Kitchen renovation - suggestions for microwave cooking?
TotalRecipeHound asked:
My relative is planning a kitchen renovation for the summer. Most meals will be cooked either on the grill or in a microwave. Can anybody recommend a book on microwave cooking that is GOOD!? I’ve had a couple of microwave cooking cookbooks in the past, but the results were less than great, so got rid of them. Suggestions welcome. They can’t grill when it is raining or windy because it is an unprotected area.
Question posted courtesy of: Ellen
My relative is planning a kitchen renovation for the summer. Most meals will be cooked either on the grill or in a microwave. Can anybody recommend a book on microwave cooking that is GOOD!? I’ve had a couple of microwave cooking cookbooks in the past, but the results were less than great, so got rid of them. Suggestions welcome. They can’t grill when it is raining or windy because it is an unprotected area.
Question posted courtesy of: Ellen
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May 7th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
Goodness, I sympathize! I just got done finishing the painting from my kitchen redo, and I’m exhausted!
Rather than try to get a cookbook, my suggestion is that your relative cook various meals and freeze them in individual portions. Then it is just a heat and eat, and tastes good.
Good luck…that’s a lot, lot, lot of work!
May 10th, 2008 at 5:33 pm
shame on you you cant cook in radiation
May 12th, 2008 at 1:10 am
Well–you have a computer, apparently–use it–Plenty of micro-recipes on the web!!
May 13th, 2008 at 3:50 am
Most microwave cookbooks attempt to cook all kinds of questionable things in an effort to make you think you can do almost anything in a microwave oven. But you can’t, at least not well.
You can cook vegetables in a covered casserole in the microwave oven. You can cook potatoes this way, but you can also roast potatoes on a grill.
I suggest an electic frying pan and maybe a rice cooker to supplement the microwave.
May 14th, 2008 at 1:18 am
We just finished (well almost) a complete kitchen rennovation. We did a lot of the work ourselves so it took a lot longer than we expected. We moved our old regrigerator to the laundry room, and we had an old electric frying pan, an outside grill, a crockpot and a microwave. We eventually bought a toaster oven and a 2 burner butane hotplate. Basically, we cooked about everything that we would normally cook in a real kitchen on those few appliances.
Other than corn and popcorn, I really didn’t use my microwave for much except reheating leftovers. I used the crockpot a lot which was quick and easy, but the toaster oven and hotplate were the two things I used the most.
Tell your relative to invest in a toaster oven with temperature controls. We baked everything in there, from baked potatoes to small roasts. Also, tell her to add at least 2 months to any renovation project…it always takes longer than you think it will. Tell her it will all be worth it in the end. I still have a concrete floor, but I LOVE my new kitchen.
Best of luck!!
May 14th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
Anyone who has taken a junior high school home ec class knows the microwaves do not cause radiation poisoning.
Actually, you can cook more than leftovers in a microwave. I have a wonderful recipe for homemade macaroni and cheese that’s made in the microwave (except for the cooking of the macaroni itself). Most people have not tried anything beyond leftovers and frozen meals so they incorrectly assume you cannot.
The best microwave cookbook I’ve ever seen was the one that came with my mom’s late 1970s Litton microwave (my macaroni and cheese recipe is from that cookbook). This wasn’t some odd recipes included with the instruction manual, but an actual hardbound cookbook. Unfortunately, I am not sure you can buy it without scouring garage sales, used book stores, or eBay.
My only other suggestion would be to check Amazon for microwave cookbooks and read the reviews associated with each cookbook. I’ve found the Amazon reviews quite helpful in determining whether a product or book is worth the money or not.
Good luck!