Appetizing Muse

Wilbert and I were going to barbeque chicken today, but for some unknown reason we both decided to cook inside the house. He took half the chicken and made Arroz con Pollo, and I seasoned and steamed the other half. Both poultry dishes turned out well. I also ate a small bowl of my husband's famous Spanish rice.

I have yet to convince Wilbert of the benefits of steam-cooking, although he does like my steamed meatballs and fresh broccoli. I don't steam-cook as often as I'd like, mainly because my Rival unit is rather large and bulky. I keep it on a high shelf in my kitchen, and only bring it down when I have a good quantity of food to cook. The unit comes with a large steamer basket mainly used for rice, and another container with holes to allow moisture and grease to drain. I've had the steamer since 1997. It was one of the few things other than my oldest child Foofer that I managed to hang onto following my second divorce in 2001.

My birthday is coming up at the end of the month, so I told Wilbert that I'd like a new steamer. The old one works fine, but has none of the fancy digital features included with newer models. I particularly fancy the Rival Model FSD200 (pictured above), which has an eight-quart capacity with a removable middle divider.