Friday, March 2, 2012

Steamed Omelet Bowl

"When arguing with a stone an egg is always wrong."
 - African Proverb

Hello my friend.  It's Friday!  It's Friday!  If you take the proper perspective every day can be your Friday.  Now, there's something to ponder.  Have a terrific day and add a smile onto someone's face along your way.

What is one of Chucky's favorite foods?  The one that may prevent him from every becoming a future vegan?  Yes ~ it's the egg.  Just behind an egg over easy, just about any other combination of a egg is favored by Chucky.  This includes the omelet.

Steamed omelet with green salsa on top

Ordinarily Tiffany will get out the cast iron skillet to make our omelets.  Of course, there is nothing wrong with this and they're quite delicious.  Then comes a bamboo steamer into my life.  I truly did not understand what I was missing until I read a blog which promoted bamboo steaming over any other kind of steaming.  The blogger promoted the benefits of bamboo over my conventional metal steamer pans and the electric appliance type.

Wow was this blogger ever right!  Life has not been the same in the Tiffany & Chucky household since our first bamboo steamer purchase about a week ago.  Steamed veggies simply never tasted the same before.  No oils, no sprays, and no frying.  Just pure essence of whatever is placed into the steamer basket with all of its glorious nutrition!

Being the inquisitive one I began searching the Internet looking for things to make in my new steamer.  The variety of foods is incredible.  I suppose that's why the Chinese have stuck with this most wonderful cooking apparatus for more than just a few years ago?  It cooks, it keeps warm and it serves perfectly cooked foods that are not mushy, overly-wet or having nutrition completely removed. 

During my searching I noted numerous egg and omelet meals.  Why not, huh?  This contraption is supposed to be so good.  So here goes one of my quick 'n simple creations using our new bamboo steamer.  Get up early, toss the ingredients into the bowls, prepare the steamer, let it go, and get dressed while you wait for your breakfast to cook!  SUPER easy clean-up too.  Food never actually comes into contact with the bamboo using this method.  Clean your bowls and clean your wok.  Absolutely delicious!

Think about the variations.  Onion, pepper, asparagus, zucchini, squash, broccoli, olive, jalapeno pepper, potato, etc.  It's limitless.  What do you have in your fridge that needs to be cooked before it spoils?  

Later on I will try a vegan variation using Ener-G egg replacer.  I'll keep you posted once I have tried it.  Until then, please enjoy this mornings most fabulous breakfast in the pictures below.

Step 1 - Add water into wok and turn heat to HIGH.
Step 2 - Add first bamboo steamer rack.
Step 3 - As water heats, add fresh spinach into bowls that have
been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.
Step 4 - Add sliced mushroom.
Step 5 - Add diced celery.
Step 6 - Add diced bread.
Step 7 - Add crumbled blue cheese.
Step 8 - Add 1/4 carton egg beater into each bowl.
Step 9 - Salt & pepper and place first bowl onto steamer tray.
Step 10 - Add second tray and add second bowl.
Step 11 - Cover steamer trays.
Step 12 - Set time to 20-minutes.
Step 13 - A healthy and scrumptious breakfast is served!

As surprising as it may seem, the bread crumbs were not mushy.  Instead, my diced rosemary bread cubes were delightfully chewy and a perfect accompaniment to the the omelet.  This is a very low calorie concoction.  Only 30-calories for the Kirkland (Costco) Egg Starts.  The only real calories are in the single slice of bread and approximate ounce of blue cheese used in each dish.  Because I can toss in whatever I want each time, the variations to this omelet are endless.

This steamed omelet tastes MUCH better than it's fried counterpart.  Because the entire dish is contained within a bowl and because it's steamed instead of fried, the juices of every ingredient meld into a perfect melody of taste.  The juices of the fresh spinach, the creaminess of the melted blue cheese, and the juices of the mushroom perform the River dance of delight upon my tongue.

Hi-dee hi-dee yet-another-reminder-how-simple-can-be-so-healthy-and-delicious-ho my friend!

2 comments:

  1. Have you tried tofu scramble? I promise it's really good! (Plus, no cholesterol and no cruelty :)

    You just use a block of firm tofu + 1tsp tumeric instead of the eggs: http://www.powered-by-produce.com/2010/04/26/meatless-monday-30-more-delicious-tofu-scrambles/

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  2. Thanks for the blog comment Powered By Produce.

    Yes, I am guilty of using commercial egg sources in some of my meals (Kirkland's Egg Starts). However, I've gotten better for using locally hatched organic free-range chicken eggs. I happen to have several friends who have visited the local farmer and can attest to the humane treatment.

    I don't know whether I'll ever make it to an egg-free vegetarian but I strive to make simple changes when I am able (and willing?). But I can promise to try substituting tofu for my egg in my scrambles soon. I'm suspecting that a bamboo steamer might just be a block of tofu's best friend.

    I'll let you know when I do substitute tofu. Have a truly wonderful day!

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