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Life Without a Microwave: 2 Months In

Published on June 18, 2014 By Emily. Updated on June 18, 2014

You may recall my mentioning that we got rid of our microwave at the end of April.  Right before I left for Montreal, we discovered that some ants had taken to living in our pantry.  After evicting the ants, we discovered that they’d especially taken to living inside our microwave and were less interested in leaving their new abode.  And so, after a series of texts between Brian and I while I was in Canada, it was decided that the microwave needed to go.  I was a little sad about the loss of our microwave, mostly because it was older than Brian (really!) and I wanted to see how long it could last for.  But though it’s death wasn’t of “natural causes”, we decided not to replace it.microwaveWe’d been talking about getting rid of the microwave for a long time.  It had been agreed that, when the time came for our microwave to go, we wouldn’t replace it right away.  I’ve read some articles about the dangers of microwaves, but the decision was more based on the fact that I just wasn’t sure that we really needed it.  We just weren’t using it often and it seemed to make sense to try life without it.

The result?  So far, so good!  There have definitely been some moments when I’ve wished we still had a microwave…to melt the butter I forgot to soften for muffins, to warm up the tea I didn’t get a chance to drink, to reheat the leftover lasagna.  But know what?  The alternative methods are not that big a deal.  Yes, life without a microwave takes extra time, but the adjustment has been surprisingly uneventful.  I can let the butter sit out for a few hours…or make something else…or put it on the top of the warm stove.  I also saved this article about softening butter that I’m sure will come in handy.  I’m also becoming increasingly comfortable with reheating on the stovetop and in the oven.  We often skipped the microwave for reheating before, but now we don’t have a choice.  Sometimes the results are actually better than in the microwave, sometimes not so much.  The first time I attempted to steam frozen edamame, the results were much mushier than one would prefer.  But the second time, I cooked them for a shorter amount of time and they were great.  

We continue to have no plans to replace the microwave.  We’re approaching this “no microwave” experiment the same way we’ve been approaching having one car for the past couple years.  We will do so until it no longer makes sense.  For now, life without a microwave makes sense.  We’ll see if I’m still singing the same song in a few months when it’s a million degrees outside and I have to turn on the stove in order to cook anything.

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Filed Under: home, life Tagged With: kitchen, microwave

« Strawberry Season!: CSA Menu Plan #2
To Do: Summer 2014 »

Comments

  1. Lucy says

    June 19, 2014 at 11:59 am

    I lived sans microwave in grad school and for the two years I lived in Wakefield. I liked not using counter space, heating things on/in the stove, and figuring out creative solutions to food. And I also liked being able to smugly tell people that I didn’t have a microwave (or a TV for that matter). Now I have both.

Trackbacks

  1. My First Cauliflower Crust PIzza says:
    August 16, 2015 at 5:54 pm

    […] Basically, you cook your cauliflower (I did mine in a foil-lined steamer on the stovetop, since we don’t have a microwave), puree it in a food processor with other ingredients, roll it out on parchment, bake it, add […]

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Emily
Last week Brian and I finally got around to hiring Last week Brian and I finally got around to hiring a sitter for a rare night out. We went to dinner at @publicna and took advantage of the opportunity with drinks, appetizers and dessert.

Pictured:
- Citrus Braised Beef Tacos
- "Chicken and Waffles"
- House Fries with Garlic Aioli
- Fried Chickpeas
- Blood Orange Cheesecake
It was no surprise that Public was close to full on a Wednesday night - everything was so good. 

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#igers413_food #igers413 #BerkshireFoodies #InTheBerkshires #EatLocal #WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires #NorthAdams #NAmazing #PublicEatAndDrink
New year, new theme word! This year's word is "enr New year, new theme word!
This year's word is "enrich" and I'm really excited about it.

I've written more about this year's theme on the blog. Click in the link in my profile or follow the link below to read the post.
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https://www.relishments.com/blog/my-2023-theme-word-enrich/
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#YearlyTheme #MyOneWord #2023 #enrich2023 #NewYearsResolution
It's not New Year's Eve without a Top 9 post. It's It's not New Year's Eve without a Top 9 post.
It's almost all #Berkshires content this year, which is great.
1. A pasta salad reel that took longer to create than the recipe took to make.
2. A reel from North Carolina where I could have watched birds all day.
3. The @thelazygenius book giveaway.
4.@plantconnector 
5. @berkshiremuseum 
6.@sculpture.now at @themountlenox 
7. @massmoca 
8. @mountainviewfarm413 
9. The #AshuwillticookRailTrail
New on the blog: My 2022 reflections on last year' New on the blog: My 2022 reflections on last year's theme word - resume. 

I was able to get back to many activities that were meaningful to me this year and I'm calling this theme a success. Follow the link below or click the link in my profile to read more.
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https://www.relishments.com/blog/reflections-on-resuming-in-2022/
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#resume2022 #newyearsresolution #myoneword #yearlytheme
New on the blog: My Favorite Recipes of 2022. For New on the blog: My Favorite Recipes of 2022.

For the fourth year, I've recapped the best new (to me) recipes I made this year in the hope that they'll give you some new dishes to try. This year's list is short, but delicious. It includes @budgetbytes My Favorite Recipes of 2022
Published on December 30, 2022 By Emily. Updated on December 30, 2022

It’s hard to believe that 2022 is basically behind us. Though overall this year found me getting back to the person I want to be (post-babies and “post”-pandemic), I did not try nearly as many new recipes this year as I used to. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I’d made note of any new-to-me recipes I wanted to share in this post. This year’s list is short, but delicious. It includes recipes from @budgetbytes, @smittenkitchen and @howsweeteats.
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Read the post by visiting the link in my profile or 
https://www.relishments.com/blog/my-favorite-recipes-of-2022/
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#RecipeRoundUp #BestRecipes2022 #FavoriteRecipes
@coastalmainebotanicalgardens continues to be one @coastalmainebotanicalgardens continues to be one of the highlights of all my return trips to Boothbay and their annual Gardens Aglow event continues to impress. It was great to be back to walking the gardens instead of the pandemic drive through and there seemed to be more lights than ever.  I'm already looking forward to next year.
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#Boothbay #BoothbayMaine #CoastalMaineBotanicalGardens #GardensAglow #BotanicalGarden #MidcoastMaine
It has been a while, but there is finally a new CS It has been a while, but there is finally a new CSA menu plan on the blog! Visit the link below or in my profile to see how I plan to make use of some of the @mightyfoodfarm produce seen here.
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https://www.relishments.com/blog/welcome-to-winter-farm-share-csa-menu-plan-148/
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#MightyFoodFarm #EatLocal #EatSeasonal #VermontGrown #CSApickup #CSAshare #KnowYourFarmerKnowYourFood #MenuPlanning #MealPlanning #igers413 #igers413_food #BerkshireFoodies
Fall in the Berkshires is always incredible, but t Fall in the Berkshires is always incredible, but this year we've had weather that has also been outstanding. The past 2 weekends have included time at Jaeschke Orchards, the Greylock Glen, and the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail as well as stopping to photograph any random foliage I see. 
Check out the last slide for video of some feathered friends we saw on a walk.
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#igers413 #InTheBerkshires #EatLocal #WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires #FallFoliage #FallColors #autumn #AshuwillticookRailTrail #JaeschkeOrchards #GreylockGlen
@freshgrassfestival continues to be one of my favo @freshgrassfestival continues to be one of my favorite events each year, and it doesn't hurt that it's just minutes away from home. Enjoying the festival with my kids is definitely a different experience than without, but it's still a good time. The weather was especially cooperative today which was great for all the laps I did around the @massmoca campus pushing a stroller. I'm already looking forward to next year.
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#igers413 #InTheBerkshires #WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires #NorthAdams #NAmazing #FreshGrass #FreshGrassFestival #MassMoCA #MusicFestival
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