How Do you Warm up a Second Meal

 I come from a household where my Mum used to hate warming up food - she always maintained that there appeared to be a "taste" when doing so and it was not something that happened too often because of this, although she never wasted food just used a slightly different approach.  That is until the arrival of a microwave.  Mum was one of the first locally to have a Microwave after having been introduced on a demonstration of one at the WI Group she belonged too (and the one later on where I was WI Secretary) - many years ago.

Mum soon availed herself of how to use the Microwave and indeed used it a lot even for baking, making meringues that sort of thing.  As a result of her interest I learned how to use one as well, I saw it as making my life easier longer-term and its potential.  Mum used it where she could.  With the arrival of the Microwave, she started warming second meals up in it without ruining the meal.  This is something that many of us today take for granted and it is often referred to as "ping" technology.  Many people only ever use the Microwave for this purpose or defrosting something - both of which I am guilty of in the past.  However, there are a few things I want to experiment with as I have a lovely Microwave and a set of part-works bought and collected in the 70s and 80s which I still have and which I am hoping to unearth.

Prior to the advent of the Microwave the recommended way of warming your food up was to pop it on a plate and steam-heat it with a saucepan lid over it and then add hot gravy once it was warmed through to your liking.

Now despite having a Microwave it ends up like Spaghetti Junction in my kitchen when it comes to using the Microwave as there is no socket box where the Microwave is or indeed my small Electric Cooker.  As a result of which, I do not tend to use the Microwave at the moment although I am hoping to get shot of that little hiccup as I have bought a two socket extension box for threading from the nearest socket through the kitchen unit and then down to where the two pieces of equipment are situated.  I am hopeful that G will be able to sort this out for me to enable this.  Fingers crossed and toes plaited.

These days when I cannot get to the Microwave, I use my small oven dish the food up on the plate, cover it with foil and cook for about 20 to 25 minutes then bring out of the oven, and cover with hot gravy which I have warmed up in a small saucepan on the cooker top so that the gravy soaks into the food and really warms it up.  I even re-mash homemade mashed potatoes with some boiling water to unthicken it a bit (the starch often sets the potato hard) the hot water helps ease it off a bit before warming it through on the plate.  There does not appear to be a "taste" as my Mum used to call it when I deal with things this way, but my preferred method is in the Microwave if I can.

It works for me, there is always a way around things if you know how.

Do any of you use any different methods?

Catch you soon.

Pattypan

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