Cooking with small appliances instead of that hot stove and oven. Almost anything can be cooked using modern small electric kitchen appliances.
The modern solo cook needs only a medium-sized microwave oven with a turntable and a multilevel timer, a hot pot with an auto shut- off for boiling water , and a 4 slice toaster oven to accomplish all the basic tasks of cookery. The addition of a full-sized crock pot, an electric frying pan, and a rapid grill will provide a range of techniques for creating truly gourmet meals. Forget the stove, a holdover from the late 19th century, when this kitchen behemoth serves as a source for heat, hot water for bathing and laundry, and bad cooking. Turn off the gas, (pilots first!) or unplug the 220. Put butcherblock on top, clean the oven one last time and use it to store equipment, and never bend over for the broiler again.
For efficient cooking, the small electrical appliance kitchen needs at least two seperate 20 amp 110 circuits, preferably with GFI outlets. A third is ideal. Good quality plugging strips also make things safer. If there's a 220 volt stove outlet, get a splitter and convert it into 2 individual 110 circuit just for cooking. In either case, plug the microwave into one circuit, and other appliances into the other. A crock pop can usually share with the microwave, but the other devices need to be run one at a time.
Learn to use the various cooking levels of your oven and become familiar with the timer. It's not as hard as the VCR. Use heatproof glass cookware as much as possible or real microwave cooking plastic (the ugly tan stuff) when appropriate. Sequence the use of various devices to cook efficiently, taking advantage of the recommended waiting time after the oven has stopped.
For example, to assemble a pasta dish, first slice up an onion, coat it with 1/2 tsp. olive oil and microcook for 90 seconds on medium-high in covered glass dish. As it cooks, fill the hot pot and set it to boil. Put the pasta in a plastic microwave cooking bowl with an internal strainer. When the water boils, cover the pasta, stir it up with a little salt and put the container loosely covered in the microwave, after removing the onions. Cook for half the recommended time on medium, or whatever temperature brings the pasta almost to a boil. Stir the pasta and finish cooking. Meanwhile chop some tomatoes, perhaps a bit of young zucchini, and julienne a red pepper. "Roast" the pepper on aluminum foil in the toaster oven to bring out its flavor. Then it's probably time to take the pasta out of the oven.
Drain the pasta by removing the strainer from the container. Empty the hot water and fill the container with cold. Submerge the pasta to set it, then drain again. It may take a couple of tries with this method to get exact "al dente" but with adequate pasta (not too old), perfection is possible.
Assemble the dish by dumping the pasta into a heat-proof glass casserole. Add spices, such as basil, and red or black pepper to taste Stir in the onions. Add the uncooked tomatoes and press them down in. Put the roasted red pepper on top. Cover the dish and return to the oven for about a minute. Remove the casserole, let set for a minute, open to release the steam, and sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese, if desired.
If meat is desired in such a dish, try grilling a bit of turkey sausage in a rapid grill, while the pasta is cooking. Catch the drips in a disposable fold of aluminum foil to avoid cleaning the drip tray. Slice the meat hin while hot and layer on top before adding the red pepper. Large mushrooms can also be grilled quickly and used the same way. Alternatively, prepare thin-sliced meat in the microwave after cooking the onions and let then rest together.
For slow cooking in a crock pot, use the microwave or the rapid grill to precook various items. For example, grill cut-up beef until medium rare, then coat with cumin, adding a bit of canola oil if necessary. Finish covered in the oven using heavy white glass cookware and set aside. Roast beef end or other left-overs can be used the same way. Mean while, rinse and drain the soaked beans (or the canned ones), mix in oregano or cilantro, pour on enough boiling water so the beans can be stirred and dump into the crock. Next, chop onions, combine with chili powder and oil, and microcook cover for 2 minutes on medium-high. Cut up tomatoes and peppers, crush some garlic and place in a covered glass dish; cook on medium for a minute while the chile and onions are resting. Add the onions and chili to the vegetable mix and stir into the beans in the crock. Add more boiling water if needed, then add the meat. Stir, cover, and let cook for several hours, perhaps with the addition of some black olives. Most chili is best if allowed to meld for a day before reheating, in the microwave of course.
The electric frying pan, which should be stainless steel, never aluminum, and uncoated, is most useful for a quick saute, which should be cleaned up right away or for gentle simmering. Many foods, such as hash browns, for example, can be done with almost no fat, just as quickly in the rapid grill, which is coated. Polenta can also be made with an electric pan, using a nylon spaluta to mix and fold the corn meal. Such a pan should never allowed to get hot enough to burn the oil being used. Use tools which won't scratch the cooking surface, and cleanup will be no problem. Remember to wipe any outside drips away before they harden.
The rapid grill, which has been over-sold on TV, is really very versatile. Frozen fish can be cooked right from the freezer, vegetables can be grilled with a touch of cooking spray if desired, and grilled sandwiches, with or without cheese are exquisite. Some breads work better if toasted lightly in the toaster oven before grilling. A brief resting time with the grill turned off and cooling helps finish some foods, like hash browns. The basic grille rapide has no switch however. Use the one on the plugging strip. Clean immediately with a wet paper towel and be careful, the drip slot gets hot! It's not a handle.
It's a lot more fun cooking when you don't have to clean the stove and you can spread the cooking out interspersed with the preparation. Microwave cooking assisted by various small appliances is also faster, and generally requires less fat. And with the help of small electric food choppers, seed mills, and hand blenders, great variety can be achieved in minimum time.
