@barrycooper, thank you for bringing up this subject.
I am a two week old steemian and I think I have stumbled across a method that may help you reward deserving content.
The solution may be on your "Wallet" screen, if I understand the SteemIt interface correctly. A portion of the author rewards go into STEEM Dollars. There is a pull-down next to the dollar amount of STEEM Dollars with a "Transfer" option. It appears that the "Transfer" option will allow you to send STEEM Dollars directly to authors whose content you appreciate. The same "Transfer" option is available for STEEM too.
This "Transfer" option is independent of the upvoting and as far as I know can be done many times (while your balance is greater than zero) without penalty. Best of all, you decide the reward to send and it all goes to the author.
I hope my suggestion helps,
Mike