high-tech stuff

The recent fad in microwaves that dual as an oven is the steam function. Sharp brand claims to have created an oven (named the Healthio - or "heru-she-oh," in Japanized English) which zaps away the fat in meat and other foods, equating to less calories - a dream for the everyday health-conscious folk or dieter.

Other brands were quick to follow suit...CHEF CHEF (of sche-fu sche-fu in 'Japanese) by Panasonic (I think?) and STEAM oven ER-D7 by Toshiba, which is what I have recently purchased online. The original Healthio ran around 70-100,000yen (around 700 dollars!!!) so most housewives could only covet it, imagining the day they could afford it after the house mortgage, kid's education fees, and so on. Though the good news is, the prices are coming down, down, down these days.

I bought it through www.kakaku.com, Japan's number one price-comparison site, especially concerning electronics. The prices are substantially lower than major electronics stores due to MUCH less overhead costs. The website offers users of machines to rate goods, making it easier for future purchasers to make a decision. I was torn between the two models pictured (the blue one is sooo jazzy, don't you think???) but the reviews for the flashier, cooler looking model were poor...resulting in my purchase of the simple, silver ER-D7.

I am a firm believer in making do with what one has, meaning try not to replace something until you really need to. I quite liked my old microwave/oven and it still works as good as new, two years later...though it has been driving me nuts (poor capacity) in recent days. Having a bread machine is another great factor in my recent, bigger (30L) purchase. For those of you who do not know, Japanese microwaves predominantly have an oven feature built in, due to space limitations in the kitchen. There is no way one can fit both a big oven and microwave in the narrow kitchens here! Microwave-oven-in-1 is very convenient.

So today I am 30,000yen poorer (ouch...this is why one buys housewares and electronics for one's home one step at a time!) but soon to be a happy owner of a new oven that can make pizzas that taste like they have been cooked on an Italian pizza stone and baguette!