Thermos cooking

[Bachelor]

I have seen a few comments on thermos cooking and it has piqued my interest.

I have found a little information on it, but I was wondering if anyone cooked in a thermos on a regular basis?

Any particular type/brand of thermos?

Thank you,

Bachelor

[sunshine]

We do some . .. just got a regular thermos at a yard sale. . . nothing special.

I add boiling water, then either pasta, rice, lentils. . . sometimes hotdogs. . . and let it cook.

[hestlauss]

I use a wide mouth thermos to cook wheat or oatmeal overnight so it's ready in the morning. For wheat I use 2 cups boiling water, 1 cup whole-wheat kernals & 1/2 tea. salt. Let stand 6-8 hours. Makes 2 cups.

[Palooka]

Wow, can't say I've tried it and never heard of it before.

I guess I could see the benefits with instant rice and oatmeal??

[frugalfranny]

The first time I heard of it was a couple days ago when grainlady mentioned it on some thread......

Interesting!

[Grainlady]

I "cook" in a Thermos a lot. It works best in a quality thermos, like a Thermos Nissan or a Stanley. Small lunch box type thermos bottles don't hold the heat well, and are too small to use it for quantity cooking.

1. Make sure you pre-heat the thermos. Fill the thermos with hot tap water or boiling hot water, place on the stopper, and allow to sit at least 10-minutes to pre-heat before adding the food. Dump out the hot water, add the food, then add boiling water.

2. It works best to lay the thermos on it's side so the food is distributed in a larger area, rather than in the bottom of an upright container. If you think about it, give it a little shake a few times to redistribute the food/water for more even "cooking".

3. If your beans are getting old, you may need to drain them and then add more boiling water to finish "cooking" them - until tender. So test your beans after the first long "cooking" time. You also need to soak beans before "cooking" them in a thermos.

4. Don't over-fill your thermos. Keep in mind beans double and triple in size. Use 1/2 c. dry beans that have been rehydrated (soaked overnight) to replace a 15-ounce can of prepared beans. One-half cup dried beans equals approx. 1-1/2 cups "cooked" beans.

Thermos Wheat Cereal
(source: Wheat Cookin' Made Easy

1/2 - 1 cup wheat kernels (aka berries)
1 quart boiling water

[Grainlady note: Pre-heat the thermos with hot water for 10 minutes.]

Thermos Wheat
1 c. wheat
2 c. boiling water
1/2 t. salt

Preheat a thermos by filling it with hot tap water. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil and add salt. Empty the tap water from the thermos. Place the wheat in the thermos and add the boiling water. Screw the lid tightly onto the thermos and allow the wheat to cook for about 8 hours or overnight. Drain off any water that has not been absorbed. Serve with milk and sugar or raisins.

Put wheat berries into the thermos and add boiling water to thermos. Screw on lid and let sit for 2 hours or the easiest is to let stand overnight. Strain. Serve with milk and honey or sugar.

These recipes are from: Natural Meals In Minutes - By Rita Bingham.

Thermos Noodle Soup

1-1/2 c. dry spaghetti
2 c. boiling water
2 t. beef or vegetable bouillon
1 t. dry minced onion
1/2 t. parsley

Add all ingredients to 1-quart thermos that has been heated with additional boiling water. Seal and tilt jar for 15 minutes. This stays warm for 24 hours in a glass or metal thermos, so it can be made in the morning for lunch or dinner. Egg noodles would hold up better during longer "cooking" times.

Thermos Tuna A' La King
4 T. dry milk powder
2/3 c. elbow macaroni
dash salt
1-1/2 c. boiling water

Put all ingredients into a 1-quart. thermos that has been heated with additional boiling water. Stir, seal and tilt thermos for 15 minutes. Open and add:

6-1/2 oz. can tuna, undrained
1/4 t. chicken-flavored bouillon
1 t. parsley

Stir and eat. For a creamier dish, use only 1 c. boiling water and heat juice from drained tuna. Serves 2. To make without a thermos, boil water and noodles 8 minutes, then add remaining ingredients and stir lightly. Cook 2 more minutes.

How to cook beans: http://thriftyliving.net/?p=71

Good general information: http://thedeliberateagrarian.blogspo...wholesome.html

http://www.ehow.com/how_2275972_cook...rgy-money.html