Yes, you can Cook Pasta in the Microwave!

[audreyh1]

Yes, you can cook pasta in the microwave and have it turn out great. It tastes the same as stove top - boiling is still boiling after all.

I finally decided to try this pasta cooker gadget Amazon.com: Fasta Pasta The Microwave Cooker It takes about the same time for the pasta to cook as stovetop, but you skip the time waiting for the water to boil, so it is a lot faster. Also - you use less water. The cooker also strains the pasta.

In the limited space of an RV kitchen, sometimes boiling pasta on the stove top was just too much trouble. After reading all the rave Amazon reviews, I decided to give it a try. It looked perfect for RV living.

Well after using it about 10 times, I have to say this gadget is amazing! We do mostly whole wheat pasta and it works great. I don't think we'll ever cook pasta on the stove top again. This is so much less hassle. The cooker 11.5 x 5.6 x 3.5 inches, and rinses easily after cooking - no colander for straining pasta, no pot for boiling water/cooking pasta.

This is also the only "microwave cooking" gadget we own.

We had to make a few adjustments. We salt the water - for some reason the instructions leave that out, but the pasta IMO tastes awful unsalted. Also, my cooking times were several minutes less than the instructions to get the right level of al dente. I expect this is a combination of microwave power differences and our own taste.

BTW - the lid stays OFF while cooking - that way it doesn't boil over. A common mistake which DH made right away! The lid is for straining the pasta.

I've done several things. Simplest - microwave pasta, then microwave sauce and combine. More common - have a nice sauce or dish cooking stovetop, microwave pasta just until very al dente and then add to stovetop sauce for finish. Done penne, farfalle, linguine - all good.

Finally, I got brave enough to try lasagna. A stack of 9 is what the cooker holds - just enough for 9x13 casserole. I had given up on lasagna due to the hassle, and I wasn't really crazy about the no-cook noodles - OK, but not as enjoyable as regular.

9 whole-wheat lasagna noodles - it did great. Easy to strain and cool them, then leave them laying flat in the cooker, until ready to assemble.

I made a "Greek Lasagna", my own creation. It was fantastic. I'll post the recipe later.

Audrey

 

[RonBoyd]

Terrific find! Our RV (Roadtrek) is too small to use the stovetop -- humidity/grease considerations. This is exactly what I have been looking for. Thank you.

 

[ziggy29]

Might be worth picking up one of those. The reviews on Amazon are also glowing about the product.

 

[W2R]

Sounds very helpful, Audrey! If I end up with a larger kitchen after I move north, I might get one. Right now I have a galley style kitchen, with extremely limited cabinet space so, I don't have room for it. I don't own a colander either.... no room for one. I just drain using a slotted spoon. Oh, poor me. Actually I never think about it for some reason.

 

[audreyh1]

I didn't even need to find space for it. I was able to just set it on top of one of my other gadgets up in a cabinet since it's not tall and it weighs nothing.

Another thing - it's really easy to do small servings of pasta. In fact that's probably what it is best for - 8 ounces or less. Supposedly it can handle a pound but I don't have reason to cook that much pasta!

There is a cookbook available too - but the reviews I read said it wasn't worth it, just use your normal recipes.

Audrey

 

[Orchidflower]

Please post your lasagna recipe. I made lasagna once and messed it up. I would love to have a sure-fire recipe for it.

 

[audreyh1]

Greek Lasagna

Audrey's Greek Lasagna

I created this "Greek Lasagna" to use up some ratatouille that I made and screwed up. I forgot a key ratatouille ingredient - peppers, and the grocery store was too far away to return for them. So I did sort of an eggplant and zucchini stir-fry that by itself just wasn't that interesting. I decided to freeze it and use it later.

I wanted to make something like Greek Moussaka, pairing the eggplant and zucchini stir-fry with ground lamb, but since the eggplant was already cut up in the stir-fry, and I didn't want to mess with a potato layer, I decided to use lasagna noodles.

I used this recipe Lamb and Eggplant Moussaka Recipe at Epicurious.com as a guide for the spiced tomato lamb and the bechamel/cheese sauce. I also used 1/2 a jar of Muir Glen's Pasta Sauce with Cabernet Sauvignon, so I didn't make the lamb mixture from scratch, but I did add onion and the spices.

Cooked 9 whole wheat lasagna noodles in the microwave pasta cooker until just (under) done. Drained and rinsed well in cold water, left in cooker until assembly.

First layer - covered bottom of 9x13 casserole with (additional) Muir Glen pasta sauce, laid 3 noodles on top. Covered with 1/2 the meat sauce and sprinkled some shredded parmesan/pecorino romano on top.

Second layer - 3 more noodles, eggplant zucchini stir-fry, some crumbled feta cheese sprinkled on top.

Third layer - final 3 noodles, meat sauce. Poured the white sauce on top. It really would take 2 1/2 cups of sauce to cover this size casserole. My 2 cups didn't quite make it to the edges but it still turned out great.

I used the shredded parmesan/pecorino romano mix in the white/cheese sauce too. I didn't make it that cheesy and I left out the eggs. Rather, I made sure the nutmeg flavor dominated, so I used a good 1/4 tsp.

Baked the lasagna per directions (45 mins, 350 degrees) for the moussaka except that I covered it with foil for the first 20 minutes.

It came out sooooooo good! It had a very silky texture - the bechamel, the lasagna noodles, and the lamb itself all contributed to the texture. And the flavors blended so well. My husband raved about it.

This would be a great way to use left-over ratatouille anyway - even if it did turn out right!

I guess I'll have to write up this recipe properly. I think DH expects me to do it again some day.

Audrey

 

[audreyh1]

Please post your lasagna recipe. I made lasagna once and messed it up. I would love to have a sure-fire recipe for it.

What I made is layered similar to the classic Italian lasagna, but there are some major differences. Italian lasagna is made with two layers of thick meat/tomato sauce (i.e. ragu), with a center layer of spiced ricotta cheese. The topping is usually grated cheese (no white sauce). Or sometimes people put meat sauce and ricotta together in some of the layers.

I don't have a favorite recipe yet, but I usually look at the food network website to choose recipes when I want to make something new. That and epicurious.com. This one looks interesting Lasagne Bolognese with Spinach Recipe at Epicurious.com. It uses the no-boil lasagna noodles.

The nice thing about lasagna is that it is a very flexible casserole - you can do pretty much whatever you want. The bad thing is that it can be prep intensive. But if you already have a ragu made from some other meal, it goes much faster.

Audrey

 

[Orchidflower]

Thanks for that, audreyh1!

 

[Nords]

After reading all the rave Amazon reviews, I decided to give it a try. It looked perfect for RV living.

It has good reviews here too. Achiever51 is in the same area as the inventor:
http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/showpost.php?p=647312&postcount=48

We still haven't gotten around to figuring out the timing on ramen in the Fasta Pasta cooker. When we're eating ramen, it usually means that we're already too tired or hungry to experiment. But it's worth buying the recipe book that's sold with the cooker.

If we could brown our ground meat/poultry in the convection/microwave oven instead of on top of a range burner then we'd only turn the stove on once or twice a year.

 

[RonBoyd]

I ordered the Cooker and the book. The book arrived today.

Fasta Lasagna
Serves 6
Quick and easy when time is short

9 Lasagna Noodles
1 tsp Salt
1 lb Ground Beef
1 small Onion
4 Mushrooms
1 glove Garlic, Minced
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 - 15oz can Tomato Sauce
1 - 6oz can Tomato Paste
1 tsp dried Oregano
1 - cup shredded Mozzarella
1 cup shredded Cheddar
1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Place Pasta and Salt in Cooker. Add water to Level 4. Cook 16-18 minutes.

Meanwhile:

Brown Beef in skillet; medium heat. Chop Onion, slice Mushrooms. Add Onion, Garlic, Salt & Pepper to skillet until meat has browned and Onion Tender. Add Tomato Sauce, Tomata Paste, Mushrooms, and Oregano. Cook until heated.

Back to the Pasta:

Remove Pasta from Microwave; rinse with cold water and drain. Spread 1/4 meat mixture in bottom of 9x3 pan. Top with 3 noodles, 1/3 Mozzarella, and 1/3 Cheddar. Repeat. Top with meat mixture and Parmesan. Place in Broiler until brown.

I can see doing all, except the final browning, with a Microwave Oven while on the road. The meat mixture could be pre-cooked and then frozen. We do have a Toaster Oven (couldn't live without one... at home or on the road) so the final browning should present no problem.

There is, also, a "Vegetable Lasagna" recipe in this book.

 

[RonBoyd]

Well, why don't I completely hijack this thread? I can't wait to try this in the Fasta Pasta Microwave Cooker:

Spicy Udon Noodles

Here's a version of a common Asia restaurant offering that should be perfect for the Fasta Pasta. Look in the Asian food section of your grocery store for the Japanese wheat noodles. This recipe is high in protein and easy to make: you'll be finishing the sauce about the time the noodles are done.

Active time: 8 minutes. Total time: 8 minutes. Serves 1. Vegan.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 packet of udon noodles (noodles usually come divided into servings)

1 tablespoon peanut butter
1 tablespoon tahini
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon chipotle hot sauce
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
2 tablespoons hot water
1 cup thinly sliced or shredded raw vegetables, such as cabbage, carrots, or green onions

Method

1. In a small pan, mix water and salt. Add udon noodles. Over high heat, bring to a boil. Turn down heat to medium or just enough to keep noodles barely boiling. Cook until noodles are tender, about 3 minutes (will have to test this).
2. In the bowl in which you plan to eat the noodles, mix the remaining ingredients, taking the two tablespoons of hot water from the noodle pot. Stir until smooth. Slice or shred the vegetables.
3. Drain the noodles and put in bowl with sauce. Stir to coat noodles. Top with vegetables and serve immediately.

Tips and notes

• To make larger quantities of this dish, mix the sauce and noodles in a larger bowl.
• The original restaurant recipe didn't include the raw vegetables but instead sprinkled sesame seeds over the sauced noodles. The salad adds crunch and makes these noodles a complete meal.
• Compared to rotini, udon noodles cook very quickly. Organic udon noodles are often cheaper and easier to find than organic, high-protein Italian-style noodles.

 

[samclem]

We had to make a few adjustments. We salt the water - for some reason the instructions leave that out, but the pasta IMO tastes awful unsalted. Also, my cooking times were several minutes less than the instructions to get the right level of al dente. I expect this is a combination of microwave power differences and our own taste.

The added salt and the need to modify the cooking times might be related. Adding salt (or most any soluble solid) raises the boiling point of water. Liquid water won't get hotter than the boiling point (at a given pressure), so by adding salt you increase the temperature of the liquid in which the noodles are cooking. Thus, they'd need to cook for a shorter time at this higher temp.

 

[LOL!]

Does it cook rice as well?

 

[RonBoyd]

Does it cook rice as well?

Good question. However for ten bucks:

Amazon.com: Microwave Rice Cooker: Health & Personal Care

or better yet:

Best Microwave Rice Cookers

 

[bizlady]

Dang it all! This thread has me intriqued, so now I have to order one too!

 

[CuppaJoe]

Does it cook rice as well?

Just bought a "fuzzy logic" rice cooker which can cook pasta as well but I'll stick to the boil on the stove method for pasta using a steamer pan set.

 

[Nords]

Does it cook rice as well?

We just use regular microwave cookware for rice. No Fasta Pasta cooker required.

 

[audreyh1]

The added salt and the need to modify the cooking times might be related. Adding salt (or most any soluble solid) raises the boiling point of water. Liquid water won't get hotter than the boiling point (at a given pressure), so by adding salt you increase the temperature of the liquid in which the noodles are cooking. Thus, they'd need to cook for a shorter time at this higher temp.

That may be true. But I did cook the first couple of times without added salt. And it still was overcooked using their times.

Another thing - I don't add much salt (1/2 tsp or so), because there is not that much water. Just enough to taste right. DH cooked the linguine last night and it came out way too salty! Why? Because it added as much as he puts in a regular pot of water for pasta. For some reason he didn't think about how much less water was used.

Fortunately it didn't take long to double the batch with no salt and mix the two. He'd used way too much pesto as well. Didn't believe me when I told him that was more than double what I would use. Even with the double batch of pasta it was still pretty intense.

What can I say - you gotta make these mistakes sometimes to train yourself to do it right! (Although I thought he'd made the salt mistake once already )

Audrey

 

[audreyh1]

Spicy Udon Noodles

Ron - let us know how your stuff comes out!

Audrey

 

[audreyh1]

Cooking Gadgets I use in the RV

The RV came equipped with a Dometic Convection/Microwave Oven. It is a good microwave, but the convection is so-so. The main frustration is that the heating element is only on the top, so things only get browned top-side. I've learned to play some tricks like let the pan pre-heat in the oven for baked pastries. Also, it takes 5 mins longer to preheat than the oven settings.

I have several handy small electric kitchen cooking appliances. Several of these are very low current draw which is nice. The microwave is a bit of a power hog, so when we are camping with a 30 amp connection, we have to be careful. Baking using convection also can generate a lot of heat inside the RV.

May I mention how hard it is sometimes to find small appliances? Something about the American psyche seems to require huge kitchen appliances.

• Weber Baby Q outdoor gas grill - the essential appliance for RVing of course.
• 3 (3 1/2?) quart Crockpot - this is great for colder weather. Draws little current. Generates little heat.
• 2 cup rice cooker - we have the smallest we could find. It does great - little current.
• Forman Contact Roaster Oven - this is a wonderful compact roaster oven with a fixed temp of 350 degrees. No longer available, so I hope mine lasts forever. Terrific for roasting a whole chicken. I also use it to roast a leg-of-lamb. Does a way better job of roasting than the convection oven. Draws very little current. Little heat generated as well.
• Small toaster
• Small coffee maker

One that I don't use that often but still carry because it does come in handy, especially in bad weather:

• DeLonghi Panini Grill - a two-sided electric grill. Something we used incredibly often when we lived in a house. Don't use it as often in the RV because we tend to do grilling outside. But it does a better job of some things like boneless chicken breasts. Great for grilled sandwiches too if the fancy strikes.

Audrey

 

[RonBoyd]

Cooking Gadgets I use in the RV

Our choice of RV (Roadtrek 210 Versatile) requires great creativity in this area because of space and weight considerations. From the factory it had a Microwave, a 12-cup Coffee Maker, and a two-burner Propane Stove (never been used). (Oh! and a 6 CF refrigerator/freezer.) It didn't take long after we bought it to realize that Electricity is essentially free (even using the generator) while Propane is expensive and that the battery/inverter isn't viable for high (1,300+) wattage usage.

We added an Oster 6084 Toaster Oven because it is light weight and takes up very little counter space (and can be moved outside easily). Then we purchased a Precise Heat 3-1/2-Quart Surgical Stainless-Steel Oil Core Skillet. (We considered a Waring Induction Cooktop but ruled it out because of the need for pots and pans.) Since we have electrical outlets on the exterior of the RV, we don't have to fry inside. That constitutes our total "Kitchen."

BTW, the only other taking-up-space add-ons are:

Hewlett Packard D1530 printer (light as a feather and takes up surprisingly little space.)

Pelonis Disc Furnace III (at 20º outdoor temperature the inside temperature stayed above 68º... again, no Propane use.)

and last but not least:
Dewalt D55141 Air Compressor (way too heavy, way too big... but wouldn't leave home without it.)

There is, of course, a factory installed Air Conditioner/Heat Pump that keeps us comfortable between ~40º and >100º.

I guess I should make it clear that we are "travelers" and not "campers." Long hours in the kitchen is just not in the cards for us. (but I do like to eat well.)

 

[Nords]

The RV came equipped with a Dometic Convection/Microwave Oven.

We've been looking for a convection/microwave that mounts under a cupboard (or at least over a stove) without requiring extraordinary bracing or other extra hardware. (Our old Magic Chef convection/microwave sits on a wall-mounted articulated TV stand.) One problem with the latest over-the-stove models is they're so small inside. We'll have to take a look at this one.

 

[RonBoyd]

Ron - let us know how your stuff comes out!/QUOTE]

I am out of Tahini so the Spicy Udon Noodles will have to wait until next week (or whenever I get to the store again).

However, I just couldn't wait that long to try out the Fasta Pasta. This recipe from Rasa Malaysia seemed perfect to test with. She said it was inspired by her recent trip to Hawaii so that sealed the deal.

Garlic Shrimp

Ingredients:
8 oz. medium-size shrimp (head on, shell on, slit the back of the shrimp and deveined)
2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
3 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
1/8 teaspoon salt or to taste
1/8 teaspoon sugar or to taste
1/2 teaspoon Chinese rice wine
Some chopped scallions

Method:
Rinse the shrimp with cold water and pat dry with paper towels.

Heat up a wok with olive oil or butter. Lightly saute the chopped garlic until aromatic. Add shrimp into the wok and stir well with the garlic and add rice wine. Cover the wok with its lid and cook for about 1 minute. Add chopped scallions, and salt and sugar to taste.

Dish out and serve garlic shrimp immediately.

I made the following adjustments:

I, of course, used Butter.

I have no idea what a "medium-sized" shrimp is. I had a choice in the pantry of 16-20 or 26-30. I chose the 16-20. She says:

Most people in the United States prefer shelled shrimp, but for garlic shrimp, I strongly suggest you to cook the shrimp head-on and with the shell intact. The shrimp head and the shell “soak up” the fragrance and nuance imbued by the chopped garlic and butter used in this garlic shrimp recipe. The natural sweetness of the shrimp heads and shell also add depth to this dish

I hate using my fingers at the table so I shelled them but left the tails on because of the size.

Three gloves of garlic seemed awfully puny for something called "garlic" shrimp so I grabbed a big handfull -- maybe four times a much.

For some reason (DW's lunch, I suspect), we were out of Scallions so I went to the garden and came back with a hefty handful of chives.

I decided that Egg Noodles would be my choice of pasta. At this point, I became leery of the Fasta Pasta which called for a 9-10 minute cooking time while the package said 6 minutes (al denté).

As a side, I put a can of asparagus in a small pie pan, dotted it with a 1/2 stick of butter and a couple tablespoons of parmesan cheese. Put it under a broiler for five minutes.

When the pasta was done, I drained it and threw it in with the shrimp and stirred things up.

Once plated, it looked a little skimpy so I added a couple tablespoons of Cottage Cheese to balance things out. (This turned out to be genious.)

Delicious!!

Of course, it could have been the short glass of Plum Wine during prep/cooking or the full glass of Cabernet Sauvignon during the meal... nah.

Now the important stuff: I fell in love with the Fasta Pasta. It was so nice to put it in the microwave and forget about it. No watching the pot waiting for the water to boil, no waiting for the boil to return to start timing, no panic draining so it didn't overcook.

A couple words about this particular microwave. We bought it in the 70's (the owner's manual has a 1972 copyright date) and I have been told that it doesn't have the power of more modern ones. (I don't believe that, however.) In any event, the pasta was perfect.

 

[audreyh1]

We've been looking for a convection/microwave that mounts under a cupboard (or at least over a stove) without requiring extraordinary bracing or other extra hardware. (Our old Magic Chef convection/microwave sits on a wall-mounted articulated TV stand.) One problem with the latest over-the-stove models is they're so small inside. We'll have to take a look at this one.

No - don't get that Dometic model! The most popular convection microwave for RVs seem to be the Sharp Carousel models. I've heard/read several people that love them.

Some RVs come equipped with the GE Advantium ovens - considered the higher end microwave/convection. I've heard mixed comments and complaints about expensive replacement halogen bulbs. Who knows?

But I still don't know what the convection/microwave ovens do about the top-only heating element. I suppose the fans are supposed to make that a non-issue, but it certainly doesn't work well enough in ours!

Audrey