The microwave gets a bad rap in cooking circles because it tends
to make most foods soggy and nearly inedible. However, The New
York Times suggests the microwave might be far better at cooking
than most of us think, and all you need to do is familiarize
yourself with the power button. We've mentioned before that your
microwave is often just as good (if not better) at cooking
certain foods than your stove. But The New York Times points out
that the most important thing you can do is learn exactly what
all the different power settings on your microwave really mean:
A general rule of thumb: the lowest power settings, 500 watts
and under, turn your oven into a makeshift dehydrator... At
higher settings, 500 to 800 watts, the device can fry and steam.
And if you simply want to heat something quickly, use the
highest setting possible, as you do for tea and coffee. Some
microwaves might have special settings for fry and steam, but
not all do. Of course, most microwaves don't give you the ease
of actually showing you