"jmcquown" > wrote in message
...
>
> I had a microwave (fantastic! I loved it!) that had a shelf for faster
> cooking items and the slower cooking items went on the bottom. It also
> had
> a temperature probe for meat or cooking anything by temperature. It also
> had settings where I could turn it on just before I got home and start at
> medium temp then drop or raise the cook setting. Programmable for
> everything I wanted, up to 99 recipes. I adored that microwave.
>

I had a microwave with the probe, and it was terrific. I never cooked meat
to speak of in the microwave, but there were a lot of things I cooked by
temperature. Mine didn't have the shelf, but I think I would have loved
that, too.

> Unfortunately, as technology has advanced, microwave technology seems to
> have degraded. The microwave oven regressed back to the "you can boil a
> cup
> of water in it in 60 seconds" stage, rather than being able to use it to
> cook a meal. I *hate* my newfangled microwave It doesn't do shit
> except
> reheat stuff.) Welcome to the 1967 Amana Radarange all over again. Oh,
> but
> the new ones have a popcorn button on them. Wooo hooo! Well, everyone
> needs that. Crappy microwave popcorn, yeah. That's a meal!

I use mine for cooking vegetables. I don't do corn on the cob in the
microwave, and I'm not crazy above 'waved baked potatoes, so I do those only
when I'm crunched for time (which is often). Often I'll start the potatoes
in the 'wave and then finish them on the grill with the steaks or whatever
to crisp them up a bit. All other veggies usually get microcooked.

Anny