Appliance Appraisal #3 and #4!

My trusty 'mechanical food steamer' (appliance #3) has been around for three years.  This appliance has done wonders for me and even the Queen Bee bought her own in order to offer tasty, puréed treats when I'm visiting.  The pictures on the left of the appliance indicate how many minutes for cooking anything from fish/chicken to broccoli.  Hands-down, I have used this appliance the most for cooking cauliflower while following SCD.

Since this is a mechanical steamer, I don't have to deal with issues of scorching a pot by not adding enough water (there is a line to fill the water to, inside the appliance).  Also, I simply set the timer and I can run an errand or go to a step class and not be tied-down to a running stove.  I often set it for an hour, right before leaving the house, and then come back to finish the "work"part of making my food...which leads me to appliance numéro quatre....

 

One of the options after cooking/steaming my veggies with the mechanical food steamer, is to use a hand-held immersion blender (appliance #4) to purée the food.  I bought this for my trip to Québec this summer, since it's so compact and easy to fit in my suitcase.  I would definitely recommend it for travel use on SCD.  Overall, it requires more effort and patience than working with a food processor, but it still produces similar results: puréed foods.

With a food processor, I can place everything in it and let the blender work it's magic.  With this appliance, I'm the one moving the immersion stick around and making sure that I don't splatter the food all over the counter.  It doesn't require a lot of "work", but it does require more patience and focus...although, the fact that it's so easy to clean (only one piece) puts this appliance up a couple of notches!

So, for you SCD chefs out there or those aspiring to be, my final verdict on these two appliances would be that "I can't imagine cooking without" the mechanical steamer and the immersion blender should "be used when necessary" (when traveling, not cooking large quantities, or when not wanting more to clean).  For those of you not on SCD, could you see yourself using either of these appliances to create more time in your life? How about for making puréed soups during this winter season?

~Andréa