Remember the 80’s when microwaves were all the rage? Everyone was taking classes at community education in using a microwave. It was really the first new thing to come along in the cooking world for a long time. Everyone was trying to roast a turkey or bake a pie in the microwave—and a hot dog went from package to plate in just over a minute. It gave us lots of snacking possibilities with the ultimate abbreviated cooking.
I have an entire shelf in my cookbook room of titles like “Favorite Recipes from the Microwave Times” (a now-defunct newsletter), “The Joy of Microwaving”, “Microwave Fruits and Vegetables”, “Microwave Baking & Desserts”, “Microwave Miracles” and that’s just a beginning.
What happened? Microwave ovens are still extremely popular, but the serious cook has learned that some foods just don’t do well in the microwave for tenderness, color and texture. Thus, for some households, the microwave oven has been relegated to popping corn and re-heating leftovers. That’s too bad because this appliance is really useful for hundreds of things if you just know what they are.
Microwaves have improved, too, since the early models. They have more or less power, depending on the size. They usually have revolving trays to insure even cooking; they have lots of automatic and useful settings, a far cry from the first microwave I owned in 1977 that had a timer dial and two speeds. (That oven did yeoman service, however, for at least 15 years).
I decided to scour my books, manuals and articles and then do some experimenting. I have always used my microwave for preparing certain ingredients—heating lemons before juicing, warming eggs for use in recipes, melting chocolate—to name a few. But I rarely use it for main dishes, desserts or other full courses.
Here is a list of useful things that the microwave oven can do:
Soften cream cheese from the refrigerator for easy spreading or using in recipes. Remove foil wrapper and heat uncovered in bowl on 50% (medium) for 1 to 1-1/2 minutes for 8 ounces.
Plump raisins quickly. Sprinkle 1 to 2 tsp. water over raisins. Cover with plastic wrap. Microwave on high 30-60 seconds.
Soften brown sugar. Close plastic bag with string or plastic strip or place brown sugar in a microwave-safe dish and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave on high for 20-30 seconds. If you put an apple slice in the bag or dish, lumps will soften in 10 or 15 seconds.
Warm syrup for pancakes in the serving pitcher or uncapped bottle.
Get bonus juice from lemons, limes and oranges. Take from refrigerator; microwave on high for 25-30 seconds before cutting and squeezing.
Shell nuts. Retrieve whole nuts, not broken pieces by microwaving 8 ounces of nuts in 1 cup water 4 to 5 minutes on high.
Blanch almonds quickly. Microwave 1 cup water until boiling. Add almonds. Microwave 30 seconds on high. Drain and skin.
Soften butter. Heat a stick in its own wrapper (unless it’s wrapped in foil) for 10 seconds. Check for softness after 7 or 8 seconds. Place wrapped butter on a plate first in case you go a little too far.
Make corn starch puddings and pudding mixes in one bowl. Just stir every 2 minutes until pudding thickens. No scorching or lumping—and just one bowl.
Some may disagree with me on the quality of microwave defrosting. Most meats and casseroles defrost very successfully IF you are very careful about the timing. Fish is an exception—it is really hard to defrost fish completely without cooking some parts which renders a very dry fish—ugh! But for the most part, gone are the days when you come home from work having forgotten to take out meat for dinner and exasperatingly try to figure out what to have. Ground beef always defrosts well in the microwave, as do chops and chicken.
One of the most successful meals I have made in the microwave is meatloaf and baked potatoes. During the heat of the summer, we rarely have oven meals—and occasionally I get tired of the typical summer foods of salads and grilled food—so here’s a way to have a good, old-fashioned comfort food meal without heating up your kitchen:
Meatloaf
¾ cup ketchup
¼ cup brown sugar (packed)
¾ tsp. dry mustard
¼ tsp. allspice
1 ½ lbs. ground chuck
3 slices day-old bread, saturated in milk and then squeezed dry
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup lemon juice
¼ cup chopped onion
2 tsp. seasoned salt
6 very thin lemon slices
Mix first 4 ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. In large bowl, using hands, mix egg, bread, lemon juice, onion and salt. Don’t over mix or meatloaf will be tough. Mold into a rounded flat loaf in 9-inch pie plate. Spread half of sauce over meat and arrange lemon slices on top. Cover tightly with plastic wrap; prick wrap with a fork four places to vent. Microwave on high approximately 15 -20 minutes. Remove meatloaf from oven and let stand 5 minutes. Spread remaining sauce over loaf before serving.
I have an entire shelf in my cookbook room of titles like “Favorite Recipes from the Microwave Times” (a now-defunct newsletter), “The Joy of Microwaving”, “Microwave Fruits and Vegetables”, “Microwave Baking & Desserts”, “Microwave Miracles” and that’s just a beginning.
What happened? Microwave ovens are still extremely popular, but the serious cook has learned that some foods just don’t do well in the microwave for tenderness, color and texture. Thus, for some households, the microwave oven has been relegated to popping corn and re-heating leftovers. That’s too bad because this appliance is really useful for hundreds of things if you just know what they are.
Microwaves have improved, too, since the early models. They have more or less power, depending on the size. They usually have revolving trays to insure even cooking; they have lots of automatic and useful settings, a far cry from the first microwave I owned in 1977 that had a timer dial and two speeds. (That oven did yeoman service, however, for at least 15 years).
I decided to scour my books, manuals and articles and then do some experimenting. I have always used my microwave for preparing certain ingredients—heating lemons before juicing, warming eggs for use in recipes, melting chocolate—to name a few. But I rarely use it for main dishes, desserts or other full courses.
Here is a list of useful things that the microwave oven can do:
Soften cream cheese from the refrigerator for easy spreading or using in recipes. Remove foil wrapper and heat uncovered in bowl on 50% (medium) for 1 to 1-1/2 minutes for 8 ounces.
Plump raisins quickly. Sprinkle 1 to 2 tsp. water over raisins. Cover with plastic wrap. Microwave on high 30-60 seconds.
Soften brown sugar. Close plastic bag with string or plastic strip or place brown sugar in a microwave-safe dish and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave on high for 20-30 seconds. If you put an apple slice in the bag or dish, lumps will soften in 10 or 15 seconds.
Warm syrup for pancakes in the serving pitcher or uncapped bottle.
Get bonus juice from lemons, limes and oranges. Take from refrigerator; microwave on high for 25-30 seconds before cutting and squeezing.
Shell nuts. Retrieve whole nuts, not broken pieces by microwaving 8 ounces of nuts in 1 cup water 4 to 5 minutes on high.
Blanch almonds quickly. Microwave 1 cup water until boiling. Add almonds. Microwave 30 seconds on high. Drain and skin.
Soften butter. Heat a stick in its own wrapper (unless it’s wrapped in foil) for 10 seconds. Check for softness after 7 or 8 seconds. Place wrapped butter on a plate first in case you go a little too far.
Make corn starch puddings and pudding mixes in one bowl. Just stir every 2 minutes until pudding thickens. No scorching or lumping—and just one bowl.
Some may disagree with me on the quality of microwave defrosting. Most meats and casseroles defrost very successfully IF you are very careful about the timing. Fish is an exception—it is really hard to defrost fish completely without cooking some parts which renders a very dry fish—ugh! But for the most part, gone are the days when you come home from work having forgotten to take out meat for dinner and exasperatingly try to figure out what to have. Ground beef always defrosts well in the microwave, as do chops and chicken.
One of the most successful meals I have made in the microwave is meatloaf and baked potatoes. During the heat of the summer, we rarely have oven meals—and occasionally I get tired of the typical summer foods of salads and grilled food—so here’s a way to have a good, old-fashioned comfort food meal without heating up your kitchen:
Meatloaf
¾ cup ketchup
¼ cup brown sugar (packed)
¾ tsp. dry mustard
¼ tsp. allspice
1 ½ lbs. ground chuck
3 slices day-old bread, saturated in milk and then squeezed dry
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup lemon juice
¼ cup chopped onion
2 tsp. seasoned salt
6 very thin lemon slices
Mix first 4 ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. In large bowl, using hands, mix egg, bread, lemon juice, onion and salt. Don’t over mix or meatloaf will be tough. Mold into a rounded flat loaf in 9-inch pie plate. Spread half of sauce over meat and arrange lemon slices on top. Cover tightly with plastic wrap; prick wrap with a fork four places to vent. Microwave on high approximately 15 -20 minutes. Remove meatloaf from oven and let stand 5 minutes. Spread remaining sauce over loaf before serving.
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