14 November 2010
For Want of an Oven
14/11/10 09:47
I've been amazed for the last couple of weeks how one appliance going out can impact so many other things. I mean we figured when the oven went out, no big deal. We'll just not bake anything for a few days. Well the few days has grown to a full two weeks. What's more it's come to our attention that we use the oven a heck of a lot more than we thought. We've been scrambling to find out how to cook without it. (OK yes, scrambled things is one way we're coping.)
First there was the obvious. No baked potatoes. Well that's fine. How about making those cool Pesto Potatoes. Let's see step 1: Wash and quarter potatoes. Step 2 roast until the cut surfaces start to brown. Rats. So they're out as are oven fries, and those potato chips we make under the broiler. Yeah we can make 'baked' potatoes in the microwave but they are really not the same.
Next we realized that this was going to be a meatless couple of weeks for Marsha. Ribs, chops, chicken, fish, she roasts them all. Sure we could pan fry them but there is this issue with grease. Some of it gets reabsorbed by the meat and the rest spatters all over the kitchen. Scrubbing is not our idea of fun so other than a few bits of bacon Marsha is a vegetarian for a while (not that this bothered me at all mind you.)
Of course this ruled out all casseroles. Zucchini-Rice Casserole. Potato-Vegetable casserole, Scalloped potatoes, Wild Rice casserole [EDIT: OK this one I'm putting my foot down. It's Wild Rice Hot Dish D***it, despite what Margaret's cookbook says, Marsha] or anything like that. After living so long in the Midwest these had become a major part of out cuisine.
By now we were beginning to realize how annoying this was going to be.
How about rice? The trouble is that Marsha makes her rice in the oven. She puts boiling water and rice in a big pot and covers it. Then the pot goes in a 350 oven and 25-30 minutes later the rice is perfect, no scorching, never sticky. It's one of the oddest methods I've run across but it always works perfectly, far better than any rice cooker we've ever used and a lot better than on the stovetop. So without an oven no rice.
Also no Macaroni and Cheese. Oh sure we can make a blue box on the stove, but now that we've had the real stuff out of the oven, all gooey and crunchy, it's really not adequate. We've been spoiled.
While we're at it no carmel-corn either. It needs to roast in a 200 degree oven.
The lack of an oven has even impacted things you wouldn't expect. How about pancakes. No there isn't some strange Canadian recipe for baked pancakes. I put a plate in an oven set to 175 and keep the cakes warm until all of them are done. Then everyone gets served at the same time.
I did figure out a sneaky way around this one. I make the pancake batter and then use the biggest frying pan I have. I put the whole bowl of batter into the hot pan at once, reduce the heat to half and cover it. In a few minutes I can turn it over, and in a few more I have one humongous inch thick pancake that I cut in half. Strange and a bit tricky as it wants to scorch before the top side gets firm enough to turn but it works.
So it's been soups and microwaved things out of the freezer, spaghetti, sandwiches, and pancakes for a couple of weeks. We've been eating OK but we can't wait for the repairman to get here on Monday with the replacement circuit board. Then it'll be feast time.
Doug & Marsha
More Pictures of Fall at the Beach
First there was the obvious. No baked potatoes. Well that's fine. How about making those cool Pesto Potatoes. Let's see step 1: Wash and quarter potatoes. Step 2 roast until the cut surfaces start to brown. Rats. So they're out as are oven fries, and those potato chips we make under the broiler. Yeah we can make 'baked' potatoes in the microwave but they are really not the same.
Next we realized that this was going to be a meatless couple of weeks for Marsha. Ribs, chops, chicken, fish, she roasts them all. Sure we could pan fry them but there is this issue with grease. Some of it gets reabsorbed by the meat and the rest spatters all over the kitchen. Scrubbing is not our idea of fun so other than a few bits of bacon Marsha is a vegetarian for a while (not that this bothered me at all mind you.)
Of course this ruled out all casseroles. Zucchini-Rice Casserole. Potato-Vegetable casserole, Scalloped potatoes, Wild Rice casserole [EDIT: OK this one I'm putting my foot down. It's Wild Rice Hot Dish D***it, despite what Margaret's cookbook says, Marsha] or anything like that. After living so long in the Midwest these had become a major part of out cuisine.
By now we were beginning to realize how annoying this was going to be.
How about rice? The trouble is that Marsha makes her rice in the oven. She puts boiling water and rice in a big pot and covers it. Then the pot goes in a 350 oven and 25-30 minutes later the rice is perfect, no scorching, never sticky. It's one of the oddest methods I've run across but it always works perfectly, far better than any rice cooker we've ever used and a lot better than on the stovetop. So without an oven no rice.
Also no Macaroni and Cheese. Oh sure we can make a blue box on the stove, but now that we've had the real stuff out of the oven, all gooey and crunchy, it's really not adequate. We've been spoiled.
While we're at it no carmel-corn either. It needs to roast in a 200 degree oven.
The lack of an oven has even impacted things you wouldn't expect. How about pancakes. No there isn't some strange Canadian recipe for baked pancakes. I put a plate in an oven set to 175 and keep the cakes warm until all of them are done. Then everyone gets served at the same time.
I did figure out a sneaky way around this one. I make the pancake batter and then use the biggest frying pan I have. I put the whole bowl of batter into the hot pan at once, reduce the heat to half and cover it. In a few minutes I can turn it over, and in a few more I have one humongous inch thick pancake that I cut in half. Strange and a bit tricky as it wants to scorch before the top side gets firm enough to turn but it works.
So it's been soups and microwaved things out of the freezer, spaghetti, sandwiches, and pancakes for a couple of weeks. We've been eating OK but we can't wait for the repairman to get here on Monday with the replacement circuit board. Then it'll be feast time.
Doug & Marsha
More Pictures of Fall at the Beach