http://www.recfoodcooking.com/
Vote now!
--
Cheers
Chatty Cathy

Omelet wrote on Mon, 19 Mar 2007 09:18:22 -0600:

??>> http://www.recfoodcooking.com/
??>> Vote now!
??>> --
??>> Cheers
??>> Chatty Cathy

O> We use ours almost entirely for re-heating, but there are a
O> few dishes (like steaming veggies) that work well in the MW.
O> I rarely cook meat in it.

I have to admit that most of my use is for defrosting or
reheating. Some simple dishes work quite well, e.g., chicken
breasts covered with chopped onion and tomato sauce or salsa,
also fresh carrots and cauliflower. I quite commonly bake
potatoes there if I am only cooking for one or two. Baked apples
are something that a microwave does very well and I even prefer
them to those cooked in a conventional oven. My Sharp's "frozen
entree" setting works rather well as does reheating the previous
evening's coffee.


James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.comcast.not

James Silverton wrote:

>
> I have to admit that most of my use is for defrosting or reheating. Some
> simple dishes work quite well, e.g., chicken breasts covered with
> chopped onion and tomato sauce or salsa, also fresh carrots and
> cauliflower. I quite commonly bake potatoes there if I am only cooking
> for one or two. Baked apples are something that a microwave does very
> well and I even prefer them to those cooked in a conventional oven. My
> Sharp's "frozen entree" setting works rather well as does reheating the
> previous evening's coffee.

I use mine mainly for defrosting/heating up... I do frozen vegetables
occasionally - that seems to work well... but cooking a whole meal -
can't remember the last time I did - and then I usually use the
'convection' option. I am not a baker, so I cannot speak for those who are.
--
Cheers
Chatty Cathy

In article >,
Chatty Cathy > wrote:

> http://www.recfoodcooking.com/
> Vote now!
> --
> Cheers
> Chatty Cathy

We use ours almost entirely for re-heating, but there are a few dishes
(like steaming veggies) that work well in the MW. I rarely cook meat in
it.
--
Peace, Om

Remove _ to validate e-mails.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a bitch" -- Jack Nicholson

kilikini wrote:

> I use mine for heating up, and that's about it. I also use it to melt
> butter or cheese. I just don't care for nuked food. I usually cook mostly
> fish, so I bake it, sautee it or fry it. Oh, and I always steam my veggies
> on the stove.

Agreed. Veggies come out better that way, IMHO, or roasted. And I do use
the MW sometimes for heating up garlic bread (on the convection option)...

LOL. I got the most use out of my MW when my little one needed
sterilized feed bottles... somebody gave me one of those "MW
steamer/sterilizers"... so it worked overtime a few years ago

--
Cheers
Chatty Cathy

kilikini wrote:
> Chatty Cathy wrote:
>> James Silverton wrote:
>>
>>> I have to admit that most of my use is for defrosting or reheating.
>>> Some simple dishes work quite well, e.g., chicken breasts covered
>>> with chopped onion and tomato sauce or salsa, also fresh carrots and
>>> cauliflower. I quite commonly bake potatoes there if I am only
>>> cooking for one or two. Baked apples are something that a microwave
>>> does very well and I even prefer them to those cooked in a
>>> conventional oven. My Sharp's "frozen entree" setting works rather
>>> well as does reheating the previous evening's coffee.
>> I use mine mainly for defrosting/heating up... I do frozen vegetables
>> occasionally - that seems to work well... but cooking a whole meal -
>> can't remember the last time I did - and then I usually use the
>> 'convection' option. I am not a baker, so I cannot speak for those
>> who are.
>
> I use mine for heating up, and that's about it. I also use it to melt
> butter or cheese. I just don't care for nuked food. I usually cook mostly
> fish, so I bake it, sautee it or fry it. Oh, and I always steam my veggies
> on the stove.
>
> kili

Reheating and melting butter and chocolate. It's great for making sauces
(like a super simple Bechamel sauce) and puddings. And it's the only way
to make apple sauce, with no water, just the taste of great apples. We
also like to cook some veggies with hardly any water at all instead of
blanching or parboiling them. With a temperature probe, it's handy to
make cocoa or heat up a liquid to just the temp you want. DH likes cocoa
or coffee at 180°. We rarely use it to defrost, hating the almost
cooked stage that happens if we aren't careful. It's just easier to
think and plan ahead and plop it out of the freezer when needed. So
mostly we use it to help use prepare food, not actually do the cooking.

And of course....POPCORN!


Melondy

Chatty Cathy wrote:
> James Silverton wrote:
>
>>
>> I have to admit that most of my use is for defrosting or reheating.
>> Some simple dishes work quite well, e.g., chicken breasts covered
>> with chopped onion and tomato sauce or salsa, also fresh carrots and
>> cauliflower. I quite commonly bake potatoes there if I am only
>> cooking for one or two. Baked apples are something that a microwave
>> does very well and I even prefer them to those cooked in a
>> conventional oven. My Sharp's "frozen entree" setting works rather
>> well as does reheating the previous evening's coffee.
>
> I use mine mainly for defrosting/heating up... I do frozen vegetables
> occasionally - that seems to work well... but cooking a whole meal -
> can't remember the last time I did - and then I usually use the
> 'convection' option. I am not a baker, so I cannot speak for those
> who are.

I use mine for heating up, and that's about it. I also use it to melt
butter or cheese. I just don't care for nuked food. I usually cook mostly
fish, so I bake it, sautee it or fry it. Oh, and I always steam my veggies
on the stove.

kili

Melondy wrote:

> And of course....POPCORN!

Ahem. Dunno if goomba would agree with ya there
--
Cheers
Chatty Cathy

On Mon, 19 Mar 2007 19:24:51 +0200, Chatty Cathy
> wrote:

>Melondy wrote:
>
>> And of course....POPCORN!
>
>Ahem. Dunno if goomba would agree with ya there

I dunno what goomba has said about MW popcorn but if she's said bad
stuff I'm with her. Store bought stuff smells worse than dog shit.
You can take a paper lunch bag, add some corn kernels, give it a shot
of cooking spray and nuke. I'm not big on popcorn but I'll eat it
this way. And the kitchen doesn't smell like the test kitchen for
trailer trash cook books.

Lou

Chatty Cathy wrote:
> http://www.recfoodcooking.com/
> Vote now!

Only two of us said we don't have microwaves. I'm curious to see how
many of us do just fine without this ubiquitous appliance.

Serene

Omelet wrote:
>
>
>
> We use ours almost entirely for re-heating, but there are a few dishes
> (like steaming veggies) that work well in the MW. I rarely cook meat in
> it.

Our old one bit the dust after many years of infrequent use. We used it
only for heating milk for cocoa, thawing things and occasionally for
re-heating leftovers. The mechanical timer broke. It was cheaper to
replace it than to fix it. Considering how rarely we use it, I should not
have bothered. I would rather have the counter space back.

I did use the microwave today. I cleaned out the fridge the other day and
got rid of the science projects that had been sitting there. One of the
things discarded was a jar of butterscotch that was at least 6 years old.
I had to clean the jars and had a heck of a time with the sauce in the
bottle, so I filled it with water and nuked it to dissolve the sauce. I
suppose I could have just used hot tap water. That is the only thing I
have used it for this month.

kilikini wrote on 19 Mar 2007 in rec.food.cooking

> We always do popcorn on the stove in a stainless steel pan and a
> little oil. Add salt when done. Good stuff.
>
> kili
>

WHAT!!No Butter? I used to use lard to cook the popcorn in...Now I've gone
more healthy and use Canola oil. Add loads of butter and salt.

Lou Decruss wrote:
> On Mon, 19 Mar 2007 19:24:51 +0200, Chatty Cathy
> > wrote:
>
>> Melondy wrote:
>>
>>> And of course....POPCORN!
>>
>> Ahem. Dunno if goomba would agree with ya there
>
> I dunno what goomba has said about MW popcorn but if she's said bad
> stuff I'm with her. Store bought stuff smells worse than dog shit.
> You can take a paper lunch bag, add some corn kernels, give it a shot
> of cooking spray and nuke. I'm not big on popcorn but I'll eat it
> this way. And the kitchen doesn't smell like the test kitchen for
> trailer trash cook books.
>
> Lou

We always do popcorn on the stove in a stainless steel pan and a little oil.
Add salt when done. Good stuff.

kili

Mr Libido Incognito wrote:
> kilikini wrote on 19 Mar 2007 in rec.food.cooking
>
>> We always do popcorn on the stove in a stainless steel pan and a
>> little oil. Add salt when done. Good stuff.
>>
>> kili
>>
>
> WHAT!!No Butter?

I prefer my popcorn without butter, but I don't mind it with. My
favorite is just oil (the oil I cook it in, that is) and seasoned
salt, or regular salt. I also love onion powder and parmesan
cheese, or curry powder and salt. Or kettle corn (a small amount of
sugar, and a normal amount of salt).

I hate hate hate hate microwave popcorn.

Serene

Serene-O-Matic > wrote:

>Only two of us said we don't have microwaves. I'm curious to see how
>many of us do just fine without this ubiquitous appliance.

We held out for years and years but finally got one around
five years ago, after the price dropped sufficiently.
We use it for reheating coffee, melting frozen cubes of
vegetable stock, and warming ingredients as part of assembling
some larger dish. (Example, when making Boston chowder, I use it
to heat the half-and-half that is added at the end.) Almost never
cook an entire main course in it.

Steve

Steve

Mr Libido Incognito wrote:
> kilikini wrote on 19 Mar 2007 in rec.food.cooking
>
>> We always do popcorn on the stove in a stainless steel pan and a
>> little oil. Add salt when done. Good stuff.
>>
>> kili
>>
>
> WHAT!!No Butter? I used to use lard to cook the popcorn in...Now I've
> gone more healthy and use Canola oil. Add loads of butter and salt.

Nah, we don't do butter. Just a little salt.

kili

"Serene-O-Matic" > wrote in message
...
> Mr Libido Incognito wrote:
>> kilikini wrote on 19 Mar 2007 in rec.food.cooking
>>
>>> We always do popcorn on the stove in a stainless steel pan and a
>>> little oil. Add salt when done. Good stuff.
>>>
>>> kili
>
> I hate hate hate hate microwave popcorn.
>
> Serene

Me too, me too, me too, but keep meaning to buy an electric popcorn maker.
Fortunately, I've never been able to find one, when I've gone looking.
Probably just as well.

e.

"Omelet" > wrote in message
news
> In article >,
> Chatty Cathy > wrote:
>
>> http://www.recfoodcooking.com/
>> Vote now!
>> --
>> Cheers
>> Chatty Cathy
>
> We use ours almost entirely for re-heating, but there are a few dishes
> (like steaming veggies) that work well in the MW. I rarely cook meat in

The only veggie that I consistently cook in the MW is asparagus.
e/

"Serene-O-Matic" > wrote in message
...
> Chatty Cathy wrote:
>> http://www.recfoodcooking.com/
>> Vote now!
>
> Only two of us said we don't have microwaves. I'm curious to see how many
> of us do just fine without this ubiquitous appliance.
>
> Serene

I always thought they would be way safer for the elderly than ovens.
Unfortunately my elderly people just don't get the hang of them!

e.

Serene-O-Matic wrote:
> Mr Libido Incognito wrote:
>> kilikini wrote on 19 Mar 2007 in rec.food.cooking
>>
>>> We always do popcorn on the stove in a stainless steel pan and a
>>> little oil. Add salt when done. Good stuff.
>>>
>>> kili
>>>
>>
>> WHAT!!No Butter?
>
> I prefer my popcorn without butter, but I don't mind it with. My
> favorite is just oil (the oil I cook it in, that is) and seasoned
> salt, or regular salt. I also love onion powder and parmesan
> cheese, or curry powder and salt. Or kettle corn (a small amount of
> sugar, and a normal amount of salt).
>
> I hate hate hate hate microwave popcorn.
>
> Serene

Oh, I love parmesan on my popcorn, too! I just don't always have it readily
available.

kili

kilikini wrote on Mon, 19 Mar 2007 14:53:08 -0500:

k> Lou Decruss wrote:
??>> On Mon, 19 Mar 2007 19:24:51 +0200, Chatty Cathy
??>> > wrote:
??>>
??>>> Melondy wrote:
??>>>
??>>>> And of course....POPCORN!
??>>>
??>>> Ahem. Dunno if goomba would agree with ya there
??>>
??>> I dunno what goomba has said about MW popcorn but if she's
??>> said bad stuff I'm with her. Store bought stuff smells
??>> worse than dog shit. You can take a paper lunch bag, add
??>> some corn kernels, give it a shot of cooking spray and
??>> nuke. I'm not big on popcorn but I'll eat it this way.
??>> And the kitchen doesn't smell like the test kitchen
??>> for trailer trash cook books.
??>>
??>> Lou

k> We always do popcorn on the stove in a stainless steel pan
k> and a little oil. Add salt when done. Good stuff.

There are hot-air poppers for popcorn that are fat-free. You
have to buy the right sort of popcorn but the results are not
bad at all. For those addicted to butter you can sprinkle things
like butter buds and salt of course or even melt a little
butter. We bought the popper when all of my family gave up on
butter.

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.comcast.not

James Silverton <not.jim.siverton.at.comcast.not> wrote:

>There are hot-air poppers for popcorn that are fat-free. You
>have to buy the right sort of popcorn but the results are not
>bad at all.

I'll second this. Most popcorn works fine in them; there
will be a percentage of duds but not much more than other
methods.

Steve

In article >,
"l, not -l" > wrote:

> I use my microwave, a lot, for everything from reheating to cooking. It is
> great for fish and veggies. And, I occasionally enjoy a "baked" sweet
> potato.


About 30 years ago, my wife and I took a class in MW cooking. Everybody
else in the class had gotten one for Christmas. We were just thinking
about it. They cost US$400. After the class, we bought one.

elaine wrote:
> "Serene-O-Matic" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Mr Libido Incognito wrote:
>>> kilikini wrote on 19 Mar 2007 in rec.food.cooking
>>>
>>>> We always do popcorn on the stove in a stainless steel pan and a
>>>> little oil. Add salt when done. Good stuff.
>>>>
>>>> kili
>> I hate hate hate hate microwave popcorn.
>>
>> Serene
>
> Me too, me too, me too, but keep meaning to buy an electric popcorn maker.
> Fortunately, I've never been able to find one, when I've gone looking.
> Probably just as well.

My whole life, I've never needed anything fancier than a pot with a
lid to make popcorn. It's easy, honest.

Serene

we use our microwave a lot and i have had one in the house for over 25yrs.
i am the first in my family to have and use one, and was CONSTANTLY joked
about.

"rosie probably melts ice cubes to get a cup of boiling water for
tea"...................

i took a course in microwaving, and learned all the uses for it.
it is a very valuable appliance in my house.

"readandpostrosie" > wrote

> we use our microwave a lot and i have had one in the house for over 25yrs.
> i am the first in my family to have and use one, and was CONSTANTLY joked
> about.

I was about the last person I knew to get a microwave. I had a bunch of
people over and one brought some kind of dip that needed to be
microwaved. She looked around, Nance, where's the microwave.
No gots. This amazed everyone. I caved in and picked one up later
that week.

Even my mother has one now. She thought they were dangerous.
Now she can't live without it.

> i took a course in microwaving, and learned all the uses for it.
> it is a very valuable appliance in my house.

I use it every day, but to heat up my coffee. Heat the occasional
frozen dinner (had Stouffer's vegetable lasagna for dinner last night).
Zap some vegetables. Can't really say as I actually cook in the thing.

nancy

On Mon, 19 Mar 2007 13:00:21 -0700, Serene-O-Matic
> wrote:

>Mr Libido Incognito wrote:
>> kilikini wrote on 19 Mar 2007 in rec.food.cooking
>>
>>> We always do popcorn on the stove in a stainless steel pan and a
>>> little oil. Add salt when done. Good stuff.
>>>
>>> kili
>>>
>>
>> WHAT!!No Butter?
>
>I prefer my popcorn without butter, but I don't mind it with. My
>favorite is just oil (the oil I cook it in, that is) and seasoned
>salt, or regular salt. I also love onion powder and parmesan
>cheese, or curry powder and salt. Or kettle corn (a small amount of
>sugar, and a normal amount of salt).
>
>I hate hate hate hate microwave popcorn.
>
>Serene

have you tried using a little chinese red chili oil as part of the
cooking oil? i don't make popcorn, but a friend in texas has gotten
good results.

your pal,
blake

blake murphy wrote:
> On Mon, 19 Mar 2007 13:00:21 -0700, Serene-O-Matic
> > wrote:

>> I prefer my popcorn without butter, but I don't mind it with.
>><snip>
>
> have you tried using a little chinese red chili oil as part of the
> cooking oil? i don't make popcorn, but a friend in texas has gotten
> good results.

Ooh, sounds like something to try; thanks.

Serene