So Monday night I finished class at 8:30pm and chated online for a bit. Then I went back to my apartment and was hungry. I decided that I would make spaghetti. Now this doesnt really sound like a feat and I make noodles all the time back home but to cook here it is different let me explain the process...First to use the stove you have to go to the fuse box and flip the stove on. Then you have to find your pots and pan and start the water boiling. To get the water to boil in a decent time (less than an hour) you must turn it all the way up until it is boiling and then turn it to low.
So I had three burners going at once (I will have to take a picture of my stove). The back left I was making garlic toast, back right boiling the noodles and front right warming milk for my chocolate.
When I got the idea to make the garlic toast I was like "how hard can it be... it will be like grilled cheese" But I have never made grilled cheese and this donned on me half way through the process. But the garlic toast was still very good, but not as good as at home in the oven.
Warming the milk is terrible! It takes such a long time - I think on Monday night it took 45 minutes. I have to keep it on low so that is doesnt scald on the bottom of the cooker. But it is always worthwhile in the end.
So then I remember that I had bought the noodles but forgot to buy sauce, because I couldnt find anything that looked like what my mom bought. But I remember that I still had a tomate from last weeks lieki. I decided that I would saute a tomatoe and use it for sauce. So I tooke the toast I was trying to keep warm without burning it out of the pan and poured some olive oil in there with the cut tomatoes. they turned out pretty well.
Over all my meal was ok, pretty bland. I am still trying to figure out spices and how much you need to use to make it taste good. I will get ther eventually or starve to death.
But I wanted to share my silly "like a virgin" moment (as they like to call it here) because I was really proud for cooking an entire meal all on a stove. No microwave!
When you heat milk on the stove - rinse your pan out with cold water first - this will keep it from scorching on the bottom of the pan. (Obviously, don't dry the pan before you put the milk in :P ) Let me know how it goes for you. Love, Leslie
ReplyDeleteSo where is the picture of the stove? I am so proud of your cooking!
ReplyDeleteI think your stove looks fun - but what's up with the front right burner? It looks more like a cup warmer :)
ReplyDeleteHere's a really EASY and versatile tomato sauce base (cheap, too)- You can add anything on hand for variety and to fill it out.... onions, veggies, meat.... and top it off with cheese if you have it...
TOMATO PASTE, CHOPPED TOMATOES(canned work great - use the juice, too - if you use fresh tomatoes, you will probably need to add a little WATER to thin the tomato paste - or you can use tomato sauce, a litte WINE maybe ;), GARLIC, HERBS (oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary all work well - experiment with what you like), and SALT and PEPPER if you want. Mix it all together and cook it till it's hot. Add any browned meat and/or sauteed veggies and you're done!
The front right burner is exactly what it looks like. They have these little pots that are made to warm water (for tea) or milk (for coffee or hot chocolate).
ReplyDeleteThat sounds good. We kind of did that for our tomatoe basil soup!