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I am an amateur gourmet, and do all the specialties at home, while my wife cooks the real foods.

By MO SCHNEIDER
lemon curd 88 (photo credit: )
lemon curd 88
(photo credit: )
I am an amateur gourmet, and do all the specialties at home, while my wife cooks the real foods. Wines, liqueurs, breads, pickles, and the like are my line. I love apple pie and cakes of any kind, but I am trying not to use the oven too often in this summer heat. How about some recipes using the microwave? Apart from it being an energy saver, it keeps the kitchen cool. - Ezra Ben-Meir, Nahariya Microwaves are not my favorite for cooking. I generally use mine to heat up leftovers or to defrost food. They're good for cooking asparagus or noodles for chicken soup. Microwaves are also convenient for making rice and poached dishes. One of the disadvantages of a microwave is that you can't really get a crisp roast in them. Your apple pie would not have that lovely crust if it were cooked in a regular microwave. Rather than go into any more pros and cons, here are a couple of recipes I found in an old cookbook called Micro Ways to a Man's Heart. Since you are a cake and pickles gourmet, I chose a couple of dessert recipes. Microwave Lemon Curd 2 1/2 cups white sugar 4 eggs Juice of 3 lemons Grated rind of 1 lemon 100 gr. butter/margarine (half packet) Put the sugar, butter or margarine, lemon juice and lemon rind into a 2-liter non-metallic dish (a casserole dish will do) and cook for about 8 minutes on full power, interrupting frequently to stir. Then add the eggs (well beaten), mix thoroughly and return the dish to the oven and cook for a further 4 minutes; again, interrupting frequently and stirring well. By this time, the mixture should have thickened. If it hasn't, continue cooking till it does. When done, pour the curd into clean warmed jars and seal. Microwave Chocolate Brownies Just under 1/2 a 200 gr. stick of butter or margarine 3/4 cup + 1 Tbsp. (115 gr.) self-rising flour 4 Tbsp. cocoa powder 1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp. (115 gr.) sugar 2 Tbsp. milk (or water if you want it pareve) 2 eggs 1 tsp. vanilla essence Just under 1/2 cup/50 gr. finely chopped walnuts Place the butter and cocoa in a rectangular dish, measuring 12.5x20 cm. and cook on full power for one and a half minutes. Then mix in the sugar. Beat together the eggs, milk and vanilla and add the cocoa mixture. Stir in the flour and nuts, making sure you have no lumps, return to the microwave and cook at full power for 5 minutes. Leave to stand for 10 minutes. Allow to cool and then cut into 4 cm. squares. suemo@zahav.net.il