Cool Kitchen: Cook Zen

Summer heat makes you want to spend less, not more time in the kitchen. And if you don’t have to turn the oven on, even better. The Cook Zen pot goes into your microwave, turning it into a healthy zone for creating meals—and gets your food on the table fast, without losing nutritious vitamins and minerals. You can also prepare foods without adding excess oil, a tremendous saving in calories. Imagine serving spareribs in 14 minutes? You can also make Chocolate Truffles (1 minute cooking time), Creamy Kabocha Pumpkin (6 minute cooking time), and Spicy Coconut Chicken (9 minutes cooking time). The recipe below comes from the appliance’s second cookbook: The Cook Zen Way to Eat, which features more American-style recipes than the first edition. The pot is available on Amazon for $43.98, the cookbook for $12.29.

ASIAN-STYLE SPARERIBS

4 teaspoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, sliced
8 pork ribs (about 1 1/2 pounds)
4 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sugar

Place the olive oil and garlic in the Cook-Zen. Heat on medium-high, uncovered, for 1 minute. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Cover and heat on medium-high for 13 minutes with the steam holes set to “close.” Makes 4 servings.