Home Cooking, Episode 14: Weekend Fry-Up
Nov. 28th, 2020 10:21 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kevin_standleeLisa reminded me that one of the reasons we spent so much money on groceries in the past week was so that we could stay safely at home away from people who participated in super-spreader "celebration" events. As I had nothing pressing this morning (unlike tomorrow morning, when I have a convention-planning meeting), I took heart from her words and made my own breakfast fry-up, without a frying pan.
I remembered to pre-heat the toaster oven when I went to take a shower in order to cook the hash brown patties. It takes longer to get them crisp than the instructions say, which we put down to being at altitude (4000 ft / 1200 m), so they took 15 minutes each side. As they neared completion, I put coffee on to brew and heated up the hot link sausage in the microwave oven. As they cooked, I scrambled three eggs, added a little garlic powder to them, and microwaved them after the sausages came out of the oven. About the time they finished, the coffee and the hash browns were done.
This is easier to do in the winter than in the summer. We have never had a gas stove because we never connected the gas (and Southwest Gas eventually removed the meter entirely) when the inspector discovered the Furnace of Death had been trying to burn the house down. Also, the way the original gas stove-top was installed vented fumes (including things like grease) under the house, and we've never done the rather substantial and expensive remodeling it would take to replace it. Therefore, cooking in our kitchen relies solely upon the electrical appliances. The circuit in the kitchen is such that I have the choice of running two of these three appliances: electric kettle, toaster oven, and microwave oven. Experimentation has shown that trying to run them all at once will pop the circuit breaker. In the winter, I keep a pot of water on the wood stove, so I always have hot water for coffee, tea, hot chocolate, etc. and therefore can use the other two without worrying about load balancing.
I know it's pretty simple, but it's tasty, and I like it. It just takes a lot longer than buying it from a restaurant. Having worked as a short-order cook for a while when I was in college, I understand why, too. If I had the fully-equipped kitchen I had back in the day, I could dash out a meal like this much more quickly, too.
Seriously, I continue to be grateful that we have done well enough to keep stocked and be able to stay home, stay safe, and still eat well.
I remembered to pre-heat the toaster oven when I went to take a shower in order to cook the hash brown patties. It takes longer to get them crisp than the instructions say, which we put down to being at altitude (4000 ft / 1200 m), so they took 15 minutes each side. As they neared completion, I put coffee on to brew and heated up the hot link sausage in the microwave oven. As they cooked, I scrambled three eggs, added a little garlic powder to them, and microwaved them after the sausages came out of the oven. About the time they finished, the coffee and the hash browns were done.
This is easier to do in the winter than in the summer. We have never had a gas stove because we never connected the gas (and Southwest Gas eventually removed the meter entirely) when the inspector discovered the Furnace of Death had been trying to burn the house down. Also, the way the original gas stove-top was installed vented fumes (including things like grease) under the house, and we've never done the rather substantial and expensive remodeling it would take to replace it. Therefore, cooking in our kitchen relies solely upon the electrical appliances. The circuit in the kitchen is such that I have the choice of running two of these three appliances: electric kettle, toaster oven, and microwave oven. Experimentation has shown that trying to run them all at once will pop the circuit breaker. In the winter, I keep a pot of water on the wood stove, so I always have hot water for coffee, tea, hot chocolate, etc. and therefore can use the other two without worrying about load balancing.
I know it's pretty simple, but it's tasty, and I like it. It just takes a lot longer than buying it from a restaurant. Having worked as a short-order cook for a while when I was in college, I understand why, too. If I had the fully-equipped kitchen I had back in the day, I could dash out a meal like this much more quickly, too.
Seriously, I continue to be grateful that we have done well enough to keep stocked and be able to stay home, stay safe, and still eat well.
