“Creativity is Intelligence having Fun” -Einstein Harbin, China
Harbin, China- July 4, 2013
For the past 5 months or so, I have been ‘blessed’ to NOT have an oven =/ [not]…Well, it is kind of a blessing as in it forced me to get my creative juice flowing in making and baking things that I really wanted by other means. All I have to work with is 1 hot top stove top, a wok, a rice cooker and a microwave ANDDD our circuit breaker thing shuts off anytime we use more than 2 electrical appliances -_-. tis is life! So I wanted to share some of the things that I have been able to make without an oven and alot of normal ingredients we have at home. Using the oven is still the best and healthiest means however–>This is Sweet Tooth Survival Mode—sometimes you just need a little home baked kick to make you feel good!
This is the brownie recipe I adapted from: (see below)
For my I’m-desperate-for-chocolate Brownie recipe, I substituted hot chocolate mix instead of the unsweetened cocoa and used a little less sugar so it was overpowered by sweetness (if you have a super sweet tooth than you can certainly add the correct amount of sugar–but it taste perfect with a little less). I did not have vanilla extract so I just omitted it but it didn’t ruin the taste at all. Be sure to cook it in the microwave on 75% heat for about 2 minutes. (I check it at the 1 minute mark with a fork and then check again until nothing comes out on the fork) Let it cool for a moment so you don’t burn your lips, add a scoop of ice cream and voila! Brownie Affair within 5 minutes. I shared this recipe with my roommates and they love it! They are making brownies more than me now! =)
Using the microwave, I have also made Peach Cobbler, Oatmeal Cranberry Cookie, and Apple crumble/apple pie! YUmO! =) lol
Here is the favorite Heavenly Banana Bread Recipe! (below)
I made this bread using a standard rice cooker one day early in the morning to try to finish off some of my ripe bananas. It was a total tester morning and it came out a total hit! I was so surprised how great it tasted coming out of the rice cooker! SCORE! It is a fairly big amount of bread so I shared with my roommates and by the time I got home there was 1 piece left for me! =( I guess I will just have to make more! This recipe I had to tweek the amount of baking powder because I didn’t have any baking soda–so the bread came out a little flatter than bread usually is but the taste was heavenly! Bananas here were so perfect when they were in season–I think it is going out of season because I could not find them on the street =(
Also, in the Rice Cooker, I have made Navy Bean Soup, Lentil Soup and Lentil Chili! =)
Rule of Thumb: You are never too far away to have a home cooked meal or a nice snack! 😉