Let’s talk ovens for a minute. First off, I’m sure we’ve all heard this before but you really don’t appreciate how good you have it until you’re somewhere where everything is completely different. I love being in the kitchen. It’s my calm space, where I focus on food prep and do my deep thinking (except when people are trying to get in my way). But I never really considered that at home in cozy Northern Virginia everyone uses electric ovens. Sure, gas stove tops are commonplace. But I’ll be honest, I didn’t even know ovens still ran on gas. We’ll cough that up to ignorance and first world privilege. Well, as you can imagine, Toto we’re not in Kansas anymore (or Northern Virginia for that matter). And, you guessed it. I’m currently learning to use a gas oven.
I had a repairman come to make sure it was working since I couldn’t figure out what any of the knobs meant. I could, however, turn the oven light on. After he made sure everything was linked up properly, which it wasn’t before he saved the day, I asked for a tutorial on how to work a gas oven. I have so many questions. What do all these knobs mean? Can you tell me what 350 F is in C? And every other temperature conversion for that matter?! How do you know when the oven has reached the right temperature if it doesn’t beep at you? How do you prevent food from burning on the bottom (RE: brownies and cakes)? Why would people choose gas over electric? Are there other options? How long is it going to take me to get used to this?
Some answers I received from the very kind repairman. You know it reached the desired temperature after you wait 5-10 minutes. Alternatively, you can get an exterior thermometer. Open the oven before lighting. There are other options, but why buy a whole new oven when this one is perfectly fine. All the knobs have very specific functions. Others I had to google. 350 F is about 180 C. Trial and error for not burning food. The sooner I accept my gas oven fate, the sooner I’ll enjoy and perfect my cooking.
For now, I’ll just take it one recipe at a time. And try to use the stove top as much as humanly possible. As always, stay tuned to the blog and Instagram for the latest recipes and adventures.
Ingredients
- 4 cups Spinach
- ½ block Halloumi Cheese cut into ½ inch slices
- 1 clove Garlic
- ½ large Red Onion
- 1 Lemon
- 1 stick butter, melted
- 1 Tomato, chopped
Instructions
- Boil pasta as you normally would, strain, stir in a tablespoon of olive oil and set aside
- In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and saute the red onions and garlic. Remove from pan and set aside.
- Add halloumi cheese slices and sear until slightly browned, place with onions
- Remove any remaining oil from the skillet, and wilt the spinach
- Add in the onions, halloumi, tomatoes and pasta
- Carefully stir in melted butter. Squeeze in one lemon, salt to taste and stir. Cook on low for 5 minutes
- Serve warm
