Menu Planning for Microwave Cooking
How to Keep Everything Hot at The Same Time
Plan your meals so that the food will not all need last minute cooking or attention at the same time. The special features of microwave cookery make it easy to serve meals with everything piping hot. Cooking of some foods may be interrupted while you start others, without harming the nutritional value or flavor of either. A recipe which requires standing time can be microwaved first and another food cooked while it stands. Dishes prepared in advance can be reheated briefly before serving. It does take some experience and time to cook with confidence. Microwaves are fast so you will have to do some experimenting. You might find you will use your conventional range in conjunction with your microwave oven. For example, while cooking the roast in the microwave oven, you can be cooking the vegetables and gravy on the range top. This can also be done the other way around. Prepare your meal as follows.
1.Firstly, cook the most dense item (roast or casserole). Drain and retain meat juice from joints then cover with foil.
2.Cook the potatoes, rice or pasta.
3.Cover with foil for standing.
4.Cook greens and other vegetables.
5.Cover with foil for standing.
6.Cook the gravy with the retained meat juices, stock and thickening
7.Carve the roast and serve the vegetables and gravy.
While you are learning to plan meals, you may get a bit behind time. Don't worry. Dinner servings may be suitably reheated on MED HIGH, at 2 minutes per serving.
If you prefer not to use foil, cover food with saucepan lids. A metal lid will retain the heat for at least 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, how can you cook all the vegetables at the same time? Simply place potatoes and pumpkin in one dish and less dense vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, beans and peas in another. Sprinkle greens with water. Cover with a lid or plastic wrap. Cook on HIGH for approximately 10 to 15 minutes for a serving for four people. Remember, if you increase the quantity of vegetables, increase the cooking time. Fresh and frozen vegetables can be mixed on a vegetable platter, but remember the latter are not as dense as fresh vegetables, as they have been blanched before freezing. If vegetables are cut to a similar size to each other, they can be cooked in separate ramekins or small dishes at the same time.
Handy Hints and Tips
•To blanch (1 cup) nuts, place in a pie plate. Cover with hot tap water and heat on HIGH for 2 to 3 minutes. Rinse in cold water and rub between sheets of paper towel to remove skins.
•To toast coconut, place half a cup on a paper towel, and cook on HIGH for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
•To make buttered breadcrumbs, combine 1 cup breadcrumbs and 2 tablespoons butter and heat on HIGH for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
•When heating 100 9 baby food, select HIGH for 15 to 30 seconds, depending on the amount of food or liquid and the starting temperature of it.
Test temperature before serving or further heating.
•For an added touch at dinner parties, steam your own hand towels. Saturate in cold water, wring and place on a plate. Heat on HIGH for 1 to 2 minutes.
•To soften cream cheese or butter, place in oven on LOW for 1/2 to 1 minutes per 1/2 cup.
•Refrigerated cheese (250 g) can be heated to room temperature on MEDIUM for 1/2 to 1 minute, depending on size.
•When having a barbecue, partially cook food in the microwave, season and finish cooking on the barbecue.
•To melt chocolate, place 100 9 broken chocolate in a 4 cup glass jug and heat on MEDIUM for 2 to 3 minutes. As chocolate holds its shape after heating, stir and stand before adding extra time to cooking.
•To remove oven odors, combine 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence with 1 cup water in a small bowl and heat on HIGH 4 to 5 minutes. Wipe oven interior with a damp cloth.
•To toast 1 cup almonds place onto a plate and heat on HIGH for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring every minute.
•To dry herbs, arrange 1/2 cup of leaves evenly on paper towel. Place a mug of water into the oven next to the herbs and cook on HIGH for 1 to 3 minutes, or until dry and crumbly. Check herbs frequently as timing may vary with different herbs. Please note that herbs dry and crumble on standing outside the microwave oven.
•To soften dried fruit, place 1 cup of dried fruit into a small bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of water, cover with plastic wrap and cook on HIGH for 2 to 3 minutes.
•To skin tomatoes, place 1 cup of hot tap water in a 2 to 3 cup jug or bowl and heat on HIGH for 11/2 minutes or until boiling. Add 1 tomato and heat for a further 20 to 30 seconds, remove and repeat procedure with remaining tomatoes. The skin will be loosened and easily removed.
•To dry fresh breadcrumbs (1 cup), spread on the base of a plate and heat on HIGH for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring twice during heating.
