Microwave cooking tips

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If your kitchen is like most kitchens these days, you’ve probably got a microwave oven sitting in it. And what do you use it for? Reheating? Melting butter or chocolate when baking? Maybe the kids throw a hot dog in once in a while. Well, if that’s how your microwave gets used, you’re missing out on a great cooking tool. After all, why heat up your oven when you can do the whole job in the microwave in the time it takes to pre-heat your oven?

A couple of good reasons to use your microwave instead of your oven are that no pre-heating is needed and the cost is greatly reduced. Using your microwave for 100 hours will cost about $7.00 compared to about $70.00 for 100 hours of conventional oven use.

Understanding how a microwave works will also help you rethink using it a little more, too. Molecules of fat, sugar and water within food attract microwaves that reflect against the metal walls of the oven. The molecules begin to vibrate against one another causing friction and that’s the heat that cooks the food. The microwaves can only penetrate food 1-1&1/2 inches so larger dishes need the vibrating molecules to move from the outside edges to the center of the food for it to be cooked. That’s why food placement, dish quality and cooking quantity are all important when cooking in the microwave.

Microwaves can pass through plastic, paper, wood and glass but not through metals. That’s why you’ll get “Arching” or sparking if you put metal in the microwave.

A good rule to remember when cooking in the microwave is that approximately 6 minutes per pound will cook most foods including meat, poultry and fruit and vegetables. Seafood will take less time and reducing the power of your microwave will require longer cooking time. About 20% of the cooking time takes place after the oven turns off so make sure you remember that your food will continue cooking after you’ve removed it.

You might be used to your ovens temperature in degrees but you can convert your microwave’s temperature that is described in power or watts. A microwave on high or 100% power is about the same as having your oven at 425 degrees. A 350-degree oven would be about the same as a microwave at 50% power.

You can determine the wattage of a microwave by placing 1 cup of tap water in a two cup measuring cup. Heat on high for two minutes. If the water boils in two minutes or less, the microwave is probably 700 watts or more. If it takes longer than it is 600 watts or less.

Different foods will require different temperatures to cook properly and while you should follow the 6 minutes per pound rule, add more minutes as you drop the power. Using 50% power, you’d want to cook your food for about 11 minutes. Cooking something that takes an hour in the oven should take about 15 minutes in the microwave.

Here are some helpful hints when cooking in the microwave:

Arrange food in dish so that the thicker part is on the outside and the thinner part inside for more even cooking.

Using a dish with a cone in the center will also help distribute heat evenly.

Let foods such as cakes with baking powder in them stand a few minutes before cooking to allow the leavening agents to work.

Don’t use as much liquid — if a recipe calls for milk and water, cut back on the water. You might want to use fewer spices as well.

Open covers away from you to release steam.

If you cover it in the regular oven, cover it in the microwave too.

Ready to try it yet? Get out your favorite cookbook and get cooking. You’ll be saving time and money and still eating those foods you love.

Are You Cooking Meals from a Broken Cookbook

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Burn your recipes!” If youve been following me for any amount of time now, youve heard me utter that statement time and time again. Its not that Im entirely against using recipes for home cooking, its more because I see cooking meals as a personal art form or your kitchen culinary expression.

In fact, home cooking recipes are especially useful if youre looking for new ideas and flavor combinations. Recipes are useful for cooking meals if you want to try to duplicate something exactly.

Here are some of the things that recipes will tell you:

The ingredients to use
The correct weights and measures for the ingredients
The temperatures and degrees to use
How much time you should cook
What steps to take and when

But, you cant expect recipes to tell you everything that you need to know to make the meal come to life. I like to make analogies between cooking and music. Lets take sheet music for example. There are things that sheet music doesnt tell the piano player. There are variations in tone, pace, and interpretation. The musician has to bring the music to life through his or her own interpretation of the music that they are reading.

Here are some of the things that recipes dont tell you:

Variations in ingredients/substitutions
Variations in measurements/ mistakes in measuring
Variations in oven temps/stove temps
Variations in time
Why you are taking the steps you are taking

There are very few celebrity chefs that I enjoy. An exception is Alton Brown. I enjoy Alton Browns show because he also explains why hes taking the steps hes taking as well as how different ingredients, temperatures, etc. affect the food that you cook. One day when I was watching Alton, he was cooking a popover recipe that looked great. As I was watching, I thought that the amount of salt he used would make it too salty for me. But, when I tried to make the recipe, I used his exact measurements because, well, hes Alton Brown. Turns out the popovers were WAY too salty!

Next time, Ill take out some of my own recipe books I use for inspiration and point out some of the ways that I know the recipe book is broken. My goal is to help you to increase your kitchen culinary skills by using your home cooking recipes to cook meals that you can be proud of again and again.

How To Cook Chicken Legs on the Grill

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Grilled chicken legs are not only a delicious summer meal, but they are also economical as legs are one of the cheapest parts of the chicken. Just because they are cheap, does not mean they have to lack in flavor. Actually, the dark meat of poultry has more flavor as it contains more fat.

One of the biggest problems grilling enthusiasts face however is with cooking times and temperatures. One of the most frequently asked questions is: how long do you grill chicken legs?

It really isn’t possible to give an exact answer to this question as it really depends on the type of grill you are using, the grilling method and how big the chicken legs are.

It really is an excellent idea to invest in a good quality cooking thermometer. I personally own a voice alert electronic thermometer. It really is a fantastic little cooking gadget and I would be lost without it. It is extremely accurate and eliminates all guessing, and guessing is not an option when cooking meat, especially chicken.

CHICKEN GRILLING METHODS

Boil the Chicken Legs First

The goal with this method is to cook the meat all the way through before it goes on the grill. This greatly reduces the risk of any food born illnesses and also cuts down the grilling time significantly. The downside to this method is a serious lack of flavor. Since you will be cooking the meat on the grill for a much shorter period of time, the meat will not have a chance to pick up that delicious grilled flavor.

Marinate Then Grill

Marinating your chicken legs first is always a good idea. Not only does it give your food a fantastic flavor, but it also keeps the meat moist during the cooking process. For the best results, marinate the chicken over night. Below is an excellent marinade that I use often and it is quite versatile. It works well with seafood like shrimp and scallops as well.

Citrus Herb Marinade

Ingredients:

4 Chicken Legs

1/4 Cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 1/2 Tablespoons of Fresh Lemon Juice

1 1/2 Tablespoons Fresh Orange Juice

1/3 Cup of Freshly Chopped Parsley

1/3 Cup Freshly Chopped Cilantro

2 Cloves of Garlic Minced

1 Teaspoon of Salt

1/4 Teaspoon of Freshly Cracked Black Pepper

Directions:

In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients except the chicken legs. Add chicken to the bowl with the marinade and toss to coat. Refrigerate for several hours, over night if possible.

LETS GET GRILLING

I have found that the best method for cooking chicken legs on the grill is to first sear the meat and then finish the cooking process over indirect heat. The result is a nice moist chicken leg with a delightfully crispy skin.

Step 1: Remove chicken from marinade and rinse. This is to remove any ingredients from the marinade that are stuck to the chicken. If left on, this can burn. Coat the chicken with some oil to prevent it from sticking to the grill.

Foods Eaten in Nigeria and how to make fried rice.

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There are lots of foods eaten in Nigeria and I want to list the few popular ones and then a detailed guide on how to make fried rice – one of my favorites.

Are you married to a Nigerian man and finds yourself in a tight corner when it comes to making foods for him or worried about his appetite or yearning for home made foods, do you find it confusing that Nigerians in Diaspora often feel excited when they find Nigeria foods? The reason is simple; we used to say that – there is no place like home or home made food.

Most foods eaten in Nigerian are easy and often straight forward to make. The most popular food in Nigeria is Eba popularly called (garri). Eba goes with any of the many Nigerian soups and could be substituted with fufu, semo, amarla or wheat meal.

Eba and fufu are by-products of cassava, while fufu is made by fermenting cassava for 3 to 4 day and sieving out the chaff, eba is often simpler in making. Eba which is also called (garri) is made by peeling off the back of cassava, then grounding and frying on a dry hot pot.

There are lots of soups eaten in Nigerian that can go with eba, fufu, or semo. The most popular Nigerian soup is the egusi soup (melon) it is often very easy to prepare or at least very easy for me to prepare. Egusi soup can also be eaten with white rice.

That’s just about few of the Nigerian popular foods I just want to focus specifically on how to cook fried rice – The most popular Nigerian recipe. Fried rice takes about one to two hour to prepare and the real work is the preparation of things used in making fried rice instead of the actual cooking.

Ingredients include:

3 cups of rice
1 to 2 table spoon-full of curry powder
2 ball of onions
Medium sized cabbage
2 to 3 medium sized carrot
11/2 cups of chopped green beans
About 1/5 kg of liver
Meat of choice (beef, turkey, chicken) most people prefer chicken in Nigeria
2 to 3 cubes of maggi
green peas (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste.

The preparation:
Parboil the meat with meat ingredients (curry/thyme powder, 1 maggi cube, 1 ball of onions and salt) for about 10 to 15 minutes. It is often necessary to parboil this meat with these ingredients just to end up with a tasteful meat.

Add more water to the meat and cook until it is soft for consumption. then pick out from the water and deep-fry in groundnut/vegetable oil (leaving out the meat water on the pot)

Chop the carrot, cabbage, green beans, green pepper, and liver then set aside on different bowls.

Then parboil the 3 cups of rice and cook white till it is about 75% done.

How To Make Fried Rice:

Like I stated initially that the cooking of fried rice in Nigeria is quite simple, the most tedious aspect is the preparation of things used in cooking it.

Set your cooking pot on fire, allow drying before adding groundnut/vegetable oil (the one used in frying the meat would do) use about 15 to 20 cl of oil, allow to heat then add the chopped carrot and green beans.

Fry for two to three minutes and add the peas (optional), add the curry powder to get a very yellowish mixture. (the curry powder actually give Nigerian fried rice its yellowish color.

Add the chopped cabbage, stir and add the liver and green pepper. Pour in the left over water from the parboiled meat, add maggi/salt and pepper to taste, make them a bit in excess because the rice will absorb most of the ingredients.

At this point you are almost done. Add the white rice, stir/turn very well, cover your pot and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes. Serve with the fried meat and soft drink of choice.
This is how to make Nigerian fried rice; I told you it is easy.