Steam Cooking Revisited

Well, even after a few glasses of wine last night I was still unable to come up with a reasonable way to add a Steam and Convection Oven to my kitchen.  And believe me, I looked at every option.  I could hire a contractor to extend the kitchen further out or to make revisions to the existing floorplan.  But that seems a little outrageous to me just to be able to install a Steam and Convection Oven.  There are more economical ways to achieve the advantage of steam cooking.

Crest Avenue was built in 1947.  Mid-Century floorplans were very much different from today's floorplans.  The rooms were usually very small, espcially in a Rancher like Crest Avenue.  During the renovation that has been going on for the past 11 years, I have taken the opportunity to knock out walls and reconfigure the space as much as possible to make it more efficient and give it a more open feel.  But some things are just unrealistic to do, i.e., extending the kitchen to accommodate a built in Steam and Convection Oven.  So I'm taking an alternate route.  I can still prepare food using steam.  I just did it last week with the eggs using my portable steamer.

I have this very unit.  This is what I used to steam the eggs.  The unit comes with both steaming trays as you see here.  I bought this primarily to steam broccoli and cauliflower.  But look at this photo with the beautiful lobster tails and a veggie creation in the bottom.  I will do some additional research, but I believe you can order additional steaming trays for this unit.  Just adding one additional tray would allow you to steam 6 lobster tails and a veggie of your choice.  Or, you could buy two units, thereby doubling your capacity.  Buying two or even three of these units will be far more affordable then the cost of the Thermador Steamer Oven, not to mention the cost of installation.  You could set these up in a row on your kitchen counter and steam to your hearts desire.

I steamed broccoli last night.  Some Promise margarine (which is my favorite and has all the right numbers for those of us watching our weight) and a sprinkle of parmesan and I had a wonderful dish.  So, there are ways to make happen whatever you want to happen.  If you want to start using steam to prepare foods and you cannot find or make space without spending thousands of dollars on construction, you improvise.  This little Oster steamer is my solution.  I will get the benefit of using steam to cook with and not have to raid my retirement money to do it.  A smart choice!