I use the microwave for just heating things up. Tried cooking foods in it but not as good.
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I’m very wary of microwave ovens. I heated my instant coffee in mine just once and woke up ten years into the future.
Great for fish and many veg. especially baked potatoes. Also “cup-cakes”. Cake batter in a lightly buttered mug and stick it in the micro! Just don’t overfill the mug.
Someone just told me about mug cakes that are premade. Just throw a packet in a mug and add water, microwave and instant mug cake.
Yes, I know. . so easy to make from scratch. But not everyone has those ingredients on hand at all times or wants to break them all out every time.
Milk, SR flower, egg, bit of sugar, maybe bit of drinking chocolate, stir and — ping! Note result and try again with different quantities next time.
For Baz,
It is possible to buy a microwave oven which has a grill in the top and can also be used as a convection oven. They can be a bit more expensive than a plain microwave, but if there is only yourself to think about then I am sure one of these would be more than enough for your needs and it can go on the worktop. Panasonic make them and so do plenty of other manufacturers. I think you should be able to get one for about £250.
Conventional oven.
I have both but have started to use the microwave for veg cooking instead of the hob.I also do my sauces and the odd scrambled eggs in one instead of the hob.
Microwave ovens use less energy (up to 80% less) than conventional ovens and hobs.
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I hardly ever use my microwave, mostly just to heat up a mug of tea or coffee I’ve let get cold or for melting chocolate
But you’re right, the energy cost is going to be important. On the budget cooking group I belong to, they are thinking about using the microwave more and also filing up the oven with several cook ahead dishes when you have it on
There are also trying these modern versions of the haybox which slow cook with no power
I use a conventional oven for baking and for roast turkey and the top oven for roast beef and lamb. I use the microwave for heating up foods and for scrambled eggs. I use a pressure cooker for veg.
That’s what I have, if anything happens to it I would buy another. Haven’t used my conventional oven for at least a decade. I use it for storing cook books or pots and pans.
I use the oven less and less these days, as I have a combi microwave, a Ninja Foodi and an Instant Pot, all of which cook quickly and cheaper than an oven. Oh, and I use an electric steamer for veg.
Ha, I’ve just realised this is an old thread, and I’d already replied in September 
I very much doubt if a microwave is cheaper to run than a gas hob. but cooking nice tasting good food should not be about saving money or the planet, it should be about producing delicious, healthy, and tasty food whatever you cook it on/in…
Personally, I wouldn’t touch a microwave with a bargepole.
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Why not? Why are some people actually afraid of microwave ovens?
I have one of these as well Bruce and I bought one large enough to do most things, although not the Christmas turkey.
Are they? I hadn’t heard that.
Because they’ve been reading the articles put out by conspiracy theorists that they cause cancer, etc.
We use our microwave every day. Our conventional oven is only used to roast meat on a Sunday.
Well right now a kitchen would be nice 
I use both ovens but I have to admit I use the microwave for mainly warming things … I tend to use a conventional oven for what I would call proper cooking… when I have one
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Some people, though, have no choice but to cut down on their fuel bills or they wouldn’t be able to afford food anyway.
Times are hard and if you’ve only got a £1 left on your fuel card to last the week-end cost is more important to you than gourmet
It depends what you are cooking and for how long and if you have a gas hob or not. A lot of homes, especially rentals, are all electric
Gas is cheaper than electricity, so if you are heating soup, for example, a gas hob is cheaper than the microwave but a microwave is cheaper than an electric hob
But because microwave cooking is faster, things that would take longer in the hob, like boiling potatoes are cheaper in the microwave than the hob
And things that need the oven on for a long time are much cheaper in the microwave
The estimate I read is that a jacket potato costs 27p to bake in the oven and 3p in the microwave
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