When I was living in New York, a few years ago, in a little 530 square foot studio apartment in the city, in the heart of midtown Manhattan, I used to go to a 24 Hour Fitness gym around the corner from my apartment. Sometimes I would go there the half hour before they closed, not to work out, but simply to enjoy the steam room there.
The woman at the front desk started calling me, "Miss Steam", with her loud Southern voice. She would say, "So how is Miss Steam tonight?" or "Hi, Miss Steam!" or "There's Miss Steam!" And we would both laugh as, clearly, I was not working out, AT ALL, and only there to enjoy the steam room! I would go in for a steam and then leave! I found it so relaxing to be in the steam! A few nights a week! Just a delightful way to end a busy city day...
The reason I am even thinking about this woman, at the front desk, at the gym, who always greeted me as Miss Steam, or even thinking about steaming, is because steaming veggies is good for you too. In a different way. Steam holds all the nutrients in your vegetables. So rather than boiling the nutrition away, and then all the nutrients get left in the wasted water...instead, you retain more nutrients with the steaming method of cooking.
That's my point. Steaming is good for you!
One of my favorite dishes is a chilled asparagus vinaigrette. Steamed asparagus! And this is my fun version of a French veggie side dish. Asparagus with a lemon-caper vinaigrette! I made this up. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy this dish. And I certainly enjoyed making it yesterday.
By the way, I enjoyed the sample I made for this blog! Had it for dinner with a piece of mahi fish! Yum! Perks of the trade. I had a friend sample the asparagus last night too, and he loved it. It passed the test. I hope you enjoy it too.
Goodnight from Maui...
xo
July 7, 2015
Maui, Hawaii...