Surviving Without a Microwave

Posted August 24th, 2007 by Jen in family life, health/cooking/food

Kitchen life has been unfolding at a slower pace these days. When we sold our house over a year ago, the microwave went with it. We jumped right into RV life where microwave use was hampered by the fact that our only power sources were the generator and propane. So while the RV had a (power-sucking) microwave, the resident power-Nazi husband declared it off limits. Then, when we rented this house we’re living in right now, lo and behold, no microwave. No problem, I had already gotten used to life without the little magic box.

My friends ask, why don’t you just go buy one?! They are not that expensive, after all. Well, the tight-wad husband says we are not about to waste money on a cheap microwave when we’ll have a very nice one to go with all the new stainless steel appliances that will be in our new house that he’s building. Same reason we don’t have a T.V. Or dressers. Or a bed. Well, okay, I have a bed - it’s a mattress on a steel frame. You get the idea. Good thing I enjoy living simply.

So, the microwave. Reheating my coffee in the morning was my biggest concern. I must have hot coffee. Well, RV life introduced me to French press coffee. I boil water in a pan and pour it in the sexy French carafe. I reheat my coffee as needed in the pan. Now that we’re in a house, I do have a coffee pot I use (though nothing quite compares anymore to the richness of French press). But since I refuse to drink coffee out of anything but high quality ceramic, those plastic lidded mugs are out - thus the need to reheat. I also sip and savor, and will never get through a mug of coffee without the bottom third getting cold. And actually, since I’ve been drinking my coffee out of these cool coffee mugs with pewter logos (remember these?), I couldn’t put it in a microwave, anyway.

Here’s what I discovered: I can reheat my coffee in a pan on the stove in about three minutes. Is my life so high speed and busy that I can’t take three minutes to heat my coffee? If so, perhaps something’s wrong. It’s not like I have to gather wood, start a fire, and keep it stoked. I just turn a knob. Really, what would our great-great grandmothers think of us, complaining about waiting three minutes (in our warm, cozy houses) for our coffee to reheat?

What about left-overs? The horror! No microwave to reheat leftovers! Well, there is that dinosaur of an appliance called the stove. It reheats food remarkably well. Pizza - 10 minutes at 350. Casserole - 10 minutes at 350. Chicken - 10 minutes at 350. That’s my mantra: 10 minutes at 350. And honestly, I can understand reheating those particular foods in a microwave, but you’d never want to actually cook them in a microwave. The pizza would be soggy, the casserole would be mushy, and the chicken would be rubbery. And I always hated how microwave heated french fries tasted like wet sawdust.

The stove-top is just as clever at cooking or reheating. I found that my left-over rice was really tasty when I heated it in a big skillet with either a few tablespoons of water or oil. And if you think your popcorn days are over with no microwave, think again! I grew up fascinated with popping corn in a big pan on the stove, and today’s kids will love the novelty - just be sure to use a clear glass lid so they can watch the excitement. It tastes REAL, not fakey, oversalty. Do you see? The microwave steals away the fun, the interaction, the creativity to be had with food.

The baby bottle? Mommas, never, ever, put the baby bottle in a microwave. If there’s no microwave there to tempt you with its time-saving tentacles, you’re better off, perhaps. Just heat a pan of hot water and let the baby bottle stand in it for several minutes. No hot spots to burn baby, no loss of nutrition.

Here’s a lesson I’ve learned: after a readjustment period of cooking-time expectations, I DO NOT miss the microwave. Once I had it in my head that I needed to allow 30 or 45 minutes to cook dinner, not five, I learned to plan ahead and be prepared. And be prepared for better tasting food, by the way!

If you can bear with me a moment, there are health/nutritional reasons, too many to number, for choosing traditional cooking over a microwave. Here are a few, and follow the links for the full scoop.

From the USDA:

Do not let plastic wrap touch foods during microwaving. Also, plastic storage containers such as margarine tubs, take-out containers, whipped topping bowls, and other one-time use containers should not be used in microwave ovens. These containers can warp or melt, possibly causing harmful chemicals to migrate into the food.

Microwave ovens can cook unevenly and leave “cold spots,” where harmful bacteria can survive.

Cooking whole, stuffed poultry in a microwave oven is not recommended. The stuffing might not reach the temperature needed to destroy harmful bacteria.

From Delicious Organics:

Microwaves can destroy the nutritional value of food. For example, a 2003 study by The Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture found that broccoli cooked in the microwave with a bit of water lost up to 97% of the beneficial antioxidant chemicals it contained; by contrast, steamed broccoli lost just 11% or fewer of its antioxidants.

Studies done by Swiss food scientist Dr. Hans Hertel found that microwave cooking can result in unnatural chemical alterations to the food, such as increased cholesterol levels, more white blood cells, less red blood cells, and production of radiolytic compounds (compounds unknown in nature).

Those darn machines are so convenient and make our cooking lives so easy! Just be warned, and certainly do your own investigating. There is plenty of data out there that says microwaved food is just fine, but for me, there is enough unsettling information to make me think twice.

And there also remains a philosophical issue for me: the microwave is so symbolic of the fast-paced modern American way of life. What are some microwave equivalents in our way of life? Do you take time to read a good book or just watch a sitcom? Do you take time to go on a long bike ride with your kids or just sit them down with a video game? Do you take time to handwrite a loving letter to a dear friend or just dash off a quick email? Do you take time to cook a healthy meal from scratch or buy packaged, processed food?

Now the question is: Can I talk my husband into leaving out the microwave in the new house?

photo credits:
www.adventys.com, SFGate.com