08 May 08 Rice Cooker
It’s a fairly common small kitchen appliance. I guess quite a number of you have them. To be honest I resisted for ages. Why? I cannot see the point of buying yet another space-robbing gadget when I can make perfectly good rice in a regular saucepan or even in the microwave.
So why did we get one?
It was my mother actually. She wanted to buy us a steamer. We had one in the UK a few years ago, and bought her one, and she got so hooked on it that she espouses their virtues everywhere (and quite rightly so).
We’ve never gotten around to getting one here, and she wanted to put that right.
Only thing is, we couldn’t find one.
Not like the one she has in England anyway. It has a base, that you put water in, and and a heater to make the steam, and then 2 or 3 stacking plastic containers that fit on top into which you put the food you wish to steam.
Couldn’t find one in the local stores here at all. Only rice cookers, with a small steaming basket, kind of an afterthought.
Anyway, Kathy wanted a rice cooker all along, so Mother bought it.
Kathy and I have always had this cultural food difference you see. I was raised on potatoes as my staple starch food item; she was raised on rice. We compromise, but generally, as I do the cooking (at least during the week), I tend to make potato based dishes more often than rice ones.
Perhaps that will change a bit now, as I have to admit that the rice cooker is SO easy. Let me explain that.
I tend to put food on to cook, and get back to work while it’s doing so. I have to keep interrupting my work of course, to be sure nothing overcooks or burns. That’s what’s easy about the rice cooker of course. I can put in the rice, add the water, flick the lever, and go work, and practically forget about the rice. I tend to use a slow cooker a fair bit for the same reason, and more often than not, if I’m roasting or baking, I do it on a low heat, so I’m not going to get engrossed in my work, and burn stuff.
So, ok, I’ll concede, that sometimes, some gadgets can and do make life a little easier. Now, where can I find an automatic beer maker?
Tags: afterthought, burns, compromise, dishes, England, flick, gadget, local stores, microwave, plastic containers, potatoes, rice cooker, rice cookers, saucepan, slow cooker, small kitchen appliance, starch, steam, steamer, virtues
02 Apr 08 Food
It’s often said that food tastes better the next day.
Well some things do. I can’t say I’m keen on warmed up fries, or cold liver, but many things ARE better the next day.
I almost always eat lunch at home. In fact, we eat most of our meals at home. For starters (excuse the pun) you know what you’re getting, and it’s almost always a whole lot cheaper.
I can’t help but smile at those that complain they have no money, but get 2-3 coffees at starbucks each day, and also breakfast on the way to the office, lunch out while they’re there, and sometimes a meal on the way home too. It’s easy to spend in one day eating out, the same as one would spend on a whole weeks groceries, and that’s not eating in the posh places downtown either!
As I’m more often than not working at home, I usually cook dinner. I try to make a varied selection of meals, and we try to eat as much fresh food as possible. TV dinners are a no-no.
Do we have a weekly plan? Heck no, not usually. I often make up my mind what’s for dinner at around 2pm or sometimes even later. One doesn’t have to spend hours in the kitchen cooking or preparing many meals anyway. I make full use of the microwave too; I don’t take any notice of those that walk around muttering about radioactive food. Oh, and if you only think of a microwave as something to defrost frozen items in, or re-heat leftovers, or the cup of coffee that’s gone cold (yes, I do all of those things too), then you’re missing out.
I often cook fresh vegetables (we try to have something green most mealtimes) in the microwave. Brocolli, cauliflower, asparagus all come out just fine. Potatoes cook great too.
Anyway, I digress. I wasn’t really writing about the virtues of the microwave, just mentioning it as another, perfectly acceptable (in my view) method of cooking.
As a child, my mother would buy a huge piece of beef, and we’d have roast beef dinner on Sunday, cold beef and pickles on Monday, and cottage pie on Tuesday. Now that was getting some mileage. It was a common thing though in England back then. In fact it was so common for housewives to buy a peice of meat on Saturday, big enough to last at least two days, that butchers stores (most of which were family run then) were usually closed on a Monday.
Nowadays I don’t do that, or stick to a routine as such. I don’t cook anything really exciting usually, as I’m busy working most afternoons. I also make use of a crockpot at times as well, and salads are good to eat, particularly in the warmer weather, and a variety of those can be made quite quickly too.
This evening…?
I’m not sure yet.
Tags: 2pm, asparagus, cauliflower, coffees, cottage pie, cup of coffee, fresh food, groceries, leftovers, mealtimes, method of cooking, microwave, office lunch, pickles, pun, starbucks, tv dinners, virtues, whole lot, working at home
