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

[jesse_the_k]

+1, and this GF-free person likes Asian rice noodles a lot! (I also found that once I soften them to the "just right" stage, plunging 'em back in cold water prevents over "cooking".)

Wheat pasta requires boiling water, so the microwave won't magically reduce the scalding issue.

We've got something much like this silicone potholder. The grooves help with my iffy grip; the silicone is a good enough insulator I can grab both in and outside the pot to lift it up.

[killing_rose]

That was why I switched to Asian rice noodles from the gluten-free commercial rice noodles. I couldn't handle boiling water on a stove, but almost-kind-of boiling water in my tea kettle, combining the two in a mixing bowl and waiting was much better for my spoons. Plus, I live on the third floor and there's only so many times I can manage to walk up and down stairs without plunging headfirst.

Also, I think I love you for pointing out that potholder. My parents have similar, but the more traditional silicone potholders are too big and bulky for me. (And I'm notorious for being out of it, setting down square potholders and then grabbing the pan or dropping it or having the potholder and still managing to burn myself. Silicone's been the best, but again, too big.)

Oh, mathsnerd, one thing you might want to invest in is a rice cooker with a steaming basket; that allows you to cook a wide range of things, steam stuff, and then microwave the leftovers.

[jesse_the_k]

I accept love from all and sundry *grin.*. The potholders have reduced my kitchen anxiety dramatically. I can even hold on to a pan fresh from the broiler for almost a minute without feeling it!