With a contemplative look on my husband's face, "do you think we can live without our microwave?" I say, "but what about a quick warm up of leftovers, or defrosting meat ... or making popcorn?" How quickly a generation comes to rely on such conveniences.
We have a rather small kitchen. Admittedly, our kitchen gets smaller when factoring in the kitchen
equipment toys we tend to collect. Doing what we can to add as much storage as possible without sacrificing valuable counter space, we officially had reached our limit.
John being the talented one at reevaluating our space and envisioning a new way of storing things usually finds a home for everything. But the limit caught up with even John.
Never being ones to really use the microwave to cook a meal, we agreed to try it for a month to see if we could do without. That was 4 months ago and here is where our microwave lies.
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| The garage |
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Not only did we buy space but we're drawing less power. Less power = saving money. I'm all for that.
Warming leftovers in the oven? It's really not difficult; plan a bit ahead. Set the oven to 350, put your leftovers in and let it warm for 30 minutes.
Defrosting? I'm going to sound like a broken record, plan ahead and pull the meat out a day or so ahead of time and let it defrost in the refrigerator.
I think secretly John just wanted to try doing popcorn on the stove the way his dad used to do it.
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| All you need |
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| 2-3 Tablespoons oil. The Wok proving it has more uses. Butter melting on the back burner. |
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| 1/2 cup of kernels |
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Turn on the heat with the lid on and watch the video below to witness popping in action.
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| Eat! |
Anyone want a microwave?
No agitation needed--interesting. I remember my mom's old electric popper with a top crank...on the order of this item:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Popcorn-Popper-w-Cloth-Cord-U-S-Electric-Popper-No-10-/230745998990?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35b988868e#ht_500wt_970
Larry
I'm so glad you posted an example through Ebay. I've never seen one before.
DeleteI have a hot-air popper that is fabulous. But back to the microwave question, you're also using energy when you heat up the oven and it takes a lot longer than the 2 or 3 minutes of microwave time. Still, almost anything can be heated up on the stovetop as well as the oven. I went without a microwave for years and learned to change my habits. I made as much coffee as I knew I'd drink that morning rather than making a lot and heating it up the next day. When I made pasta sauce, I only made as much pasta as I would eat in one sitting, making fresh pasta each time I used the sauce. And yes, I did heat things up in the oven from time to time. Pizza is much better in the oven anyway. Good topic!
ReplyDeleteAbby
Shocking! Truly shocking! How many people do you think have voluntarily given up their microwave? You are in an elite group. Love the photo of its new home. p.s. Popcorn on the stove is the BEST!
ReplyDelete- Barbara
I just found you through our FBLA group on Facebook:) It is really funny that you voluntarily gave up the microwave, as we did the same! We moved in a new apartment in Redondo Beach over the holidays, and the landlord offered us a small counter-top microwave. I declined, convincing my husband to side with me. For over two months we might have regretted the decision once or twice (when my oldest daughter came to visit from Berkeley and showed her astonishment:)
ReplyDeleteBut you are right:) If you plan ahead, anything is doable. And, being European, I really prefer the old-fashioned way of making popcorn!
Looking forward to meeting you IRL at one of our events!
This has been an intriguing post for me as I never know what is going to resonate with people. Microwaves clearly hit a button on all sides of the spectrum, pros and cons. I wish I could transfer some of the comments left on my Facebook page as they all have thought provoking experiences too.
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