I think people who don’t have a MW simply don’t know what they’re missing. Just the re-heating factor or being able to defrost something quickly to cook conventionally is worth the price.
During a hurricane we had a small MW that we could plug in (use with a generator) (our main MW was a built-in) and it was an absolute lifesaver. Just to boil water or heat a can of beans.
@alooknac – I do love baked potatoes in the oven. So I MW for enough minutes to soften them up and then throw them in the oven for about 20-30 minutes. Saves time and heat but tastes great.
@BunsenBurner I have a Miele steam oven which I hardly ever use, mainly because I misplaced (threw away :)) )
the instruction / recipe book. If you have a rec for some good recipes / books, pls share. Thanks!
As for the microwave, I would never reheat coffee, I’d rather drink it cold/iced, than rehaet.
I use the microwave a couple of times a month for reheating food. I’ve made a concerted effort to only cook what we can eat at that meal; there was a time I was throwing away more than we were eating because it would sit in the fridge so long, it was inedible. and THAT is sinful!
Meh on the idea that microwaves promote unhealthy eating or harms the food. I’ve been accused of being a bit of a health nut and the microwave is just one other tool to heat healthy food, too. We never buy TV dinners, prepared foods or boxed mixes. Heck, I even home can my own tomatoes, but if I don’t manage to can enough for the whole year I will sometimes buy canned tomatoes, but that’s the only canned veggie I buy. If you looked at my grocery cart, it’s something like 70% produce and the rest grains, dried beans, chicken, beef, eggs, milk. No pre-prepared foods - I cook from scratch. And the microwave is one of the ways I do that. Has nothing to do with healthy or not.
And for those of us who live in hot climates, heating in the microwave is a godsend because it doesn’t heat the house nearly as much as cooking on the stove top does.
Use my microwave most days. I don’t reheat yesterday’s coffee, but I nurse my 2nd cup and will warm it up most mornings (if I put it aside while I blow dry my hair, for instance.). Other uses:
Morningstar veggie burgers
Melt cheese on tortillas (for fajitas, shrimp tacos)
Frozen riced cauliflower
Frozen edamame
Frozen chopped spinach
Sweet potatoes (whole)
Baked potatoes
Oatmeal (multi-grain no sugar added)
Morningstar vegetarian suasage links
Popcorn
Melting chocolate for Christmas bark which I make instead of cookies
Soften brown sugar because I only use it once or twice a year
Reheat non-meat leftovers
So, don’t see how any of my uses are promoting unhealthy eating!
I have an old wiring system and microwaves were blowing the fuse in my kitchen, so I no longer have one. I do most reheating stovetop in a small frying pan or small saucepan. I also have one of those metal camping pots that is great for heating one mug’s worth of something.
I need my microwave. I do a lot of reheating. And I also eat plenty of Trader Jos’s frozen meals when I’m busy. Not having a microwave is like not having a dishwasher. I like modern conveniences.
I could make do without one but I appreciate the convenience for many things and it is excellent for certain purposes.
Tonight, I defrosted some pesto I made last week and froze from a batch of basil I wanted to use up. I also used it to cook the corn on the cob we ate. For lunch, I used it to heat up the leftover corn chowder from Friday’s dinner. (Can’t get enough corn right now )
For popcorn, we always do it the old fashioned way on the stove top, though.
I don’t eat much processed or frozen food but I do use my microwave to prepare healthy stuff like steaming fish and veggies. I love to use it to make perfectly steamed asparagus.
I like to cook fairly large quantities of things as I cook from scratch - sometimes fairly complex stuff that takes a lot of time - and like to have healthy food on hand when I can’t do all the prep. so reheating (or defrosting/heating) is A Thing I Do.
Yes! I just saw that post, definitely look online. I mostly steam cook dumplings or veggies. There is one sort of dumplings that is more like a steam bun… takes about 40 minutes to steam. I’ll post a recipe when I’m done grilling dinner.
New England corn is down to 20 cents each at my market. I now always MW it. But Ido know how to boil it.
Just saying, this thread is amusing. There’s another recent one about whether our kids know how to do certain things we grew up doing. How quickly we forget the skills we needed when younger. How did you reheat coffee back in the day, OHMom?
My Kuerig recently failed and I had to do my own jig to make coffee. I used a fine mesh strainer and poured boiling water over grounds, waited. And waited. OhMom, there are camper sized cone set ups. I thnk some fold up. You can use a paper towel if you don’t have filters. But not a napkin. Camping skills help, in so many ways.
I do know some folks who believe microwaves cause cancer or take the nutrients out of food. Poor them.
I grew up without a microwave oven, but after my parents got one around '80, I have rarely been without one (except when living overseas). I have 7 kids and consider myself an expert in microwave cooking. At times we’ve had 2 microwaves in our kitchen. When my built-in broke, I bought a cheap countertop one the next day–because who knew how long it would take to order and install a new built-in? I can live without a microwave, but I’m very very unhappy and annoyed after a day or two without one! With a houseful of people, we use it constantly.
I use the stovetop and regular oven a lot, too. A few years ago I went back to stovetop popcorn, and that’s one thing I never make in the microwave anymore. But for a lot of things, the microwave is easier, cleaner, faster, safer, and cooler.
Microwaved food does NOT cause cancer. That said, I do not recommend standing next to the microwave while your stuff is being reheated. You can cook some of your body’s cells inadvertently. Do you know that the FDA is involved in your kitchen appliance safety?
And believe it or not I have perfected a 5 second warmup of a hard stick of butter when I need to spread some on toast or a sandwich. I use it to steam broccoli, asparagus and beans. I don’t reheat much and cannot think of anything else but not sure I can live without one
I live in a very hot climate and I love my microwave for heating water for tea and for making oatmeal. I don’t want the heat or the humidity that goes along with boiling water.
I do a poached egg in the MW every workday morning to take to work in a small reusable container. Lightly butter the container, One poke of the yolk, sprinkle with kosher salt and pepper, 45 seconds at 70%!
I remember getting our first MW for a wedding gift in 1981. Which seemed to necessitate the invention of the “microwave cart” that many kitchens including ours had.
The one thing I hate - a dirty microwave. Ewww. Please clean up your splatters!!!
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