Read Julia's Kitchen Wisdom for Free Online Page A

¼-inch slices. Whisk 3 cups water gradually into ¼ cup flour with 1 tsp salt and 1 Tbs lemon juice. Bring to boil, add stalks, and simmer 30 minutes. Drain. The leaves: Boil, squeeze dry, and chop, as for spinach.
    • Finishing: Prepare the leaves in any of the ways suggested for spinach. Or toss leaves and stalks together and bake them with cheese au gratin, as for the cauliflower , using the stalk-cooking liquid as your sauce base.
    STEAMED VEGETABLES
    When you are not concerned with preserving the color, steaming is an easy way to cook a number of vegetables. You will want a vegetable-steamer basket that fits into a pan with a tight-fitting cover. Pour 1 inch of water into the pan, set the steamer basket in the pan, and arrange the vegetables in the basket. Cover, bring to the boil, and start timing as soon as the steam rises.
    A HANDFUL OF STEAMED VEGETABLES
    • Vegetable: Artichokes (whole, 1 per person)
    • Preparation: Trim stem off base. Cut ½ inch off top; snip prickly points off leaves with scissors. Rub cut parts with lemon.
    • Cooking (In basket over 1 inch liquid, in covered pot): Arrange upside down in basket. Steam over water 30 to 40 minutes, until bottoms are tender when pierced.
    • Finishing:
1- Serve warm with melted butter or hollandaise for dipping leaves.
2- Serve cold with mayonnaise , or vinaigrette .
    • Vegetable: Cabbage Wedges (a 2-lb. cabbage serves 4)
    • Preparation: Cut cabbage in half through the core; cut halves into wedges. Trim core but don’t let leaves separate.
    • Cooking (In basket over 1 inch liquid, in covered pot): Arrange cabbage wedges cut sides up on steamer rack. Pour over them 2 cups chicken stock plus water to a depth of 1 inch in the pan. Season wedges, cover pot, and steam about 15 minutes, until just tender.
    • Finishing: Rapidly boil down steaming liquid until syrupy. Swirl in 1 to 2 Tbs butter and chopped parsley. Drizzle over the
    • Vegetable: Cauliflower (1½ lbs, to serve 4 or 5)
    • Preparation: Cut out central core and break florets apart. Peel core deeply and cut into pieces. Peel stems of florets.
    • Cooking (In basket over 1 inch liquid, in covered pot): Steam over water 3 to 5 minutes, until cooked through but with slight crunch.
    • Finishing:
1- Top with butter, lemon, or hollandaise; or sprinkle on sautéed buttered bread crumbs and chopped parsley.
2- Toss pieces in a frying pan with olive oil, puréed garlic, and parsley.
3- Prepare gratin .
    • Vegetable: Eggplant (a 1-lb. eggplant serves 4)
    • Preparation: Wash eggplant. Place whole in basket.
    • Cooking (In basket over 1 inch liquid, in covered pot): Steam over water 20 to 30 minutes, until soft, slightly shriveled, and easily pierced.
    • Finishing: Trim off green cap and slice eggplant in halves or quarters lengthwise.
1- Drizzle flesh with garlicky vinaigrette serve warm or cool.
2- Scoop out flesh; sauté slowly in olive oil with onions and puréed garlic, until tender and slightly browned.
3- Eggplant caviar: Purée flesh in a mixer, then beat in puréed garlic, allspice, ginger, Tabasco, and, if you wish, a cup of ground walnuts, plus up to 4 Tbs olive oil added by drops.
    THE BOIL/STEAM SYSTEM FOR VEGETABLES
    This is an especially effective method for root vegetables such as carrots and small onions, as well as for store-bought green peas. Rather than boiling the vegetables in water to cover, then draining them, thus throwing out a lot of the flavor with the cooking liquid, you want to cover-cook them in a small amount of liquid. You then boil down that liquid to concentrate its flavor, and use it to sauce your vegetables.
    BOIL/STEAM VEGETABLE CHART
    • Vegetable: Green Peas (2 lbs fresh store-bought peas in the pod, making about 3 cups, to serve 6)
    • Preparation: Shell peas into a saucepan. Add 1 Tbs of soft butter, and ½ tsp each salt and sugar. By handfuls, bruise the peas roughly with the butter, sugar, and salt.
    • Cooking: Pour in water almost to cover