Making pasta in the microwave?

[mathsnerd]

Hello all!

I'm hoping to pick to your collective brains in the hopes that someone has the answer to this question. I have recently acquired a 20L microwave/grill/convection oven and am now facing the cold hard truth that I don't know how to use it other than re-heating things. (Oops.)

The weather here in Germany is getting colder, and I am craving PASTA! Hence, my question to you all: how can I cook pasta in a microwave? What kind of dishes/equipment do I need to purchase? (I have, quite literally, nothing.) Are some sorts of pasta going to be harder than others? I do own an electric hot water cooker, so I can boil water ahead of time, if that helps.

In other important information, I share a tiny room, have next to no storage space, have almost no prep space, have a sink, share a tiny under-the-counter-fridge, do NOT have a freezer, have two hot plates but do not use them (hence the microwave/oven) due to fear of burns, do not currently have any storage containers but can get some when I get cooking dishes/equipment if it's recommended.

I am disabled, hence the not cooking on hot plates, use crutches and hand/arm braces, and have reduced motor skills in my hands/arms/legs. Spoons vary wildly by day and time of day.

I need to eat more and eat warm food. I turn to you in hopes of being able to start having pasta. If I can cook pasta, I can make a batch and refrigerate it, and then re-heat it and make sauces or dress it as my stomach permits (I have weird food things due to a chronic illness) and a lot of things would be better. At least one of my closer friends and her mother would stop bitching (they bought the microwave).

I thank you all in advance and look forward to being able to have pasta! X-posted to boilingwater

Comments

[snowgrouse]

You can. The best ones would probably be those cheapo ones with very small noodles (macaroni or those one-inch spaghetti type things), and cooking times vary a bit (it depends on the type of pasta and the microwave), but yeah, cover 'em with water and start the microwave and see what happens. I've found that a deep plastic dish such as a children's breakfast bowl with a brim you can grip with your thumbs is very handy for microwaving food, because they don't get as hot as ceramic dishes. Also, if you have trouble handling heavier dishes, it's a good idea to put a flat plate under a heavier bowl so you can use that plate to lift the bowl in and out of the microwave (it doesn't usually get as hot as a bowl in the microwave, either).