocery
store.

Maize and Blue Cupboard
Pick up a free bag of produce

from the Trotter Multicultural
Center courtesy of Maize and Blue
Cupboard, a nonprofit student
organization that fights against
food insecurity on campus by
providing students with free
access to grocery essentials. Food
distributions are every month,
so check their Facebook page for
details on when distributions will
be taking place.

Anyways, this has been my

vegetable-mongering, “Eat more
vegetables!”
rant

because,

though we hate to admit it, our
mothers are usually almost always
right.

At a large venue, it
may be acceptable

to shout and

scream.

Now, I can’t get
enough of them.

Literally. I can’t get

enough veggies.

Just crank your
oven to a toasty

400 degrees
Fahrenheit

DO YOU PREFER

THE DEBATE

BETWEEN
“BIRDMAN”

AND

“BOYHOOD”

OVER THE

DEBATE
BETWEEN
DEMOCRAT

AND

REPUBLICAN?

THEN JOIN

ARTS!

Email ajtheis@umich.edu

and katjacq@umich.edu

for more info.

4B — Thursday, October 20, 2016
b-side
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

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