Early Retirement Extreme Forums

Early Retirement Extreme Forums » Lifestyle Questions

1. 

   noskich
   

   Apprentice
   Joined: Oct '11
   Posts: 76

   I think steaming is the best way to process food ERE style and I am a strong supporter of switching from bread and other pastries to rice.

   Steaming is both healthy and economical since it does not require any cooking oil, does not make food fatty, does not take vitamins and other nutritional content out of the food like boiling and it requires minimal amount of time to prepare food. Also the amount of electricity it spends is very low since you just need to sip some water which is heated up to boiling in a couple of minutes unlike using the oven or microwave.

   Modern steamers are around 30 dollars and they make cooking very easy. You just put the food inside them (most have three levels), sip water in the conainer at the bottom, switch them on and set the program you like. You dont have to wait for it to finish, they can switch off automatically and/or keep warming the food.

   Similar goes for rice cookers which are around 20 dollars and require just water and setting the program.

   Rice is very cheap (10 kilos for around 15-20 dollars) and can be stored without problems for longer than a year. It satisfies nutritional needs in the same way at least if not better as bread and other pastry products. And you can have it fresh out of your cooker in 15-20 minutes unlike bread (baking takes longer and costs more).

   Posted 1 year ago #
2. 

   noskich
   

   Apprentice
   Joined: Oct '11
   Posts: 76

   And yeah, obviously since you have three levels in a three tier steamer you can steam lots of food all in one go.

   Posted 1 year ago #
3. 

   frugalinCalifornia
   

   Apprentice
   Joined: Sep '11
   Posts: 37

   I agree. We eat a lot of rice as well as steamed chicken and vegetables. I have a stainless steel steamer I bought on Amazon to avoid the nonstick coating. I make hard boiled eggs in the steamer, too.

   I would be interested if anyone has any more exotic steamer recipes to share.

   Posted 1 year ago #
4. 

   mikeBOS
   

   Master
   Joined: Nov '10
   Posts: 554

   I steam most my vegetables. Unless I'm doing a stir fry.

   I got a free steamer pot from a friend that I use now. I used to use one of those fold-up metal steamer baskets that you put right into a pot you already have. I'm sure I paid less than $5 for that thing.

   Posted 1 year ago #
5. 

   bigato
   

   Master
   Joined: Mar '11
   Posts: 920

   I have doubts about how much one should avoid using oil. I agree that abusing it is not good, but avoiding it at all? I don't know.

   If the health matters to you, it's important to remember that white polished rice is not healthy at all. But it is sure much cheaper and less worse than if you buy bread. While wheat is the diet basis of most of ocidental civilization, rice is the diet basis of the oriental people. Analysing their health should tell something about this difference. But any refined cereal is not good for your health, be it on bread or on rice.

   Posted 1 year ago #
6. 

   HSpencer
   

   Master
   Joined: Jul '10
   Posts: 770

   Steam your rice until fluffy and moist, not sticky. You can use the electric steamer or the stove top method with a steamer pan set up. The important thing is the rice not be steamed until it sticks together.
   To a bed or steamed rice, add several (many) cubes of pan fried Top Sirloin Steak, fried and turned often to a rich well done condition. Add cubed beef to top of rice. With a gravy made from the beef frying greases and flour, add seasons as you like and pour a moderate amount of the beef gravy over the beef and rice. Place the prepared beef tips and rice in oven at 350 degrees for about 5-8 minutes or until the top of the rice begins to brown slightly, searing the gravy into the rice. Serve right out of oven. I like to also have a side dish of sliced fresh tomatoes and of course a couple of Ice Cold (cold enough to crack the enamel on your teeth) George Killian's Lager with this!

   Posted 1 year ago #

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