Vegetable steamer

Sunshine_and_Roses

I am having a sort out of my 'appliances that I don't use' cupboard and found an electric three tier vegetable steamer.  I love veg but always boil/stir fry/roast.  Before this goes into the loft can anyone give me inspiration to use it? There are only two of us and it seems more like a family sized appliance.
We are having ham (cooking in the slow cooker) with mash and veg tonight.  I have carrots, asparagus, broccoli, courgette and sweetheart cabbage to choose from, but no idea how long to cook any jn the steamer.
Any help appreciated!! 

rhcp

I have a steamer and only need to use the bottom tier.  You shouldn't need to have all three tiers stacked up.  I find that the potatoes and veg only need 15 mins in the steamer to cook.  Also a lot less washing up!

Silvertabby

I had one of these, but found it far more of a faff than a help.

I now have a universal steamer insert (Lakeland Ltd) which fits on top of normal saucepans.  Spuds in the pan, veggies in the steamer.  I'll see if I can find a pic for you.

Here you go.  This one is £27.99 (have had mine for years) but there are probably cheaper options out there.

Farway

I have something similar to SilverT, just fits on top of normal  pan

Emm-in-a-pickle

I have a 3 tier electric steamer and have put it into storage. When I was still working I thought it was great - put veg in, set timer, and sit down till it goes `ping`. Best things about using it were it can`t boild dry (like a forgotten pan when you`ve done a 12 hour shift and aren`t very attentive...) and cooking rice in the rice dish that came with it. Since I retired I was using it a lot less, and reverted to my old steamer as pictured above - mainly because I realised how much steam escaped into the kitchen from it, it made tit`s corner of the kitchen quite damp! Cooking on the hob with the old fashioned type doesn`t steam the kitchen up.

Islandmaid

Trade it for one of these, takes up next to no room 👍

https://www.johnlewis.com/john-lewis-partners-collapsible-steamer-basket-23cm/p639283?sku=232366519&s_ppc=2dx92700053279223425&tmad=c&tmcampid=2&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIq-Gc1_zR6QIVV-vtCh2RcQKPEAQYASABEgIRffD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

avoidtheupsidedownbottles

Or use a saucer like Granny used to do

Farway

Islandmaid said:

Trade it for one of these, takes up next to no room 👍

https://www.johnlewis.com/john-lewis-partners-collapsible-steamer-basket-23cm/p639283?sku=232366519&s_ppc=2dx92700053279223425&tmad=c&tmcampid=2&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIq-Gc1_zR6QIVV-vtCh2RcQKPEAQYASABEgIRffD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

I had something like that, worked well but eventually one of the legs came off

olgadapolga

clareski said:

Before this goes into the loft can anyone give me inspiration to use it? There are only two of us and it seems more like a family sized appliance.

The only thing I would add is that steamed vegetables taste SO much nicer than boiled ones - more flavour and a nicer texture (but I hate soggy vegetables). If there are just the two of you, most of the vegetables you are planning to eat will fit in a single tier.