“There is no gas in the house”. We Pakistanis are most certainly familiar with phrase in the winter season. As the hours begin to tick on the clock from morning to night, the gas pressure in stoves decreases with every passing second till the poor thing coughs for a while and the flame just dies on you. Now, we try to make do with solutions such as tandoor ki roti or order in. But you can’t do that on a daily basis now can you? The problem arises mostly either early in the morning or at night time, so preparing breakfast and dinner can be quite a hassle. Fear not, we are here to your rescue with the aid of our magic helper: your microwave or electric oven. Yes!! You’d be surprised to know that you can cook entire meals with the help of this beautiful invention. Here are some suggestions from our side:
Breakfast:
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and due to the constant gas outages early morning, the most important meal of the day is either skipped or is taken on form of a cereal (Not such a healthy option for the most important meal of the day). The entire day’s energy is quite dependant on having a healthy breakfast. We suggest you try egg muffins with a nice heavy smoothie in the morning. It’s a healthy meal and the best part? You don’t need any gas for this.
Egg Muffins- Quick, Easy and Nutritious:
Egg muffins are basically your regular omelet in muffin style, they’re yummy and super fun to eat, not to mention they will take about 2-3 minutes (timing may vary from machine to machine) to get baked in a microwave or an electric oven. Get the recipe here.
Apple Beetroot and Carrot Juice- The Liquid Powerhouse
The bittery sweet taste of this juice goes well with the egg muffins. This juice is a powerhouse of energy, It’s good for your blood levels, it gives you an instant boost of energy in the morning. It’s the perfect substitute to caffeine and a quick fix. Basically it’s everything you need from a drink in the morning. Get the recipe here.
Bread muffins- The perfect microwave/electric oven snack:
Mid-day snack or packing a tiffin for school or office? It’s time to use those leftovers in the fridge to create the awesomeness i.e bread muffins. This recipe can be modified to accommodate almost any leftovers, whether it’s meat or vegetables.
Make sure you let the bread toast properly in the microwave/electric oven. We suggest you toast the bread mildly before you place it in the muffin mold. Also, keep the grill option on. That’ll prevent them from getting soggy in the microwave. You can get the recipe here.
Dinner:
When you’re tired from a long day’s work you don’t really want to think about the dreading prospect of standing in front of a stove for hours trying to cook dinner on a dying flame. We realize that cooking a typical desi dish or roti salan is quite difficult with a microwave. But that’s okay, If you divide the meal in small portions with a bit of salad, a main course and a dessert. You can cook a perfectly fulfilling meal for dinner. Here’s what you can do:
Brussels Sprouts and Hazelnuts Salad:
The best option for a starter in such a scenario is a salad.The Brussels sprouts need just a tad bit of boiling, you can easily do that by placing them in a bowl of water in a microwave or electric oven. You can roast the hazelnuts in the microwave/electric oven as well, just take a small microwave safe tray add a bit of butter or oil and let them roast for about 5-8 minutes( timings may differ from machine to machine).
It may just be a salad but, don’t be fooled by that, it tastes amazing and isn’t as light as it may seem. Plus, it’s a nutritious vegetarian addition with the meaty lasagna. Get the complete recipe here
Lasagna- The Main course:
Almost the entirety of the recipe can be cooked in an oven or even a microwave. For boiling the lasagna sheets you can take a wide microwave dish.Fill it halfway through water and submerge the lasagna sheets in it. Make sure you add vinegar and a bit of oil to the water so the sheets don’t stick to each other. The sheets will be done in about 30 minutes of the microwave time. But be sure keep checking them after every 10 minutes so they are not over done.
For the Minced Meat:
The meat can easily be boiled and fried in the microwave oven, all you have to do is put it in a plastic bag, submerge that in water and put in the microwave for boiling. Once it’s boiled. Take a microwave safe dish add a bit of oil at the bottom, lay the meat on the dish and put in the microwave for heating. Be sure to stir the meat from time to time. Once it’s cooked through you can proceed with the rest of the recipe which is pretty simple. You can check it out here.
Brownie in a Mug- The Quickest Dessert:
Even if the gas stove isn’t working you can make a perfectly good and fulfilling dessert. Presenting the star dessert of the menu Brownie in a Mug.
Now a common misconception is that cakes cooked in microwaves are very dry, but there is a simple trick that can be used to avoid it. When you’re placing the mug in the microwave, make sure you put a small bowl of water with it. And the brownie will turn out just fine! You can view the full recipe here.
Here is a quick tip: Note the gas outage timings for you house and work around them, maybe blanch some veggies or boil some meat as a backup. This will help you save time at dinner and breakfast time.
