f MICROWAVE
MINUTES
Before you go out and buy all
new dishes for your microwave
oven, check your cupboards.
You probably have several
oven-proof casseroles, which are
also fine for microwave cooking.
You probably have other standard
clear Pyrex or oven-proof glass
dishes too - like custard cups and
measuring cups, pie plates or
round, square and rectangular
glass dishes. Most any one of these
—as long as it has no metal trim—
can be used for microwave
cooking.
Check the bottom of each dish
for the words “microwave safe.” If
in doubt about a dish, do the fol
lowing dish test Set the empty
dish in your microwave. Place a
microwave-safe measure filled
Lancaster Form And
Home Scholarships
LANCASTER One of the
objectives of the Lancaster County
Farm and Home Foundation is to
encourage the higher education of
the youth of Lancaster County. In
this respect the Foundation is
announcing the offering of scho
larship awards in 1988 in the fields
of Agriculture and Home Econom
ics. Depending upon the financial
need and ability of applicants, a
maximum of twelve scholarships
may be awarded.
Each scholarship award will be
in the amount of $l,OOO and may
be used to help defray tuition, fees,
or room and board expenses at any
accredited educational institution,
which offers a course of study in
Agriculture or Home Economics.
The Farm and Home Founda
u*°
By JOYCE BATTCHER
with one cup of water alongside it
Microwave on High for one
minute. If the dish stays cool and
the water gets warm, the dish is
microwave-safe and may be used
for cooking. If the dish gets barely
warm, it is best for just microwave
heating. If the dish gets hot, do not
use it in your microwave.
A basic list of microwave cook
ing necessities includes a bacon/
meal rack, 1- and 2-quart casser
oles with covers, and a couple of
Pyrex measures in 1-cup, 2-cup
and 4-cup sizes. Also very handy
are microwave-safe spoons, a deep
2-quart measure (also called a bat
ter bowl), and a round microwave
safe tray.
If you really cook in your micro
wave and/or have a large family,
you probably will want 3-quart
tion Scholarships arc earnings
from an Irrevocable Trust Fund set
up by the late Elmer L. Esbcn
shade, one of the founders of the
Lancaster County Farm and Home
Foundation.
Scholarship applications are
available from Senior Guidance
Counselors in all school districts in
Lancaster County.
Interested youth are urged to
contact their Senior Guidance
Counselor for details and an appli
cation blank. Additional informa
tion is also available from Jay W.
Irwin, Chairman of the Scholar
ship Committee, 1383 Arcadia
Road, Lancaster, PA 17601 (phone
394-6851). Application forms
must be forwarded by April 15,
1988.
casseroles with covers. For practi
cality, choose a deep, dish-shaped
casserole rather than a shallow
rectangular 3-quart dish
(9x13-inch). If you just reheat
individual meals or cook for one or
two, you’ll like the small casser
oles, bowls, meat racks and other
pieces available now.
If you have a convection/
microwave oven, you’ll certainly
want microwave dishes that can
also be used in conventional and
convection ovens.
After you’ve bought the basics
you may want to add additional
pieces of microwave cookware,
depending on your eating and
cooking preferences. Browning
skillets, popcorn poppers, coffee
makers, pressure cookers, candy
and meat thermometers are some
of the other equipment you may
want.
If you like to cook in big batches
and freeze for later, or if you don’t
like washing dishes, you’ll want
some “cook and store” containers
with tight storage covers that can
go from freezer (or refrigerator) to
microwave (and conventional/
convection oven).
When buying, be sure to read
labels. “Cook and store” micro
wave containers vary greatly.
Many of the newer light-weight
plastic dishes look and feel the
same as some storage-only con
tainers. While most of the new
containers can be used in micro
wave and conventional ovens,
some are only for microwave or
some parts are only for storage. In
most brands the cover is for stor
age, so it must be loosened for
microwave cooking and is not safe
for the conventional/convection
oven. Most are dishwasher safe,
but some covers are top-rack dish
washer safe only.
Before using a new microwave
dish or accessory, read directions
carefully. For future reference, file
directions with your microwave
recipes. It’s especially important
to save directions for browning
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skillets, popcorn poppers and other
specialized cooking equipment
With the wide variety of micro
wave dishes available now, it may
be hard to save all labels, so for
convenience, I like dishes that
have directions printed on the out
side bottoms. On the dishes that
don’t, I write on directions with a
freezer marker pen—such as, “not
for pven,” “cover loosely,” “not
for fatty-surgaiy foods,” or “cover
not for micro.” This not only
reminds me, but reminds the rest of
my microwaving family how to
properly use these dishes and
covers.
Today’s recipes use common
cooking dishes that you probably
had in your kitchen before you
even thought of buying a micro
wave oven. Tuna Vegetable Cas
serole is cooked quickly in a
2-quart casserole, while Pineapple
Eggnog Pudding microwaves with
little fuss in a glass, heatproof
1-quart measuring cup.
Tuna Vegetable
Casserole
1 package (7 ounces) 114 cups
shell macaroni
VA cups frozen Califomia-stylc
vegetables
1 can (10 3 A ounces) condensed
cream of mushroom soup
3 /< cup milk
1 can (15-16 ounces) chow mein or
Chinese vegetables, drained
1 can (6-7 ounces) tuna, drained
'A teaspoon onion powder
'A teaspoon celery salt
Salt and pepper (optional)
Fill microwave-safe 2-quart
casserole half full of hot tap water.
(If desired, add salt). Cover and
microwave (High) 6 to 7 minutes
or until water boils. Stir in maca
roni. Microwave (High), uncov
ered, 5 to 7 minutes or until maca
roni is almost tender. Place frozen
vegetables in colander; pour hot
macaroni and water over veget
ables; drain well. Return macaroni
and vegetables to casserole. Stir in
remaining ingredients. Cover and
microwave (High) 6 to 8 minutes
or until hot, stirring once. Season
VnMMAfV
TRACTOR SALE
to' taste ’with salt ~aml”pepper.
Makes 4 to 6 servings.
Each serving 'A of recipe:
303 calories, 20g protein, 8g fat,
38g carbohydrate, 1,005 mg
sodium, 30mg cholesterol.
Pineapple Eggnog
Pudding
2-3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
'/• teaspoon cinnamon
'/• teaspoon nutmeg
VA cups eggnog
1 can (8 ounces) crushed pineap
ple, drained
'/; teaspoon vanilla or '/ teaspoon
vanilla and A teaspoon rum
flavoring
In a microwave-safe 1-quart
measure, stir together sugar, corn
starch and spices. Gradually stir in
eggnog. Microwave *(High),
uncovered, 2 minuted. Stir well.
Continue microwaving (High) VA
to 2A minutes or until mixture
starts to boil and is thick. Stir in
drained pineapple and -vanilla.
Pour into 4 dessert dishes. Serve
warm or cold. Makes 4 servings.
Variation: Chill pudding and
serve over pieces of angel food
cake or squares of plain yellow
cake.
Each serving: 203 calories, 4g
protein, 7g fat, 32g carbohydrate,
53mg sodium, 56mg cholesterol.
Questions for Joyce?
Do you have a question about
microwave cooking? Send it to
Microwave Minutes, <.% Extra
Newspaper Features, P.O. Box
6118, Rochester, MN 'SSTOS.
Please include a self-'addressed,
stamped, business-size envelope.
Recipes in this column are
tested in 600- and 650-watl micro
wave ovens. With an oven of diffe
rent wattage output, timings may
need slight adjustment.
Joyce Battcher is an indepen
dent home economist microwave
specialist. She is author of
“Microwave Family Favorites”
and editor of “A Batch of Ideas”
newsletter.
© 1988 Extra Newspaper
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