The Willoughby System

My first microwave was a Christmas present in 1978. It came with a cookbook that had you cooking entire meals in the microwave--that was part of the assumption that it would revolutionize cooking. I wish I'd saved the cookbook. I see it's all over eBay.

I remember scrambled eggs, which weren't any easier than hauling out a frying pan. Or, boil water in a large bowl, add pasta and cook. Takes just as much time as the stovetop. How to "saute" onions in the microwave. And recipes for cakes & pies.

You brushed your chicken or roast beef with Kitchen Bouquet (stuff for making gravy look brown) to get that nice skin color.

We stayed in a B&B in Galway, Ireland, a few years ago and the owner "cooked" the breakfast scrambled eggs in a microwave. At least, I assume that explained the rubbery texture and lack of taste.

There are places here that serve scrambled eggs that come in containers like milk containers. They tend to be rubbery and tasteless. Maybe that was the case there too. Beware of any place offering only scrambled eggs and omelets, no fried etc eggs.

Well, there was a "full Irish" option, but I can't cope with that much grease first thing in the morning.

I sometimes do scrammlers in the microwave, & it seems to do a good job. BUT you have to watch them like a hawk or they get overcooked. Then they become very rubbery indeed.

What microwaves ovens did and still do, isn't so much revolutionise cooking, but revolutionise the time it takes. Saying that I remember my dad hovering over his new microwave back in the late 70's, after he had just put a frozen pie in, he said I thought it would be done straight away.

The first microwave I had ever seen, used or heard of belonged to a family I had been babysitting for for about 5 years. I wasn't given any instructions and blew out the door with aluminum foil. My parents paid for a replacement door but they never had me babysit again. A bit of over drama don't you think?

A few months ago I made soft boiled eggs. It was the first time I had made them in a long time and the first time I had made them after moving to the mountains. They were way under-cooked. In desperation I threw them in the microwave for about 14 seconds. They came out a bit stiff but not too bad. They were edible. I would never make scrambled eggs in the nuke, nor would I try the soft boiled egg thing again unless I had no choice.