Convenience Techniques
Corn on the Cob
Remove husks. Wrap an ear of corn in
saran wrap. Cook on high for five minutes.
***** Better quality than any other method.
Artichoke
Cut off stems and sharp tips of
leaves. Wrap an artichoke in saran wrap. Cook on high five minutes.
*** Same quality as conventional 40-minute steaming method.
Baked Potatoes
Place uncovered in microwave. Cook
at high several minutes or more on each side until soft.
*** When used for mashed potatoes, same quality as conventional baking.
(Otherwise, see note in Microwave Cooking above.)
Hard Cooked Egg
Take an egg from the refrigerator.
Butter a custard cup. Break egg into cup. Puncture egg yolk with fork,
then sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon of water. (The water is important, and
so is puncturing the yolk).
Cover cup with a glass lid from any other
cookware you have. For a standard, 700 watt microwave, cook 30 seconds
at 100% power. Turn cup halfway around. Cook 25 seconds at 100% power
until egg is hard cooked. (If you have an auto-rotating oven, skip the
turn).
*** For crumbled egg used as garnish, same quality as boiling.
Recipe from Tracy
Grant. For correspondence on this recipe, see Recent
Mail 9/14/00.
Interesting Microwave Recipes
Kjarnorkufiskur
Nuked Cod with Vegetables
Cod, haddock, or other
firm, white fish is cooked with potatoes, carrots, rutabagas,
cauliflower, eggs, milk, and spices.
For recipe, click on Jo's Icelandic Recipe Book,
Fish and Seafood. Jo's grandmother was the first in this Icelandic
family to buy a microwave and uses it a great deal.
Stuffed Shrimp
Enjoy butterflied shrimp with
butter, onions, and breadcrumbs. This is a favorite of Tracy Grant and
her husband. This recipe is on her site (click Recipes,
Fish and Shellfish) and is reproduced below with her permission.
Tracy notes: This dish is great to serve to
guests. Tripling the recipe (12 shrimp) will fill a dinner plate before
cooking. When cooked, the shrimp coil around the stuffing and create a
perfect ring of pink shrimp on a plate.
Per person
4 oz. large shrimp
2 tsp. butter
1 tbsp. chopped fresh or frozen onion
1/3 cup fresh bread crumbs*(grate 3/4 oz. Piece of bread)
1/4 tsp. dried parsley or 3/4 tsp. Minced fresh or frozen parsley
1/16 tsp. salt
pinch of tarragon
Peel shrimp and slit each down the back
three-quarters of the way through. Flatten into butterfly shape and
devein. Rinse off with water and place on a paper towel to drain.
Put butter and onion into Menu-ette Skillet, or
any microwavable bowl. Cook 45 seconds (______) at 100% power.
Add remaining ingredients to skillet. Mix well
with rubber spatula. Arrange shrimp on paper plate with tails in center.
Spread bread crumb mixture evenly over shrimp, covering them completely.
Cover plate with paper towel. Cook 1:30 minutes (______) at 100% power,
giving plate a half turn halfway through cooking time. (Autorotating
oven: Eliminate turn.) Place shrimp in emptied skillet and serve.
*White bread is acceptable, but whole-wheat bread adds extra flavor
to the stuffing.
