WOW! I want one!

[Clipper]

www.littlethings.com/this-is-how-they-boil-food-in-japan-did-you-know-about-this-its-genius/

How cool is this thing? It would work great for cooking elbow macaroni, veggies, or home made soups and stews.

[kit]

Ingenious, yes, but nah... you don't want that trendy doohickey, Clipper. Just imagine how much nutrition would be lost with all that agitation. You're much better off steaming vegetables. More flavor remains by steaming, too. (By the way, when I said in another thread that I blanched my broccoli before adding it to the garlic and oil, actually I meant that I steamed it first. Only takes a few minutes.)

As far as pasta, soups and stews, I still prefer to use the good ol' techniques my mom taught me years ago. They're tried and true. All you need is a big pot.

[Clipper]

You are probably correct Kit. I normally steam my veggies in a vegetable steamer/rice cooker that I only paid $12 for at Walgreens. I bought it to make rice, but it works great for veggies with a steamer basket added. I have also been buying some of the Green Giant Steamers in recent weeks. It makes crisp steamed vegetables right in the microwave, easy peasy when you are in a hurry, and there is no mess or cleaning any pot afterward. We seldom boil any vegetables any more. In summer I like to grill anything that it is practical to put over coals, and I like roasted vegetables too. Broccoli, root vegetables, zucchini, summer squash, parsnips, turnips, etc. Drizzled with a little olive oil, seasoned, and roasted at 325 or 350 until tender. I love the semi tender yet still crunchy texture of roasted vegetables. A couple of years ago Kathy bought me one of those expandable, one size fits all, aluminum steamer baskets that fits into a sauce pot or dutch oven to steam vegetables. It is also good for rewarming such things at roast beef and roast pork slices over a little gently simmering water.

[kit]

I agree, Clipper. With so much nutrition removed from so many foods today, it's wise to use a cooking technique that maintains as many nutrients as possible. My apartment is just an itty bitty thing and I don't have room for many gadgets. I live alone and I keep an 8" saute pan and a 2 quart saucepan (both with lids) on my stove at all times. This is sufficient for most of my foods. I do have a few other cooking utensils stored in a cupboard or in the oven, which I don't use all that often.

One item that I've been using more and more lately is the expandable steamer insert. It was only a couple of bucks and has paid for itself many times over. I also have my mom's old heavy duty aluminum 'Mirro-Matic' pressure cooker which I use from time-to-time. This is a wonderful culinary instrument which shows that in many cases, steam under pressure is far better in the nutrition department than microwaves and doesn't dry-out the foods.

I confess that I don't use my small toaster oven as much as I should. It's an old-timer but it bakes and broils just fine. Thank you for reminding me of roasting vegetables. Not only does roasting retain the vitamins, but caramelizing the outside at least doubles the flavor. Now I'm excited to start trying some new ideas.

[Clipper]

You probably have much the same type of steamer basket that I do. It is a perforated aluminum disc that expands to be used in pans that vary in size from about 6 inches or so up to a fairly large dutch oven. Depending on what else we are cooking at the time, and whether there is a burner available on the stove often determines whether we use the steamer insert in a pot on the stove, the electric steamer, or simply cook the veggies in the microwave. We also have a toaster oven that we have had for years. The only time it gets used is to melt the cheese on top of something, using the broiler element in the top. I don't think the bottom element has hardly ever been used in all the years we have had the thing. It was Kathy's mom's and was still in the unopened box when she passed away.

I am a sucker for new gadgets and have to have at least one of everything for the kitchen. We have an entire shelf in our linen closet dedicated to the overflow from the kitchen counters and drawers. It holds such things as the George Foreman grill, the electric carving knife, an immersion blender, the deep fryer, hand held mixer, the bread machine, a mandolin, a blooming onion cutter, the accessories for the Showtime Rotisserie. On the shelf above that is my 5 tray dehydrator that I used to make venison jerky along with two crockpots. On the bottom of my closet, I have the box containing our white enameled electric GE roaster that is big enough to cook a 12 lb turkey, and has been utilized many times to supplement multiple crock pots to hold warm food for a banquet or picnic. Kathy just shakes her head every time she looks in there. She has threatened me with bodily harm if I buy any more "as seen on TV" kitchen related junk. I won't even talk about the appliances and kitchen gadgets that are in the travel trailer. lol

If WE ever elect to move into a small apartment and downsize, we will have to have one hell of a yard sale, hahaha!

[chris]

I steam my veggies in the microwave in a tupperware container made for steaming. It is the perfect size for asparagus since it is oval. I have a double boiler that has holes in the bottom to use on stove for steaming.

[Clipper]

Thanks Chris. You have made me hungry for asparagus. I have a question. The last time I was in the produce department at Kroger's they had WHITE asparagus. Does it taste the same as the green variety? Is it worth the extra money? I don't remember the cost, but it was significantly higher than the green kind.

I wonder if it is the same plant but grown in a dark place so that it doesn't develop any chlorophyll.

[Deleted]

I think the white asparagus is the same as the green. Must be grown in the dark or the way endive is grown.

Clipper your description of appliances sounded like an, as seen on TV commercial. If I had all that in my kitchen I wouldn't fit.

[Clipper]

I know Alan. It is crazy. We do fit in the kitchen, but the counters are lined to the maximum with appliances, a spice carousel, a knife block, a bread box, etc. We have the 12 inches or so in front of all that stuff to work, haha. I do believe I may have been one of infomercial's biggest suckers over the years, and on trips to outlet malls in Pigeon Forge. I always found something interesting in the kitchen stores. Some good, some bad. I got sucked into buying these things that you crack an egg into and then boil them. It is supposed to save the troubles associated with peeling the hard boiled eggs after cooking. Even following the instructions to the tee, the eggs stuck to the damn things and after finally getting the eggs out I threw the damned things straight into the trash. $10 hit the trash with a profanity laced rant to send them on their way. Sadly some of the appliances are a bigger pain in the butt to clean after use than what they are worth. The showtime is one of my favorite things in winter when I can't grill outdoors, but the cleanup after you take a roast or a chicken out of it takes about 15 minutes or so and a good deal of scrubbing and washing the parts by hand in the sink. We have stuff stashed all over the house. I didn't mention in my last post about the belgian waffle maker or the new electric griddle that are stored on top of the hot water heater in the laundry room. haha. It is all over the house, and I will most likely buy something else when it happens to catch my eye. Kathy will kill me, but I am obsessed with kitchen gadgets.

[clarencebunsen]

White Asparagus - What makes it white

homecooking.about.com/od/cookingfaqs/f/faqwhiteaspar.htm

Sorry, this is late but I'm not keeping up.

[Clipper]

I thought that was a real possibility Clarence. Thanks for clarifying it for us.