Sunday, January 22, 2017

Thankful Sunday, January 22, 2017



I am thankful for my microwave.

Our new house has a microwave installed over the stove. While it works, it is original to the house and was built in 1989. It has no turntable and only 600 watts--not very powerful by today's standards.

We had not moved the microwave from the old house because I used it in staging to show how it would fit in one of the cabinets and not take up any counter space. Yesterday we moved it and I had my first decent bag of popcorn since we moved. It turns out that 600 watts only pops about half of the kernels no matter how long you cook them. Someday, we will replace the one over the stove. In the meantime, we have our more powerful one, and for that I am thankful.


20 comments:

  1. Funny how appliances really make our lives easier and more enjoyable. I'm thankful for my washing machine, I wouldn't want to wash the laundry by hand!

    If you're looking at saving money, when you get ready to replace your over-the-stove microwave, see if there is a Habitat for Humanity ReStore thrift store nearby. I bought an older but almost never used GE Spacemaker over the top microwave for myself last year for $25 (works great!) and one for my BFF just last week, same price.

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    1. We don't have a Restore nearby, but there is one in the area that we go to sometimes. Most recently, we got a mirror for staging and some shelving for the new house. I've very cautious when buying used appliances because even if they work, you're never quite sure what could be wrong with them. However, it sounds like it worked great for you.

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  2. When we renovated our kitchen, we added an above-the-stove microwave (yes, I know it's not the trendy thing to do, but it made the most practical sense in our small kitchen where every inch of space was valuable real estate!) but we have kept our counter-top style microwave. We plan on sending it on with our kids when they move out someday, although I can also see the time coming when reaching overhead to access a microwave may be difficult. Glad you are done staging your home and can start bringing over things that are useful to you in your new digs. :)

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    1. So microwaves over stoves are out? What's the alternative other than taking up counter space? I need to know if there's some miracle out there that I don't know about before we go shopping.

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    2. The solution is a bigger kitchen. No, seriously. The trendy thing is a fancy-schmancy looking vent hood as a "visual focal point" for your kitchen. Keeping in mind that my house is 1400 square feet, that concept really doesn't work. I have a totally unproven theory that the quality of a person's cooking is inversely proportional to the size and gorgeousness of the kitchen. Anywhooo ... I gained 19 inches of countertop space by adding the micro over the stovetop and I lovelovelove it. My microwave is used for reheating items, so lifting heavy cookware/food isn't typically an issue. I think I saw examples of people who had put their microwave on a shelf in a pantry area, but those are the only tricks I know.

      I'm smiling at your comments to Cat, below. We rarely eat popcorn, but when we do, the microwaved version is what I go for. I figure that it's such a rare thing for me to eat that I won't stress about the possible contaminants. Like you, I'm not as careful with food choices at Cat and not as economical as Lili, and I try to not beat myself up about that. :)

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    3. At our old house we had our microwave on a shelf in a pantry and it was great. However, we don't have a setup like that here, so I'd like to get it off the counter. While I'd like my new kitchen rearranged differently, I don't think it is going to get any bigger. I don't know if you watch, every show on HGTV knocks down a wall and puts a large island in the kitchen. I don't think that's going to happen here either, but who knows. We definitely want to do some kitchen work, but I don't know how far into the future that's going to be.

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    4. :) We don't have cable tv--dinosaurs, I know. I have seen some HGTV episodes and while they are interesting, I truly don't think most people do the kind of renovations that they suggest. I'm really not fond of islands, myself--to me they seem cumbersome, but that's personal preference. Everyone seems to eat the meals I prepare so something must be working out in our kitchen setup!

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    5. Most people don't do the kind of renovations they suggest because they don't have a personal designer and a ton of money. The islands they put in most of these kitchens fit quite nicely because the kitchens are huge. If we had an island, it would be just another place for paper to accumulate.

      Sounds like dinner is good at your house. I'll have to stop by sometime.

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  3. Microwave popcorn?!? That's a crime against popcorn! :-) You do know that stuff is toxic, don't you?

    Seriously, I'm glad you have a full strength microwave again. Mine died a few months back and I have been using a little one that was out in the garage - it's got much less power, but it's functional, and I didn't have to go buy a new one.

    And if you want to enjoy REAL popcorn, I highly recommend a stovetop popper like the Whirley Pop. :)

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    1. I know that microwave popcorn is supposed to be a death sentence according to some. From what I've read the main culprits are the diacetyl in the bag liner and the chemicals they use for the buttery flavors. And toxicity from those would have to be consumed and inhaled in VERY large amounts before they are a potential problem. But after listening to the public, most of the main manufacturers have taken diacetyl out of the bags. Also, I eat kettle corn because I believe there's not as many chemical flavorings as the buttery kind.

      AS you know, I'm not quite as careful with my food as you are (or as economical as Lili is). Luckily, I don't have as many allergies as you do that forces me to be. So I've chosen not to worry about the popcorn until I eat a lot more of it than I do now. I can't worry about everything, so I decided popcorn is not one of them. I seem to able to fill my worry quotient with plenty of other things.

      I did check out the Whirley Pop and it looks pretty good. It takes me back to shaking the pot over the stove as a kid trying not to burn the popcorn. I might try it someday if I could find a place to store it.

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    2. I was mostly just teasing about the toxic microwave popcorn, but I have to say that CatMan and I have become total popcorn snobs since the fabulous stove top popper entered our lives, and I'm NEVER going back! And BTW, the stove top poppers aren't entirely "clean" either since they're made from aluminum. I bought a stainless steel one once in a fit of "healthiness" but the bottom is much thicker than the aluminum kind and it made chewy popcorn... a TRAVESTY! So, Alzheimer's it is! :-)

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    3. Now you've got me really curious and I would probably try the Wayfair except I'm trying hard to not bring more stuff into the house unless there's a clear need and place to store it. Moving does that to you. Right now the kitchen is full up.

      As far as aluminum and Alzheimer's and aluminum, I think it's the chicken and egg thing.

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  4. I'm glad you have your more powerful microwave back! Sometimes I wonder how we ever managed to reheat food when we didn't have microwave ovens! I've read that it is possible to pour kernels of unpopped popcorn into a paper bag with butter or coconut oil and pop them in the microwave, but I've never tried that.

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    1. We used to have a popper made for the microwave that we used occasionally. However, we didn't really like it that well, so we gave it away. I might look into the brown bag method, but should figure out if there's bad stuff in the bag before we use it. Most bags aren't made to be food safe. Oh, it's hard to live with these first world problems. :)

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  5. I love microwave popcorn and don't eat it often enough that I worry about it, so I understand your joy in having one that works well.

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    1. I take a 100 calorie bag and eat it a piece at a time while I'm watching TV or similar activity. It's satisfies my taste buds, my crunchy fix, and my fidgety fingers. It's a win, win, win.

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  6. Yep, we have 2 microwaves and don't know what we would do without them. (Neither one of us wanted to get rid of ours when we merged households! ) Glad you got your microwave popcorn!

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    1. The family that microwaves together, stays together. :)

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  7. I just pop popcorn on a pan over the stove, moving it back and forth, doesn't take long and I don't have to use any oil and it all pops too. I use a big pan with a lid that has a vent hole. then I toss it with olive oil or butter if I'm being luxurious and bad, into which I've mixed my spices of choice.

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    1. Years ago, that's the way we used to do it and it worked well.

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What do you think?