This morning I had the pleasure of enjoying a divine breakfast courtesy of Dr. Naomi Grobstein and her Aga Oven!
Naomi prepared a full breakfast! Steel cut oatmeal, broccoli quiche, cranberry scones, roasted asparagas, onions and tomatoes, zucchini bread, and toasted almonds and cashews.
And delicious it was! The quiche was moist, yet perfectly browned, the scones were fluffy, the vegetables carmelized, and the toasted nuts were rich and full of flavor.
Naomi is very passionate about her three oven, cast-iron Aga. She humbly insists that her expertly executed fare is little to do with her, and more to do with her beloved Aga. I tend to think it's a little bit of both.
If you're unfamiliar with an Aga, here's how it works:
The AGA has two hotplates - simmering and boiling. The hotplate has a dome or lid which enables the AGA to retain its heat when you are not cooking. There are many variations of cookers but the two main types of cookers are the 4-oven and 2-oven. The four oven has roasting, baking, simmering and warming ovens whilst the two oven has a combined roasting and baking oven and combined simmering and warming oven. The ovens have varied temperature settings for different types of cooking. As you become more accustomed to using your AGA you will find that most of your cooking will be done utilising the ovens.*
The AGA cooker has a cast-iron body which is a dense, strong and stable metal enabling heat absorption, storage and transmission. The heat is released in the form of radiant heat, it is this radiant heat that gives the AGA the ability to cook food all day and keep it warm for hours whilst preserving the flavour, moisture and texture of the food.
The AGA generates heat from a single burner which is controlled by a thermostat, and regulates fuel distribution in order that the AGA can maintain its heat in the cooking zones. The cooking zones consist of ovens and hotplates.
We'll be visiting again with her soon; stay tuned for the Aga Oven video!
*http://www.johnwraycountrystoves.co.uk/age_functionality.html
Stay tuned for the video. For more pics, click here.