microwaved!

My wife bugged me enough that i finally bought a desktop, er, countertop microwave. Besides as a place to put things on top of, and for defrosting, which is all I care to use it for, I'll probably have to come up with other uses to justify the thing.

Other than defrosting and cooking, does the microwave do anything worthwhile, like boiling water or some such?

They can be very good for melting chocolate (as an alternative to a double boiler). They also work well for softening organic peanut butter that's stored in the fridge.


Mike

They can be very good for melting chocolate (as an alternative to a double boiler). They also work well for softening organic peanut butter that's stored in the fridge.


Mike

Two good ones.

I always keep a slab of 99% cacao in the fridge to shave on my capuccino and for sundry chocolate needs.

Didn't know there was a way to soften that peanut butter. I usually eat from the new jar and then whatever is left winds up as a glass brick for general repairs and re-pointing...

In addition to reheating leftovers and defrosting, I use it to melt butter, and sometimes take the chill of rock solid ice cream so I can scoop it.

A few of many uses:

1. Reheating leftovers.

2. Making bacon.

3. Warming aromatic sauces.

4. In a pinch, defrosting.

5. Like Linda, melting butter and softening ice cream.

6. Like Mike, softening chocolate.

7. Steaming fish -- a bit of water, a bit of butter -- perfect every time.

8. Making my oatmeal breakfast -- olive oil, rough cut oatmeal, egg whites, sea salt -- 4 minutes on medium low. A perfect little oatmeal cake.

9. Warming plates -- be sure to have a glass of water inside to absorb the rays.

10. Softening onions and carrots in recipes where browning isn't useful.

11. Warm up prepared foods from the Market Basket or delis.

12. Entertaining kids -- here are a few quick recipes that teach as well as entertain: peanut brittle, fudge, tuna au gratin, etc.

13. Warm up wine -- again either in a O glass or with a glass of water if you warm in the wine bottle.

I'm sure there are others -- we find it a really useful device.

Regards, Bob

Here's an easy way to clean the darn thing. Place 2 Tbsp. of lemon juice in 1 cup of water in a 2 cup liquid measuring cup. Microwave on HIGH for 2-3 minutes, until the liquid is boiling. Let the liquid remain in the microwave, without opening the door, for 5 minutes. Remove the measuring cup. The microwave will easily wipe clean with a paper towel.

I try to remember to cover everything to avoid spills -- but ....

A few of many uses:

1. Reheating leftovers.

2. Making bacon.

3. Warming aromatic sauces.

4. In a pinch, defrosting.

5. Like Linda, melting butter and softening ice cream.

6. Like Mike, softening chocolate.
7. Steaming fish -- a bit of water, a bit of butter -- perfect every time.

8. Making my oatmeal breakfast -- olive oil, rough cut oatmeal, egg whites, sea salt -- 4 minutes on medium low. A perfect little oatmeal cake.

9. Warming plates -- be sure to have a glass of water inside to absorb the rays.

10. Softening onions and carrots in recipes where browning isn't useful.

11. Warm up prepared foods from the Market Basket or delis.

12. Entertaining kids -- here are a few quick recipes that teach as well as entertain: peanut brittle, fudge, tuna au gratin, etc.

13. Warm up wine -- again either in a O glass or with a glass of water if you warm in the wine bottle.

I'm sure there are others -- we find it a really useful device.

Regards, Bob

Here's an easy way to clean the darn thing. Place 2 Tbsp. of lemon juice in 1 cup of water in a 2 cup liquid measuring cup. Microwave on HIGH for 2-3 minutes, until the liquid is boiling. Let the liquid remain in the microwave, without opening the door, for 5 minutes. Remove the measuring cup. The microwave will easily wipe clean with a paper towel.

I try to remember to cover everything to avoid spills -- but ....

Thanks for the list and the cleaning tip, Bob.

There's a lot on your list that I might do, but I will never, ever cook in a microwave. Cooking over a flame is one of the things I do that makes me feel alive and good. I will not concede that to a machine, not even to steam fish...

My wife bugged me enough that i finally bought a desktop, er, countertop microwave. Besides as a place to put things on top of, and for defrosting, which is all I care to use it for, I'll probably have to come up with other uses to justify the thing.

Other than defrosting and cooking, does the microwave do anything worthwhile, like boiling water or some such?

Well, I have to say that I despise the microwave for defrosting. If only it could do it evenly instead of starting to cook thin edges or whatever. I've never managed to successfully cook bacon in the microwave either, not to the way I like it. I prefer the grill (what you call broiler).

My favourite uses are for -

heating up drinks,
reheating leftovers
scrambled eggs (using medium to medium low heat),
making white sauce ( i have a thing I put in the jug, which is meant to simulate the stirring)
microwavable popcorn
whole corn on the cob - cooked inside its own packaging
cooking spuds

Cheers,
Sue

Except for the steamed fish, Thomas, I agree completely on not cooking in the microwave. An Oriental fellow on FLDG suggested this way of making steamed fish -- it's so easy, one dish, absolutely fool proof. Cook the fish, make salad while it cooks, and you have a healthy meal in less than five minutes.

I've tried baked potatoes -- but they come out steamed; I've tried boiled potatoes, but they come out cooked unevenly. Unhusked sweet corn can work, but we prefer the grilled version so much more that we rarely eat either boiled or steamed corn. I can't think of any other things I've tried to cook in the microwave, except the kid's dishes.

One other item:

14. Warm up Clive's dinner. Janet thinks he needs warm food, although Clive eats so quickly I'm not sure he notices temps.

Except for the steamed fish, Thomas, I agree completely on not cooking in the microwave. An Oriental fellow on FLDG suggested this way of making steamed fish -- it's so easy, one dish, absolutely fool proof. Cook the fish, make salad while it cooks, and you have a healthy meal in less than five minutes.

I've tried baked potatoes -- but they come out steamed; I've tried boiled potatoes, but they come out cooked unevenly. Unhusked sweet corn can work, but we prefer the grilled version so much more that we rarely eat either boiled or steamed corn. I can't think of any other things I've tried to cook in the microwave, except the kid's dishes.

One other item:

14. Warm up Clive's dinner. Janet thinks he needs warm food, although Clive eats so quickly I'm not sure he notices temps.

Re, Clive. Ours is named Henry, but judging by the way he sucks up food I think we should have named him Oreck. We feed him a raw diet and it needs to be warmed. Maybe a good use for Mr. Micro W.

Both you and Sue mentioned corn on the cob. We grow corn. There is nothing so pleasing as corn pulled and eaten within seconds. Once done, it is hard to eat the stuff any other way. I also enjoy doing popcorn in hot oil over the stovetop; makes me feel young.

I know I am recalcitrant and likely will never warm to the microwave--pun intended.

You reminded me of a conversation our teacher and the rest of the class came up with at the CIA Boot Camp a few years ago, Thomas. Here are a few more uses I had forgotten but have used:

14. Soak smelly sponges in water white vinegar or lemon juice, then heat it on high for 1 minute. The same technique will disinfect sponges used to wipe up after chicken. (I used to use lots of paper towels until I started using this technique -- bacteria counts are non-existent.) [A study at the University of Florida showed kill rates of well over 99% according to our teacher.]

15. Soften brown sugar if time is short. Add a few drops of water, heat for 10 seconds on high.

16. Liquify crystallized honey.

17. Getting more juice from lemons and oranges -- roll them on the counter, cut them in half and heat them open side up for 10 to 20 seconds. Yield improves significantly.

18. Sterilize potting soil.

19. Dry herbs or bread crumbs. [Not for me, but the chef used the technique at home.]

20. Warm wet face clothes -- great facials! 60 seconds on high. Business Class in my kitchen.

And, of course, there are fun and games -- exploding grapes look like fireworks, for example. Not that I would do such a thing, of course.

....And, of course, there are fun and games -- exploding grapes look like fireworks, for example. Not that I would do such a thing, of course.

There is in our house the annual Easter Marshmallow Peeps microwave cook.

Exactly, Howie: Some videos.

Thomas, you may be getting a glimmer of why I posted those cleaning instructions.

Great link Bob - I've been laughing myself silly for the past 5 minutes.

Bob,

Your best for me so far--liquify honey. I might fall in love with microwave if I can do that with ease...

Incidentally, I just boiled water for some green tea. Followed instructions, but the water really didn't boil in the cup.

Next time I'll put a rabbit in it for fun

Other than defrosting and cooking, does the microwave do anything worthwhile, like boiling water or some such?

Er, I'm not sure what else you want it to do. Aren't defrosting and cooking the function of the micro? Of course, if you bought the fancy version with a carousel, you could watch your food go round in circles while it cooks. Some people might find that exciting.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned steaming veggies. Put the veggies in a bowl or whatever, add a very little bit of water, and cover. Micro on high, you get steamed veggies in a blink.

Another use is to thaw/reheat/cook leftover frozen pancakes or waffles (Eggos). Twenty seconds and they're done.

Similarly, if you like steamed bagels.

Also, very useful to "reconstitute" stale Italian or French bread. About 15 seconds on high and the inside of a baguette is soft and edible again.

Useful to finish pasta that you have partially cooked in advance. Makes it easy to serve pasta at a party where you don't want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen.

Mike, I use the microwave to steam spinach and other greens, where we get all the food values and very good results.

I've had much less luck with other vegetables, and use the steamer instead. It's much easier to control for doneness in my experience.

We like Bob's #10 the best. With less oil you can get the onions done while assembling the rest of the sauce, and then just dump the onion in. I challange anyone to tell the difference in the finished product.

The only thing we cook from scratch in ours is summer squash. You slice it fairl thickly and add sliced onion, fine herbs, and EVOO. Nuke twelve minutes on a rotator or four minutes each in three positions.

We also use it a lot for frozen veggies, paticularly spinach and peas. Green and lima beans don't do as well.

You see, my problem is I don't eat frozen vegetables, I rarely have leftovers (it's a sin to leave food on my table ), I dislike most squash, but do love squash blossoms, which I doubt a microwave could treat well, the doc says I no longer can eat baguettes unless they are whole grain--and then they wouldn't be baguettes.

I guess I don't live much of a microwaver's life

But Bob did give me some great suggestions to justify my credit card bill for the thing--and Mike, yeah that rotating plate is mesmerizing. While under its spell I could have sworn I saw the shape of Mother Theresa rising from my cup of not-boiling water. Microwave as entertainment. A new marketing plan!

Tonight, I shall do green tea rice (in a pot) and curried hens (in another pot). I'll warm up the dog's raw lamb in the m'wave...

[Jenise]

My #1 main use for the microwave: tea. I fill a Pyrex quart sized cup with water and a few big pinches of tea leaves, set it for six minutes (old microwave, newer higher wattage machines would require less) which takes it to the optimum heat without boiling. About 15 minutes later I swing by and pour a cup. Perfect tea in one step, and I make tea every day--I'd be lost without it. 2nd most frequent use: melting butter. I also love it for cooking sausages, not raw but the precooked kind like kielbasa. In the microwave, the skin comes out really snappy which I adore--can't get that any other way, either. Otherwise like everyone else, I reheat the occasional leftover.

[Jenise]

Oh, one other thing, though I agree with Bob Ross that nuked baked potatoes are no substitute for real baked, when minutes count I'll warm the potato (and some casseroles) in the microwave and then transfer the food to a real oven to finish. Cuts cooking time without cutting quality.

I'll also start grilled cheese sandwiches in the microwave--20 seconds will insure the cheese melts thoroughly by the time the bread is lightly browned in the skillet.

I'll also start grilled cheese sandwiches in the microwave--20 seconds will insure the cheese melts thoroughly by the time the bread is lightly browned in the skillet.

I do the opposite - make toast, put the cheese in the middle and them microwave for 20 seconds - less fat, but not as tasty. Quick, easy, no mess and my grandson can dunk them in his tomato soup.

Sweet potatoes and yams work very well in a microwave. I cook them for 20 to 30 minutes [depending on size] on a very low setting -- 4 of 10 on my system.

The slow cooking develops the sugars and results in a very rich, complex flavor. And, the mouth feel is exactly the same as in the oven.

Ok, I think I am the odd man out here since I use my microwave all the time. I use it to:

1. Reheat coffee/tea/boil water
2. Cook frozen veggies.
3. Make bake potatoes.
4. Reheat food.
5. Defrost food.
6. Make popcorn
7. Soften/Melt butter
8. Melt chocolate.
9. Make hot chocolate.
10. Make baked apples.
11. Warm muffins.
12. Make nachos
13. Make rice pilaf.
14. cook bacon.
15. Make soup
16. Sanitize my sponges.

We have a basset hound who at various times has needed to take pills. I make a broth/stew from chicken carcasses or lamb bones, freeze icecubes of it, and use microwave to melt/warm so we can crush pills and serve over Lucy's kibble.

In the same vein we freeze stock, use microwave to melt amount needed.

We also:
sanitize sponges
heat leftovers (especially the teen)
defrost meat (though I prefer to defrost slowly if I remember in time)
reheat coffee (on weekends I usually have a cup, turn off maker, take dog for walk to office , reheat coffee on return an hour later)

When I was single I used to steam veggies or fish in microwave. I usually use stovetop now, but did steam some broccoli when stovetop was in use a few weeks ago, hard to say it wasn't as good as stovetop.

I find it a useful tool, but not a serious cookign utensil.