We Filipinos are not the type that will cook in an oven. We are a stove-top people and we will try to do as much as we can on top of a fire. Besides, a gas range with an oven is not the most affordable kitchen appliance there is. I got mine as an exchange wedding gift from my gracious mother-in-law. She saved up a sum of money from her dressmaking gigs and bought herself a gas range even if she never baked. So, knowing that I do bake dishes and pastries, she agreed to just exchange the 2-burner stove we got with her gas range as a wedding gift. She knows that I will be able to maximize our gas range friend better. Anne was happy!
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So most Pinoys cannot afford an oven and some of us with an oven think that cooking in them uses up more gas. I'm not so sure about that.
Sometimes, it takes longer to cook stews like kaldereta or soups like tinola or nilaga on stove top than it takes chicken or savory pies to cook inside the oven. But since we are in the Cheap Household Gourmet mode, here are some tips if you need to use an oven.
Saving Gas
If I am not cooking a cake, cookies or a certain pastry, I don't bother to make sure if the oven is already pre-heated to the exact temperature. So long as it has been fired up for 5 minutes already, I can work with that. But again, pastries and cakes are very delicate that's why we can't fool around with the measurement of ingredients nor the temperature of the oven or even its cooking time.
If it is a casserole or a chicken breast dish or a meatloaf or a pasta dish, we can paly around with the cooking time. If the recipe calls for a dish to be in the oven for 40 minutes, I turn off the oven on the 30th minute and let the food stand inside for 15 minutes more. Just turn off the fire when only ¼ of the recommended cooking time is left and leave it inside of the oven for the rest of the cooking time and a few more extra minutes. It's still hot anyway! You can spin this on cookies so long as you keep a keen eye on them to make sure they are baked properly. However, I do not recommend this on cakes and some pies. You have to be an expert in baking stuff already before you spin this trick on pastries.
Also, avoid opening the oven door in your attempt to be conscientious about your dish. This will allow precious heat to escape from the oven and will make the temperature drop. Temperature drops may cause your food to get undercooked.
But I have no oven... *sniff*
Awwww (pat in the back). I can empathize. Here, this is our last resort, an oven toaster. If you have an oven toaster, then you can still find a way around it. The thing with a regular oven toaster is it doesn't have a thermostat, meaning, it can't control the temperature inside. Since we don't have the proper resources, then we should use our head this time. It will take more instinct and guts here because there are more chances that you dish may take a weird turn, haha. I used to cook for just two (my husband and me) so when my stinginess gets the better of me, I just cook some of my meals in the toaster (although really, the electricity you use up to cook in an electric oven toaster will actually cost more!) You may use this for pasta dishes, chicken breast dishes or any less delicate dish that will fit in your oven. Besides, I doubt if you can fit a turkey or even a whole chicken in there.
I really don't know what the temperature is inside your oven toaster so this is my principle. If the recipe says 20 minutes in a certain temperature, I do cook it in there for 20 minutes. But the oven toaster is not turned on the whole time. I only turn it on for certain intervals. Say the recipe calls for 180C for 30 minutes, I turn the oven for 5 minutes then let it stand turned off for 5 minutes then turn it on again for 5 minutes and so on until I finish my cooking time. If the recipe calls for a higher temperature, I just turn it on for a longer period and shorten the time that it is turned off. Does this make sense to you? Again, this is not a hard and fast rule. It takes an amount of spidey sense and good ole common sense.
So, what do you plan on experimenting next?
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