Hello.
My microwave died in spectacular fashion today. It was the lifeblood of my kitchen. I’ve had it so long I’ve forgotten how to cook without one. And I can’t afford to buy a new one. I was going to post in eatcheapandhealthy but that place looks as dead as my microwave. I don’t know what I’m going to do.
Jamie Oliver often went on about cheap recipes… that required 30 ingredients and a bunch of equipment I don’t have. These are not helpful. I need recipes that are cheap to shop for, cheap on electricity usage, easy to prepare with limited equipment, and it would be a bonus if they are healthy and tasty. I know I’m being picky, but I don’t have much to work with.
I figured this would be the community to ask because to cook well, you need to know stuff that a bad cook wouldn’t know. I hope I can get a few useful ideas. Thanks.
Sander Katz has a book called “The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved” which holds up the microwave as the prime example of what is wrong with modern eating.
I suggest looking into cooking with cast iron skillets. There are tons of great and simple foods you can make with couple of inexpensive cast iron pans. There used to be a cast iron cookery subreddit. There may be one here, I haven’t looked yet.
Another essential is a good wok. (cast iron or otherwise) Basically you throw a bunch of semi-random stuff and some sauce iron seasoning in a wok and heat it up. The variations are endless, quick, and often tasty once you get the hang of it.
I have several cast iron pans, and I cook with them regularly. That being said, cast iron is more expensive, more time consuming, and requires more skill to cook with than a set of cheap non-stick.
Just like with most higher quality tools, there’s just a steeper learning curve to cast iron than what I think op is really looking for.
The same is kinda true for cooking with a wok, unless you have a pretty high output gas range, a wok isn’t really going to function as intended. Woks need to be heated enough to where you are basically flash frying your ingredients. If not the oil just soaks into your food, making everything soggy with oil.
I think you may be underestimating your abilities in the kitchen, and maybe overestimating op’s. Though i think that’s fairly common nowadays. I find that most people under 40 are either very proficient or very lost in the kitchen, not a lot in-between.
I don’t know a single person who owns a microwave. My parents had one in the 90’s, but used it like twice. I honestly don’t even see the point, except when you like microwave food that comes in a plastic container, which again, i don’t know who would ever be willing to eat. The only thing i ever heard was to warm things up, and even then, good job on saving a minute.
Microwaves are very efficient at heating food. Much more so than an oven or hob. They may not win awards for making things taste great but they’re incredibly useful when trying to cook with a limited budget.
In my opinion, one does not cook with a microwave.
It’s useful for heating things that tolerate how it works.
I use it to re-heat leftovers, or to defrost things. Maybe to heat some water (for small volumes it’s far faster than a stove).
About the only thing I can think of “cooking” in a microwave is oatmeal. But that’s essentially just boiling water (even for traditional oats).