summer is almost upon us
Salad days....veggie salads, fruit salads, fruit and veg together salads.
Yum.
And let's not forget icecream....
But... I'm not really a salad person. I'm trying to eat more salady meals, but I still like to eat a cooked meal several times a week.
The problem now is the electric oven and hotplates. I'm not looking forward to cooking on a hot day, then being unable to get back into the kitchen for hours because it's still cooling down in there. Plus, it's open to the living room, so the heat will filter out there.
Enter the microwave.
I've had one for years but not used it terribly much.
This summer it will earn its keep.
I'm currently taste testing a range of "Healthy Choice" and "Lean Cuisine" frozen meals to find out which ones I can eat, (a lot of them just don't taste nice to me), and ticking them off on the list on the fridge door. With a yes or a no beside each variety.
Another option I'll be using is cooking several large meals that freeze well on cooler weekends, then freezing meal sized portions. Things like spaghetti bolognese, lasagna, mild curry and rice, that will heat well in the microwave. Then there's frozen pizzas too, although they don't do so well in the microwave, much better in the oven.
With these options and the salad meals, plus sandwiches, (tuna, tuna and salad, tuna and mayo...) the summer shouldn't be too hard.
As long as there is a good supply of icecream in the freezer.
Yum.
And let's not forget icecream....
But... I'm not really a salad person. I'm trying to eat more salady meals, but I still like to eat a cooked meal several times a week.
The problem now is the electric oven and hotplates. I'm not looking forward to cooking on a hot day, then being unable to get back into the kitchen for hours because it's still cooling down in there. Plus, it's open to the living room, so the heat will filter out there.
Enter the microwave.
I've had one for years but not used it terribly much.
This summer it will earn its keep.
I'm currently taste testing a range of "Healthy Choice" and "Lean Cuisine" frozen meals to find out which ones I can eat, (a lot of them just don't taste nice to me), and ticking them off on the list on the fridge door. With a yes or a no beside each variety.
Another option I'll be using is cooking several large meals that freeze well on cooler weekends, then freezing meal sized portions. Things like spaghetti bolognese, lasagna, mild curry and rice, that will heat well in the microwave. Then there's frozen pizzas too, although they don't do so well in the microwave, much better in the oven.
With these options and the salad meals, plus sandwiches, (tuna, tuna and salad, tuna and mayo...) the summer shouldn't be too hard.
As long as there is a good supply of icecream in the freezer.
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The frozen "steamers" aren't bad...not a big meal but still...could be light lunch with a roll or a salad (or a bowl of ice cream).
ReplyDeleteI am a salad fan but not a fan of summer. I will be making a GIANT bowl of fruit salad for Xmas and living on it for a few days. I will cook the smaller portion a turkey breast (or a turkey roll) the day before. Mangos for me.
ReplyDeleteHi River,
ReplyDelete"Summer is almost upon us".
Do you know how depressing that sounds for us Northern Hemisphere folks?
:-(
;-)
Cheers
PM
Do they have Amy's over there? They're my favorite and are organic and taste good, and are better in the microwave than the oven.
ReplyDeleteDelores; I'll have to check the supermarket freezers to see if we have "steamers". I haven't noticed them, but that's because I don't really look that hard.
ReplyDeleteEC; Christmas isn't worrying me so much as the rest of the season. I usually have Christmas lunch at one of the kids places, a bbq eaten outside. January and February heat is going to challenge me.
Plasman; sorry. But think of it like this>> you need to get through your winter to properly appreciate your summer.
Rubye Jack; I haven't noticed any Amy's in Coles, I'll have to check different supermarkets, like Woolworths, Foodland, IGA...
We like Lean Cuisine's "Chicken a l'Orange" - it's got a nice flavour, it's filling yet not high in calories.
ReplyDeleteI don't like the heat either :)
jenny_o; welcome to drifting. I haven't seen that flavour in our supermarket freezers, it sounds interesting. when I'm at work on Monday, I'll ask if we can get it in stock.
ReplyDeleteNever thought about electric hotplates taking a while to cool down.
ReplyDeleteBack in the woodstove days, the trick for summer was hot breakfast, warm lunch, cold dinner.
If you have a reasonably sheltered space outside you could use, how about a portable electric hotplate?
Tuna salad? Yes please!
PlasMan said it before I could!
ReplyDeleteWe also have hotplates here and I'm surprised at how quickly I've got used to using them - the main thing is to remember that they stay hot for ages and not touch them as ours are right next to the sink and a few things have melted due to being placed there.
Salads for you, soup here for us :)
Fruitcake; I don't remember if I've welcomed you to drifting, so, welcome to drifting.
ReplyDeleteI remember woodstoves, we made toast by holding bread on a fork over the flames. In winter there was always a kettle at the back of the stove to pull forward to boil for tea or coffee, and a pot with either soup or stew simmering away. In summer, we'd eat on the back porch while swishing away flies.
Kath Lockett; I'm still getting used to the fact that things have to be constantly stirred or they'll stick and burn, especially porridge or custard. also learning that the second things begin to boil, I should turn down the heat, or turn it off entirely, the residual heat will finish the cooking. Long simmering of homemade soups is going to be a challenge, I don't want to be constantly wiping up boil-overs.