Saturday, April 2, 2011
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Green Beans steamed in a 700-watt microwave oven
Place a microwave-safe package of green beans in a dish, cut off one corner, and microwave for the amount of time suggested in the directions. This is a one-pound bag and the directions specify 3 minutes.
Because this oven is only 700 watts, I gave them 3 minutes, tried one when they had cooled for a few minutes, then gave them another three minutes. They were still crunchy but not raw. I think 5 minutes with no pause might be better.
The beans should still be crunchy enough to enjoy chilled with lemon, oil, and
garlic, or served warm with butter. A versatile food, easily prepared!
To see a full set of photographs showing how this dish was made, go to this set on flickr. (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.) The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it. If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).
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| A pound of "French Beans" microwaved in the bag |
The beans should still be crunchy enough to enjoy chilled with lemon, oil, and
garlic, or served warm with butter. A versatile food, easily prepared!
To see a full set of photographs showing how this dish was made, go to this set on flickr. (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.) The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it. If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).
Sunday, March 27, 2011
More experiments
Yes, it works. Angel Hair pasta can be cooked in a coffee pot!
Higher up on the scale of iffy equipment, we've been trying various combinations of pasta, water, and time in the small microwave oven. This is all working out pretty well too; The 2-quart Pyrex measuring pitcher is doing the heavy lifting again.
P.S. Alice has reminded me about Johnnie Depp ironing cheese sandwiches for Joon.
Higher up on the scale of iffy equipment, we've been trying various combinations of pasta, water, and time in the small microwave oven. This is all working out pretty well too; The 2-quart Pyrex measuring pitcher is doing the heavy lifting again.
P.S. Alice has reminded me about Johnnie Depp ironing cheese sandwiches for Joon.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Plumbing the Mysteries
I have a special container for boiling pasta in the microwave oven. It comes with arcane directions for measuring the pasta just so, then put water up to one of 4 lines, then microwave with the lid off. I think it would work just as well in my large pyrex measuring cup, and anyway, the special pasta boiling container won't fit in the dorm-size oven... so watch this space. Or anyway, watch this blog! We are experimenting.
Fresh English Peas
We found fresh shelled English peas at Sam's Club, two 12-ounce packages bundled together. We are going to steam them in a small microwave steamer, called a "Mini Steamer", in a 700 watt microwave oven.
To the mini steamer, add 1 cup of water below the basket.
Pour one 12-ounce bagful of fresh peas into the steamer basket. They fit nicely. Cover the steamer.
Directions on the package of peas call for 3 minutes, but, assuming that means a full-size oven, and because the peas are compactly held in this small steamer, I gave them 6 minutes. That turned out to be about right.
(If you are cooking frozen peas, they are already partially cooked, but then you are starting the cooking process while they are still frozen. The best thing to do is start with 3 minutes and then check.)
Empty cooked peas into a bowl and serve with butter or other seasoning, or chill for use in salad.
To see a full set of photographs showing how this dish was made, go to this set on flickr. (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.) The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it. If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).
To the mini steamer, add 1 cup of water below the basket.
Pour one 12-ounce bagful of fresh peas into the steamer basket. They fit nicely. Cover the steamer.
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| Fresh English peas in a mini steamer |
(If you are cooking frozen peas, they are already partially cooked, but then you are starting the cooking process while they are still frozen. The best thing to do is start with 3 minutes and then check.)
Empty cooked peas into a bowl and serve with butter or other seasoning, or chill for use in salad.
To see a full set of photographs showing how this dish was made, go to this set on flickr. (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.) The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it. If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Rice Steamed in a Hot Pot
Another successful dormitory work-around! Rice, steamed in the lowly hot pot.
We usually simmer rice in water, but in Asia, people sometimes soak the rice first, then steam it above boiling water. It was worth a try!
Soak one and a half cups of medium grain white rice in 2 cups of water for 4 hours or more. Drain, rinse, and drain again.
Set a steamer basket into the hot pot over a cup of water. We lined the basket, bottom only, loosely with foil. (I suspect large leaves, such as cabbage leaves, would give better results as the steam could rise through the rice but haven't yet tried it.)
Distribute soaked rice around the steamer basket.
Steam with lid tightly shut until rice has softened - half an hour or more, adding water to the bottom of the pot in trickles as needed.
We usually simmer rice in water, but in Asia, people sometimes soak the rice first, then steam it above boiling water. It was worth a try!
Soak one and a half cups of medium grain white rice in 2 cups of water for 4 hours or more. Drain, rinse, and drain again.
Set a steamer basket into the hot pot over a cup of water. We lined the basket, bottom only, loosely with foil. (I suspect large leaves, such as cabbage leaves, would give better results as the steam could rise through the rice but haven't yet tried it.)
Distribute soaked rice around the steamer basket.
Steam with lid tightly shut until rice has softened - half an hour or more, adding water to the bottom of the pot in trickles as needed.
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| Hot Pot with fluffed white rice |
Unplug the pot, fluff the rice with a fork, and close the lid. Let the rice sit for awhile before serving, to steam and soften some more.
To see a full set of photographs showing how this dish was made, go to this set on flickr. (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.) The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it. If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Microwave Popcorn
1. There are alleged health risks in eating pop-in-the-bag microwave popcorn, though now it's been identified as the butter flavoring, one would think manufacturers will have changed the formula. There are better reasons for avoiding that product: too much trash is produced, and it's a waste of money! The popcorn popper shown here produces popcorn as good or better at a fraction of the cost.
2. Good news is, this microwave popcorn popper fits into the 700 watt oven and works fine! Mine is labelled "Orville Redenbacher" but I think it's made by Presto. 2 Tb. oil, 1/2 cup popcorn at 3 minutes 15 seconds popped it all with no scorching.
The popper will soon pay for itself in what you are not spending on those microwave bags. The "concentrator" - a piece of glorified cardboard that fits in the bottom of the popper - can be used many times before it must be replaced.
To see a full set of photographs showing how this dish was made, go to this set on flickr. (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.) The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it. If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).
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| Popcorn Popper in 700 Watt Microwave Oven |
The popper will soon pay for itself in what you are not spending on those microwave bags. The "concentrator" - a piece of glorified cardboard that fits in the bottom of the popper - can be used many times before it must be replaced.
To see a full set of photographs showing how this dish was made, go to this set on flickr. (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.) The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it. If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).
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