SkyMall Monday: Microwave cookware makes nuking easy

Many people are intimidated by cooking. They worry that it’s too difficult – or that they are too inept – to produce an edible meal. “The only thing I know how to make is cereal,” people will say. Well, as much as bowls of Cap’n Crunch helped me get through my freshman year of college, you cannot live on cereal alone. However, if you truly are that bad of a cook (or, if your overprotective mother doesn’t let you use the stove), there is a trick for making simple and delicious meals all by yourself: the microwave. Sure, your microwave is great for making popcorn or turning a roll of foil into a light show, but, it can also be the only appliance you need to feed yourself if you don’t even know how to boil water. So, this week, SkyMall Monday takes a look at some of the best – and most useful – microwave cookware that SkyMall has to offer.Microwave S’mores Maker

Pictured above, the Microwave S’mores Maker allows you to make those delicious treats even when you’re not out in the woods on a camping trip. Why waste your time looking for the perfect s’mores stick when you can heat up your marshmallows from the inside so that they are hotter than the most intense lava flow? Is it possible to insure the roof of your mouth like JLo did to her butt?

Microwave Pasta Boat

If you seriously can’t boil water, then the Microwave Pasta Boat is for you. Don’t believe me? Well, take a look at the product description:

Cooking pasta can be a hassle. The amazing Pasta Boat makes it faster and easier to make perfect pasta every time right in your microwave oven. It’s soooo easy! Just put in the pasta, add water to the serving line, then pop it in the microwave. It’s that easy. Pasta boat keeps water at the perfect temperature – it actually does a better job than a pot on a stove!

So, wait, is it easy? I hope so, because cooking pasta on the stove is harder than training a dog to solve a Rubik’s Cube.

Microwave Egg Scrambler

Scrambled eggs are a fantastic breakfast. Making them, however, can be a real hassle. Who has time for all of that clean up? Thankfully, the Microwave Egg Scrambler puts the entire process in one dish. Don’t just take my word for it. Read the product description of this magical device:

Make it easy to make breakfast. This hand-dipped stoneware piece lets you scramble, cook and eat your morning eggs out of one dish-just whip up eggs (and cheese?) with the included wood-handle whisk, microwave for under three minutes, and you’re ready to go.

This thing is so mind-blowing that even the designers of the product aren’t sure of how much it can do! Can you add cheese to it? Who knows? You might also know the Microwave Egg Scrambler by its original name: a bowl.

There’s no more need for you to be on a first name basis with your Chinese food delivery man. Put down the phone and put on your lead bib because, from now on, you’re eating fresh, nuked meals. It’s about time you felt proud of yourself.

Check out all of the previous SkyMall Monday posts HERE.

Eggnog: Where does it come from?

I’ve long been a fan of spiced ‘nog. It’s one of the creamiest, best tastes in the world. For over 300 years, eggnog has been a Christmas staple, and I just had to get to the bottom of the mystery of ‘why’? What I discovered in my research of the origin of eggnog was quite startling. While ‘nog definitely came from Europe circa early 17th century, the term “eggnog” and the etymology of the word is perhaps the more interesting story.

The original eggnog was a mixture of milk, egg, spices, and wine (in parts of Europe like France), beer (in England), or sherry (in Spain). The alcoholic portion of the drink depends on how you interpret the “nog” in the name. That is because “nog” could mean the Old English term for a strong beer, or it could be interpreted from Middle English as “noggin,” the wooden mug that the drink was served in.
It seems quite unusual (and kind of unappetizing) to me that, before it arrived on America’s shores, eggnog was made with wine, beer, or sherry. Americans — the drunks that we are — decided to spike the drink with more concentrated spirits such as rum and brandy. Our first President, George Washington, would make the drink so strong that only the burliest of drinkers could handle it. The term for rum is actually “grog,” but “eggrog” doesn’t sound very good at all, now, does it? (It makes me think of a lumpy, spiked oatmeal — yuck!) Americans also boil their eggnog so as to avoid getting salmonella from the raw egg.

Even more variations of traditional eggnog are popping up around the globe. In Louisiana, they replace the rum with bourbon. In Puerto Rico, they add coconut milk. In Mexico, it’s a hard drink, as it’s mixed with grain alcohol. In Peru, it’s made with “pisco,” a local brandy.

Whatever the form or unique flavor, drinking eggnog is a Christmas tradition because of its warming effect and generally sweet, smooth, and spicy taste which make it a perfect holiday drink.

[Information was gathered from Wikipedia, About.com, and TheKitchenProject.com]