Short side rant about my gas stove/oven. I know everyone loves gas stoves... they cook so great, blah blah blah. It's true that the stovetop burners fire up instantly, but the oven takes FOREVER to preheat, and I *hate* cleaning that filthy bastard stovetop. The burner grates are an absolute bitch to get clean, even scrubbing with steel wool and soaking... NOT worth the hours of blood sweat and tears. Ain't nobody got time fo DAT.
my archnemesis.
Okay enough negativity, let's talk about the microwave! A frequently underappreciated piece of scientific achievement.
I don't want to say that time is not at a premium for people who don't have kids, but becoming a mom seems to make every second that much more precious. While I used to love spending time making elaborate and delicious meals, and on special occasions I still do, most often I just don't have the time and energy to spend. For that reason, the microwave is easily my favorite appliance. It's not just for reheating leftovers!! There are so many things you can make fresh in the microwave so much faster than in an oven or on a stove!
Who knew that you can bake potatoes in the microwave? Just poke holes in it with a fork, give it 8 minutes and you have a whole russet potato (or sweet potato) all ready to go. You can cook fish in the microwave in just a couple minutes (covered, since it tends to explode.) The best part about cooking in the microwave, besides the time savings, is you have no pots or pans to clean! Which is even more time saved. And priceless for me since I HATE washing dishes. If I can't load it into the dishwasher, forget it. (Ok.... I really do love my dishwasher.... it could face off with the microwave for favorite appliance.)
Some of my go-to microwave items:
- hot water, to which I sometimes add lemon, lemon and cayenne pepper, or lemon, honey, vinegar and cinnamon for a sore throat. no kettle needed!
- fish fillets (usually salmon in our house)
- whole potatoes
- steamed vegetables (peas, broccoli, butternut squash.) I do admit that most vegetables are best roasted with olive oil, but in a time crunch or to go in a recipe, microwave steaming is clutch. I steam frozen peas for my one-year-old, add a little olive oil and salt and she loves them.
- "scrambled" eggs. It's true that they aren't as good as real scrambled eggs, but if you really don't want to wash a pan, you would be surprised by how good they can be. The key is frequent stirring, every 10 (or even fewer) seconds to prevent them from getting too rubbery.
- oatmeal. no hot breakfast is faster.
Also, if you're looking for a fun activity on a rainy day, marshmallows are fun to microwave. You can watch them inflate to HUGE proportions!!! Pure entertainment.
I won't even get into all the things you can just heat up for a quick meal like beans and cheese and frozen dinners. I really feel the microwave makes my life so much better. The number one rule is don't microwave anything plastic. No plastic wrap or plastic containers; always microwave in glass or on safe ceramic dishes. Some plastic says it is microwave safe, but I try to err on the side of NO plastic in the microwave. I prefer to risk as few nasty chemicals in my food as possible.
There is some controversy about whether radiation from a microwave oven can be harmful, but it is non-ionizing radiation and no studies have shown any cause for concern with normal use (versus a microwave that's rigged to work with the door open or some other such craziness).
So, I am forging ahead with my love of the microwave, because the most precious thing I have is TIME and this awesome technology lets me make the most of it! Thank you to Percy Spencer for accidentally discovering the specific heating effect of a high-power microwave beam in 1945, and engineers everywhere for inventing new technologies that improve our lives every day, because lord knows I'm not doing it.
In closing, I give you a haiku:
the food's almost done
better hurry and press clear
before I hear beeps!!!
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