cookability

Does anyone have any tips for shelling peas? Now that it's early summer where I live, we have a few weeks of shelling peas available in the farmers' markets. I can't resist them, and you can only get them for a few weeks a year here, but shelling them by hand is a massive pain trigger. You can't get fresh english peas pre-shelled anywhere that I've ever seen, and I like fresh miles more than frozen.

(Though the improvised and delicious-if-pain-inducing dinner was worth sharing, because if you use frozen peas, the only part I can't figure out how to make easy is the onion chopping. I don't think it would work diary-free, though I made it with gluten-free pasta and it was lovely.)

( pasta, cream sauce, and veg )

amianym

One of the biggest things I'm struggling with foodwise at the moment (aside from simply, er, forgetting to eat) is getting a satisfying breakfast into my face in the morning. The things I do currently are either making an omelette or sausages and toast, having granola, making oatmeal, or er, not eating until the afternoon. Oatmeal or granola are easy, but they generally leave me feeling unsatisfied and exhausted (something about the fibrous grains/milk combo, I think, and I don't feel like I get enough protein despite that I make it with milk.) The omelette and toast option is more satisfying, but the prep is slightly harder, and for me the textures and flavors can be kind of hard to process sometimes, which leads to me eating very slowly. Despite that the balance of nutrients is good for me, three eggs and a slice of toast isn't quite enough food for me, and I can't just size it up because I'll tend to get bored with eating before finishing. I once tried making a batch of eggs + potatoes + veggies to eat throughout the week, which was good, but I don't think I can do that reliably, and I don't have enough storage containers to batch my breakfasts *and* lunches/dinners.

I'm hoping you might have some breakfast suggestions that involve plenty of protein, are not a type of porridge or use of granola, and for which the prep is quick and uncomplicated. I have some limitations on cost and of course sensory processing issues, but don't shy away from suggesting things on those grounds.

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