eating without microwave ovens

Does anyone do it? How do you cook and reheat food efficiently? Recently came into a life without a microwave oven and I’m wondering how I can keep this up or if I should just concede dependency and buy one.

I’m a leftover fiend by standards of people who don’t really fuck with leftovers. FWIW my new place has a stove, oven, toaster oven, and like a heatable griddle kind of surface in between the ranges.

2 Likes

Yes! We do it, two adults and a young child (for reference).

Pots? I’m either so far on the other side of this I don’t understand the query, or you are making food not in cooking containers. I can put just about anything in a small pot and reheat it. Most of the time it is in the pot already. How you cooking food? :face_with_monocle:

Haha, I was reading this to @susan and e had the same reaction: fuck off! :slight_smile:

It is because we’d love a griddle surface and toaster oven! Ah, pizza toast! So quick, so easy!

We do have some special equipment that is, hmmm, non-standard:

  • pizza stone: we make pizza every week
  • tortilla press: we eat tortillas whenever we are not breathing air

Oh yeah, we don’t cook meat, so if that changes something I wouldn’t know. :slight_smile:

Huh. I guess I just have to get used to figuring out how much water to toss into something so it doesn’t burn. It’s enough extra steps and I order takeout often enough that I suppose I’m also too far on one side of this? I should definitely take advantage of that griddle surface.

1 Like

There is a correlation there. We don’t have left overs when we eat out. But we always have great lunches the day after a big dinner. :slight_smile:

Warning: Another vegetarian here.

This is very depedent on the item of food in question.

I cook and reheat a lot of food in a skillet. Im big on skillets. Most frozen veggie burgers just need a little bit oil and 3-4 minutes each side on medium heat. Random leftover vegetables in a skillet to be wrapped in a tortilla can be done in a similar amount of time. Same with leftover tofu masala. Etc etc.

Soup gotta be a pot. Most big dishes if I have no microwave id heat in a oven safe dish in the oven with whatever amount of water feels right. ( lasagnas, casseroles, calzone, etc.)

1 Like

I feel like w/toaster oven you’re 90% there already. Anything non-soup goes into the toaster oven. soups into a pot.

1 Like

Cast iron or no? If not… Nonstick cancer coating or no?

My last roommate had no microwave until I came with one (which a roommate from three flats ago gave me one flat ago, because it had sat in their garage for years cuz someone else had a better one that we used lol). Even after I moved in, she tried not to use the microwave, and continued using her toaster oven for basically everything. I got in the habit, kinda. It takes longer than the microwave, but corn dogs and many other things come out better.

I use the microwave alllllll the time. I eat frozen trader joe’s meals. I never tried the toaster oven for frozen stuff. But I suppose you could steam them in a pot.

I just got a toaster from a friend. I like it. Two flats ago my roommate was anti-toaster because he made toast on a skillet.

When I lived in south berkeley in like 200…4, my mom gave me a tiny rice cooker. I just used it to steam trader joe’s potstickers, but when they’re steamed they’re called dumplings. I left it on too long and burned the water/oil that dripped down from the potstickers/dumplings//guo tieh/jiao zi so I’m soaking the liner. sigh.

I want to know how all yall cook/reheat leftovers! I always have hella leftovers.

My current apartment has two crock pots. :shamrock: One is from my mom from the time of one flat ago and it’s still in the box because I have never used it. The other is from my former roommate’s former roommate which we have also never used. I would also like to know if any of you crock pot.

Also do any of you instant pot? My friend has two instant pots of different sizes, and she uses them A LOT, and also attends a lot of vegan and fair trade potlucks, and also uses her air fryer a lot.

Oh I also have a Paragon Induction Cooktop from an indiegogo campaign that is still in the box it shipped in and has never been opened. I will never but induction cookware. Do any of you do that?

I can’t decide if asking these questions here is okay because we can gather all the food questions together, or if I should spin them off into separate threads!

I am all about cast iron or stainless steel cookware.

1 Like