What's for Dinner: Very Quick Cooking

I know I've been stringing you along on this Nutmeg thing, but we'll get to it.

Very Quick Cooking

As I was contemplating this piece I bumped into a conversation on DocuDharma where people were talking about the quickest things they could cook.

I have a deep sympathy for that point of view and when I cook for myself I'm very interested in things that can be ready to eat in about 5 minutes or less.

As a result I eat a lot of salads and sandwiches and stuff you can cook in the microwave.

Let's start with salads which at least aspire to be healthy.

Lettuce is very expensive, even iceberg, but you need less of it than you think, half a head will make a lot of salad.  Then it's time to junk it up with carrots (baby or grated), grape or cherry tomatoes, pre-sliced mushrooms, shredded cabbage, chopped sweet onion, some diced ham, chopped eggs, grated cheese or feta crumbles, low fat cottage cheese, sunflower seeds and a mix of balsamic and blue cheese dressing, salt and pepper to taste.

That's ok, you don't have to eat it, more for me.

Another one of my healthier quick treats is fruit (usually banana, because they're always around) slices and topped with some vanilla yogurt.  You can cheat a little bit by adding some of your favorite breakfast cereal for crunch.

Something that doesn't take much longer than my 5 minute time limit is eggs over easy.  Technique and timing are very important with this dish because you want your toast buttered and warm and your yolks runny.  I usually serve the eggs right on top of the toast.

Sandwiches are terrible things, not good at all for you, so we're all going to pretend that someone else eats these things- including me.

I sometimes do an imitation Subway Spicy Italian.  The essential cold cuts are Hard Salami (not Genoa), Pepperoni, and Provolone.  You will want to top those with onions and nuke it in the Microwave for a bit to liberate the grease.  Finish with crisp pickle slices, Oregano, Vinegar, and Brown Mustard and you have a sandwich.

Pastrami is much the same drill, only I nuke the pastrami longer and do it on a plate without bread because it gets really drippy.  Pastrami, onion, Swiss.  Nuke.  Transfer by spatula to pre-brown mustarded bread.  Vinegar, salt and pepper.

Another one I make more often is Liverwurst.  Cheese, onion, pickle and brown mustard.

One advantage I have with sandwiches is I have good bread from a Portuguese bakery available most of the time, not mush bread.

The Microwave is probably my most used kitchen tool because it is quick.  One thing I do a lot with it is soups.  I'm a big fan of Clam Chowder and don't mind the canned stuff.  I jazz it up with an extra tin of minced clams.  I like Cream of Mushroom which gets similar treatment (with mushrooms) and Tomato too.

When I cook in a bowl in a Microwave I usually use a paper plate as a lid.  It lets the steam out and keeps the splatters down and mushrooms especially will pop.

Microwaves will also steam cook frozen vegetables.  You don't need to add much liquid if any, although you do need to keep turning them because they don't cook evenly.  I do brussels sprouts that way.  It will bake a sweet potato in about 5 minutes and you can do hard squash too.

It will also re-heat things.  I keep pasta and rice in my refrigerator, it lasts about a week if you keep it covered.  The pasta you want to toss with some Extra Virgin Olive Oil before you chill it so it doesn't stick.

There are a bajillion things you can make with re-heated pasta, from the heartstoppingest cheese sauce to any of several excellent bottled marinaras to a good salad dressing.  You can add pre-cooked meat or vegetables and give it a good zap and you have an actual meal.

It is almost easier than those cheese stuffed things you buy in a box.

One of my morning favorites is oatmeal with dried cranberries and raisins.  Toss them in with your water and oatmeal.  You want to nuke in short bursts for about 90 seconds total.  Short bursts so the oatmeal doesn't bubble up all over the inside of your microwave.

I guess the real problem is that I'm very impatient.  It takes a long time for the pans to heat up and let's not even start about walking away long enough to get a good brown on.  This is why I don't have my own cooking show.

I hope I get a chance to host one of these again soon, as I have some recipes that take slightly longer to prepare that I'd like to share with you, like my lemon garlic hummus.