Saturday, June 4, 2016

Insomnia and Cornbread

Microwave Corn Bread


What do you do when it is past 3:30 a.m. and you can't fall asleep and you start to feel a bit hungry?  Why, you start craving some cornbread, of course.  Well, at least, I did!  But who wants to bother with greasing baking trays and wait for 30 minutes for the cornbread to bake in the oven?  Not me!  Can cornbread be baked in a microwave?  I searched for microwave cornbread recipes on the internet and came across several.  I selected one that sounded very similar to my usual oven baked cornbread recipe which is on the back of the box of corn meal.

The recipe I selected was the 5-Minute Microwave Cornbread at Allrecipes.com.  The batter was mixed in the bowl it was to be microwaved in, so minimum dishes to wash.  My cornbread seemed done at 4.5 minutes (tooth pick inserted came out clean) but I let it cook for a total of 5 minutes before I took it out, just to be sure.  And cut a piece:

Piece of Microwave Cornbread
I had wondered if the bread would come out of the bowl without trouble because the bowl wasn't greased prior to microwaving the batter, but the piece I cut came out without any trouble:

The Cut-into Cornbread
 
Of course it doesn't have that nice brown crust of an oven baked cornbread, but while I like the crust, my daughter doesn't, so I think she'll like this microwave version, better.

With my altered taste buds, the cornbread had a very slightly bitter taste (I have been tasting sugar in baked goods as being bitter; or it might have been the baking powder I was tasting).  But the cornbread was soft and quite acceptable.   I'll have to make it again when daughter comes for a visit next and have her try it. 

I know that gas is supposed to be a more inexpensive energy source than electricity, but surely it must cost more to heat up my big gas oven for 30 minutes than to use 5 minutes worth of electricity to run the microwave?  Plus it doesn't heat up the house - a big bonus in the summer when my house gets so warm (no central air).  

Have you made cornbread in the microwave, before?  What other "baked" goods have you made in the microwave?  

It is now, 4:56 a.m.  I wonder if I should try to go to sleep and sleep in till about 11:00 a.m. (provided I fall asleep, at all), or if I should just have an early morning cup of tea and get started on my Saturday chores?  Cornbread for breakfast, anyone?  :D 




10 comments:

  1. Now you have shared a 5minute recipe, I think I shall be making cornbread more often. It isn't so well known over here in England - but I first had it in the USA about 14 yrs ago, and I love it!

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    1. I never had cornbread till I came to the States, myself. At first, I didn't much like it, but like it now.

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  2. Bless, I did NOT need to know that I could bake cornbread in the microwave in 5 minutes at 3 a.m. when I'm craving bread so I might have to stop reading your blog, LOL. It does look very good, doesn't it? Sigh. Bread is (one of) my downfall(s).

    My daughter and I bake chocolate mug cakes in the microwave. I'm sure I've baked other things but I can't think of them at the top of my head. Years ago, Tupperware sold a cake pan for the microwave. I still have mine although I used it to cook veggies in it instead of making cakes with it and the plastic started bubbling. But you would dump a can of frosting (German Chocolate Coconut frosting was the one they used in the demo) and then a box of prepared chocolate cake mix and you'd put the lid on top, microwave for 10 minutes, I think, and bam! You had a cake. And it was delicious. That's something else that I need to try to forget about :)

    I want to try to make a solar oven. I've had a thrifted silver car shade for a couple of years now and the plans bookmarked somewhere on my computer, but I always forget to actually make it. I'm adding that to my to do list. I'm all for trying to lower my electric bill while keeping the house cool!

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    1. LOL, Nathalie. Actually, I was craving some crusty French bread, myself, and I didn't have any. So, cornbread, instead. :) My daughter made some cake in a mug with pancake mix, one time, and microwave bread pudding! My cravings for sweets have decreased with chemo (although that will change once I am done, no doubt).

      I, too, wanted to try making a solar oven (even bought the silvery car shade!), but never got around to making one. And now, I've stray cats who live in my garden and I can just imagine what they'll do with the solar oven!

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  3. It looks amazing! I cook frittata in the microwave, and I've done a few bits. I may add cornbread to the list to try. I love allrecipes. x

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    1. Hope you try it and like it. You might have to do a conversion for the measurements(put Bear on it! He might enjoy the challenge!)

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  4. Bless do you feel your sleep issues have become more pronounced since your diagnosis, surgery, chemo and drugs to off set side effects? Perhaps naps impact night time insomnia. Working from home, avoiding shopping, food stores and such all limit daily walking. I recall you used to enjoy going for a walk at work, at lunch.

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    1. Hon, the insomnia started after I began the Taxol phase of the chemo therapy. It's a side effect of the drugs. Hopefully, the issue will resolve itself once I finish the treatment.

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  5. I was just catching up with your blog and the cornbread looked good! We were due for an afternoon cup of tea and all I had was store bought cookies, so I went to the recipe and quickly mixed up some in a casserole dish and baked it in the microwave. It is great, we had some with butter and honey. One thing that was amusing was that the centre of the bread rose up in a kind of dome, while the side part stayed flat. I guess I could call it corn bread with attitude!
    Bushlady

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    1. Glad you were able to enjoy some cornbread with your tea! I like the fact that it bakes up so quickly. Here's to cornbread with attitude! :D

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