Sunday evening

Well it's been another cool day on the Canadian prairies.
Today felt quite a bit warmer than yesterday. At least the
hubbo and I were able to get outside to cut and split some
firewood today.

Yesterday and today I spent an enjoyable afternoon watching
the Canadian Figure Skating Championships on CBC. I'm
wishing now I'd scraped the money together to go. Oh well,
there is a silver lining. I'll be going to Skate America in
Everett Washington at the end of October with the same
friend who met me in Atlantic City in 2005.

In addition to working on the Hanami Shawl which we all
discussed in another thread, I've started some sock weight
liner mittens for a friend to put inside her snowmobile
mitts. She's also asked for a pair of heavy woollen
socks. A great way to help get rid of some of my stash. ;)

Hope you all had a good day. I'm off to warm up the turkey
I made for dinner yesterday. Yes - turkey. My husband's
company gives them out free for Christmas, so I always
save it for January

Shelagh

"Shillelagh" wrote in message
news
Well it's been another cool day on the Canadian prairies.
Today felt quite a bit warmer than yesterday. At least the
hubbo and I were able to get outside to cut and split some
firewood today.

It was milder here too, yesterday. On Saturday we had blue skies and we
decided that if the dry held until Sunday we'd go out and move some soft
fruit bushes and begin building a fruit cage. But it rained again, and how!
There are flood warnings all over UK although we're safe because we live on
a hill - but the ground is still waterlogged :-( Through the night and this
morning the rain was so hard that even our paths were under 2" of water.

....

Hope you all had a good day. I'm off to warm up the turkey
I made for dinner yesterday. Yes - turkey. My husband's
company gives them out free for Christmas, so I always
save it for January

We did have a good day, we bought a microwave/grill/convection/conventional
oven. I've never had a microwave before and never wanted one but the other
functions could save fuel by not using our much larger cooker. Nevertheless
I tried cooking rye grains in it yesterday, it might be interesting to
experiment ... :-) I know our family will be more than a little surprised!

Mary

"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
t...

We did have a good day, we bought a
microwave/grill/convection/conventional
oven. I've never had a microwave before and never wanted one but the other
functions could save fuel by not using our much larger cooker.
Nevertheless
I tried cooking rye grains in it yesterday, it might be interesting to
experiment ... :-) I know our family will be more than a little
surprised!

Mary

I didn't have a microwave for years and resisted buying one (long time ago).
I ended up buying one similar to yours.

I love the microwave for defrosting, and especially for cooking vegetables.
The veggies retain their bright colours and I cook them til they're just
barely
fork tender, maybe even slightly still crisp. Beats boiling them to death
in a
pot. I've "baked" many a lovely main dish as well as cookies and cakes in
that thing, and I agree with you, I think it does save on power.

Shelagh

"Shillelagh" wrote in message
...


We did have a good day, we bought a
microwave/grill/convection/conventional
oven. I've never had a microwave before and never wanted one but the
other
functions could save fuel by not using our much larger cooker.
Nevertheless
I tried cooking rye grains in it yesterday, it might be interesting to
experiment ... :-) I know our family will be more than a little
surprised!

Mary

I didn't have a microwave for years and resisted buying one (long time
ago).
I ended up buying one similar to yours.

I love the microwave for defrosting,

Over time I've got into the habit of simply taking things out of the freezer
well before I want them. No power needed :-)

and especially for cooking vegetables.
The veggies retain their bright colours and I cook them til they're just
barely
fork tender, maybe even slightly still crisp. Beats boiling them to death
in a
pot.

My vegetables are cooked as you describe - but in a pan with a small amount
of water over a high heat for a short time. I doubt they could be improved
on.

I've "baked" many a lovely main dish as well as cookies and cakes in
that thing, and I agree with you, I think it does save on power.

I rarely bake cookies or cakes and when I do make biscuits (cookies) I make
lots, in the fan assisted oven. I think it would be more time-consuming to
use the microwave.

But tonight I tried making dumplings in the pot roasted beef in a casserole
in the microwave.

I obviously need to acquire a good instruction book. The dumplings were OK,
cooked but rather 'sad'. Everyone ate them with relish but I was
disappointed, I just played around with controls, not knowing what I was
doing :-( Being too ambitious I suppose.

The instructions which came with the cooker were just about interpreting the
very many buttons and combination of buttons. there was nothing about
cooking real food.

I don't understand it ... :-(

Does Life have to be so complicated?

Of course it does, if we use complicated machinery :-(((((((((((((

But thanks for your encouragement!

Mary

"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
t...

I've "baked" many a lovely main dish as well as cookies and cakes in
that thing, and I agree with you, I think it does save on power.

I rarely bake cookies or cakes and when I do make biscuits (cookies) I
make
lots, in the fan assisted oven. I think it would be more time-consuming to
use the microwave.

I baked the stuff using the "oven" part, not the microwave part.
Same machine, different controls. I don't even think baking
works in the microwave - it doesn't brown anything.

Shelagh

Mary Fisher wrote:

But tonight I tried making dumplings in the pot roasted beef in a casserole
in the microwave.

I obviously need to acquire a good instruction book. The dumplings were OK,
cooked but rather 'sad'. Everyone ate them with relish but I was
disappointed, I just played around with controls, not knowing what I was
doing :-( Being too ambitious I suppose.

The instructions which came with the cooker were just about interpreting the
very many buttons and combination of buttons. there was nothing about
cooking real food.

I don't understand it ... :-(

Does Life have to be so complicated?

Of course it does, if we use complicated machinery :-(((((((((((((

But thanks for your encouragement!

Mary

Hi thee to thine free public library! When I bought my first microwave
oven - after the prices had dropped considerably AND I had gone through
one and a half Florida summers with only window air conditioners - I
went off to the library to see what I could find.

I brought home one hefty tome which had a lot of text and not many
illustrations, and at first I was disappointed because it had only a few
recipes, tucked away at the back. However, as I got into it, I realised
that it was actually a treatise on the theory and practice of microwave
cooking, and the few recipes were simply to illustrate the method.

This knowledge, plus the appliance, changed my life. Mind you, there
are things which simply do not work well, dumplings being one of them.
I always do dumplings on top of the (gas) stove,and pot roast in the
oven, the pressure cooker or the slow cooker. Don't even think of
trying cakes and biscuits, but, on the other hand, you can make a
"steamed" pudding in five to nine minutes!!! (I can send you recipes if
you like). The microwave is also fantastic for boiling milk, it NEVER
burns, although it will boil over if you do not put it in a very large
container and/or watch it carefully. I also fire up the regular oven for
bread.

I could go on, but I'll stop here. Post back or e-mail off list if you
want any more info.

Olwyn Mary in New Orleans.




--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

"Shillelagh" wrote in message
...

"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
t...

I've "baked" many a lovely main dish as well as cookies and cakes in
that thing, and I agree with you, I think it does save on power.

I rarely bake cookies or cakes and when I do make biscuits (cookies) I
make
lots, in the fan assisted oven. I think it would be more time-consuming
to
use the microwave.

I baked the stuff using the "oven" part, not the microwave part.
Same machine, different controls. I don't even think baking
works in the microwave - it doesn't brown anything.

Sorry, I meant in the 'small oven' - the conventional part. it would be fine
for small amounts of cookies but not the number I do.

Have you any ideas for a good book to explain the use of a microwave?
Cooking times, suitable dishes etc. I guess there will be very many to
choose from but some might be better than others :-(

Thanks,

Mary

Shelagh

On Tue, 22 Jan 2008 12:21:51 +0000, Mary Fisher wrote:




Sorry, I meant in the 'small oven' - the conventional part. it would be
fine for small amounts of cookies but not the number I do.

Have you any ideas for a good book to explain the use of a microwave?
Cooking times, suitable dishes etc. I guess there will be very many to
choose from but some might be better than others :-(

Thanks,

Mary


This is my microwave "bible" that I've used for nigh on twenty years Mary.
http://www.antiqbook.co.uk/boox/star/001696.shtml
--
Blessed are the cracked for they let in the light

"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
t...

Sorry, I meant in the 'small oven' - the conventional part. it would be
fine
for small amounts of cookies but not the number I do.

Have you any ideas for a good book to explain the use of a microwave?
Cooking times, suitable dishes etc. I guess there will be very many to
choose from but some might be better than others :-(

Thanks,

Mary

I use the book that came with mine. It has lots of great pictures and
explanations as well as recipes. It sounds like your machine only
came with a manual.

But I think mine is different from yours. Mine looks like a micro-
wave, but a little bigger. I have mine sitting on a cart. I also have
the larger stove top/oven, but rarely use the oven. Since there's
just the two of us, I don't bake that often because we're trying to
watch our weight. I pretty much make everything in the smaller
machine. It's a microwave, convection, conventional machine.

Shelagh

On Jan 20, 6:35*pm, "Shillelagh" wrote:
Well it's been another cool day on the Canadian prairies.
Today felt quite a bit warmer than yesterday. *At least the
hubbo and I were able to get outside to cut and split some
firewood today.

Yesterday and today I spent an enjoyable afternoon watching
the Canadian Figure Skating Championships on CBC. *I'm
wishing now I'd scraped the money together to go. *Oh well,
there is a silver lining. *I'll be going to Skate America in
Everett Washington at the end of October with the same
friend who met me in Atlantic City in 2005.

In addition to working on the Hanami Shawl which we all
discussed in another thread, I've started some sock weight
liner mittens for a friend to put inside her snowmobile
mitts. *She's also asked for a pair of heavy woollen
socks. *A great way to help get rid of some of my stash. ;)

Hope you all had a good day. *I'm off to warm up the turkey
I made for dinner yesterday. *Yes - turkey. *My husband's
company gives them out free for Christmas, so I always
save it for January

Here it is Tuesday, and I am just getting around to replying to this.
Does that tell you how my life has been? LOL I am working on the
breast cancer socks, and have completed 36 rows on the Diamond
Fantasy Shawl. THe shawl is definitely NOT mindless knitting, and
the socks also require some concentration. But they are shaping
up nicely.
It has been cold in MOntreal, but compared to poor Keith in Wabush.
this is balmy. Plus they have been losing the power for brief periods
of time for the past two days - not fun! In fact, he has started
talking (again!) about getting a generator.
I like turley at any time of the year. In fact, when I go home in
February, I hope to cook one. Yum!

Higs,
Katherine