£100 to kit out my kitchen...

onedayiwill

So … we have just bought a new house in need of much refurbishment and will take entry on October 9th. We will not get to the kitchen for a long time (quite possibly a couple of years) because of financial restraints and so I need a temporary kitchen that will function for us even though it won’t be pretty.
We will be taking our 15 year old microwave with us, and currently only have around £100 to spend on other cooking appliances. I only need to feed me & my husband.
I have been reading threads here and have come up with the following options which would all be close enough to the budget:
1. Traditional “mini kitchen” – small oven with two solid hot plates on top
2. Halogen oven & single zone portable induction hob
3. Remoska
I have only really discovered cooking recently and was vegetarian for 23 years (though not now) so am very inexperienced cooking meat.
We eat a lot of pasta with various homemade or shop bought sauces, lots of rice based meals, occasionally a roast chicken after which we freeze the left over meat and use for other things, baked potatoes, mince based dishes e.g. Bolognese or chilli, sometimes pork chops with veg and stuff. I also like to make my own bread by hand, make pizzas and occasionally bake biscuits & cakes and make lots of soup to go with that delicious bread
I would like to experiment with making stews now & again though haven’t done so yet, and have a really nice Le Crueset casserole that my mum-in-law gave me a while ago but which I haven’t used yet.
Looking at this summary of my cooking (which has been interesting for me to write!) I’m thinking option 3 (the remoska) won’t suit us as I *really* do a lot of cooking on the hob and less in the oven.
So that leaves me with a halogen oven & single induction hob or a mini oven with double hot plate... which would you choose?

anguk

I love my induction hob but would rather have a traditional oven than a halogen so I would go for a mini kitchen. As you've got £100 I would go for this:
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/4228235/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7CKitchen+and+laundry%7C14418476/c_2/2%7Ccat_14418476%7CSmall+kitchen+appliances%7C14418587/c_3/3%7Ccat_14418587%7CSlow+cookers+and+ovens%7C14418592.htm
On offer with £20 off so only costs £58.29.

With the £40 you have left I'd get this 3.5 litre slow cooker, on offer for £11.09 (£5 off)
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/4228709/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7CKitchen+and+laundry%7C14418476/c_2/2%7Ccat_14418476%7CSmall+kitchen+appliances%7C14418587/c_3/3%7Ccat_14418587%7CSlow+cookers+and+ovens%7C14418592.htm

And this steamer, half price at £23.99
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/4201197/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7CKitchen+and+laundry%7C14418476/c_2/2%7Ccat_14418476%7CSmall+kitchen+appliances%7C14418587/c_3/3%7Ccat_14418587%7CSteamers%7C14418590.htm

Edit: If you buy the cheaper 2 tier steamer for £9.79
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/4228936/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7CKitchen+and+laundry%7C14418476/c_2/2%7Ccat_14418476%7CSmall+kitchen+appliances%7C14418587/c_3/3%7Ccat_14418587%7CSteamers%7C14418590.htm
you would have enough money left to buy an extra double hob for £19.58 (£9 off)
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/4231930/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7CKitchen+and+laundry%7C14418476/c_2/2%7Ccat_14418476%7CSmall+kitchen+appliances%7C14418587/c_3/3%7Ccat_14418587%7CSlow+cookers+and+ovens%7C14418592.htm

Edit again: if you're not bothered about 2nd hand you could have a look for a normal electric cooker locally on Ebay?

debtmuncher

another thing to think about is are you going to be cooking for friends/family? we have a small oven and sometimes i struggle to cook a roast and trimmings in it, takes a bit of juggling around , stuff out to wait etc. thats for a family of six. when i bought the cooker years ago i never once thought of that but i didnt expect to end up being a family of six all that time ago lol

Fire_Fox

I get a lot of use out of my Tefal four-in-one slow cooker which will do rice, porridge and steamed stuff as well as soups, stews and bologneses etc. They are about £60 BUT you can get seconds from Tefal outlets or sometimes eBay for £25. :T

I also have a 'George Foreman' type electric grill (just upgraded from a cheapie to a gorgeous Cuisinart ) which is in regular use - I find it quicker than using the grill in the oven and the meat (chicken/ sausages/ burgers/ meatballs/ fish fillets) seems to come out far more juicy.

The two together will do so many different meals. I also adore my induction hob, but can't imagine managing with only one plate: I now cook very little in the oven and wouldn't miss it if it broke down. We had a hotplate type electric hob before which we both loathed as they take forever to heat up and cool down so forever burning food or having pans boil over. :mad:

janeym8

what about trying your local freecycle group people give away all kinds of things and then your £100 would get something you cant get from freecycle

good luck

janey xxx

mark55man

you might consider replacing microwave with one with a grill/oven capability. ours was just over your budget but i did see one with grill for £30 on hotukdeals recently

CheekyLittleMonkey

Theres a Mini Oven for sale here at Aldi, available tomorrow (Sunday 6th April Special Buys)

http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/2827_11093.htm £17.99

Perfect size for student accommodation.

• Capacity: 9 litres
• Big enough for 4 bread slices/9" pizza
• 1000W, 100-240V
• 30 minutes stay on timer
• Upper and lower heaters
• Accessories: baking rack, baking tray, crumb tray, handle

maryb

When we were redoing our kitchen and the builder went AWOL in the middle of complete chaos so we had to find another one and pretty well start from scratch (right in the middle of the property boom when builders thought they were doing you a favour to come and look at the job!!), I ended up cooking in our 'temporary' kitchen for 15 months!! It consisted of an alcove in a corridor which DH fitted a sink into with just enough room for the dishwasher and a rubbish bin. Shelves on the wall above the sink for plates and glasses and a hanging rail for utensils. I got some open shelves from Ikea for groceries and saucepans and the fridge stood at the bottom of the stairs so no one could get by if the door was open. A coffee table next to it held the bread bin, toaster and microwave. On the opposite wall to the sink I had a couple of kitchen wall cupboards with no doors standing on the flooer and a worktop cut down to half normal depth on top. That was my only worksurface. Finally I had a Baby Belling in a corner which consisted of an oven with two hotplates.

It actually worked REALLY well and it was especially convenient having everything within arm's reach. This really influenced my planning for the layout of the new kitchen. I found there was nothing I couldn't do with a bit of juggling in that kitchen. I even cooked a full Christmas dinner in that Baby Belling- Turkey with stuffing, roast potatoes, broccoli, carrots, bread sauce, gravy, little sausages and bacon rolls, Christmas pudding and brandy sauce!

So to cut a long story short, I would go for a miniature version of a proper cooker rather than a halogen oven or Remoska. Baby Bellings are often advertised on Ebay. However you might well find the Remoska gives you some additional flexibility if you can run to that as well as a mini cooker. I would personally recommend a pressure cooker as well, as it means you can cook very quickly (you can't have both rings on at the same time as the oven with a baby Belling so you need to be able to cook quickly on the one ring that is available).

Hope this helps

onedayiwill

Thank you all for the great ideas, and links.

anguk - wow! loads of options I had never really considered. Not really convinced I would use a steamer. Like the idea of a slow cooker though. Not bothered about second hand, but no ovens on ebay in my area...

debtmuncher - really is only me & hubby. Very occasionally I have 1 other person to cook for when one of my parents or a friend visits. I guess if more people decide to descend on our new home knowing we don't have a proper kitchen - never happened before though! - they will just have to be willing to either contribute to the takeaway fund or starve

Firefox - that 4 in 1 sounds excellent ... I eat porridge most mornings, eat loads of rice and want to try stews, and that would really help out if I can get one for the right price. Does the pot lift out (e.g. for serving stews at the table)? How easy is it to clean? Haven't had experience of the george forman type grill but like the idea of it ... don't think I could afford that luxury right now. Maybe I can ask for one for Christmas

I'm not sure how I would cope with only one hob plate either ... but the more I think about it, the less I fancy the solid plates on a mini kitchen. I have cooked on them for 8 years already and encountered all the same problems as you. I think I might have had enough and might prefer to cope with a single induction plate - there are some quite cheap ones on ebay. I can always get a second one in future if necessary once I've saved up for it (read that as "sold enough of my junk"!)

janeym - sadly my experience of freecycle in my area has not been that good but maybe I should try again.

mark88man - I like that idea of replacing my old micro with a combi. I think that is very practical and something I would continue to use when I eventually got my proper kitchen. The old micro is certainly due for replacement and I hadn't considered this as an option. Definitely worth looking for one at the right price, maybe second hand.

Cheekylittlemonkey - thanks for the link but I think that particular one might be just a tad too small for my needs.

OK - so now I'm seriously considering:
- microwave combination oven
- tefal 4 in 1
- single induction plate

Just need to find them second hand or at the right price somewhere... I reckon it will be possible. Alternatively would have to persuade hubby that we can stretch the budget just a little bit further so he can eat delicious meals

onedayiwill

maryb - thanks ... good to know I'm not crazy jumping in to do the kitchen right away and that it is quite possible to cope with minimal kitchen for a long period. Most people have told me I need to do the kitchen first but frankly I'd rather have a nice place to sit and relax followed by a nice bath to sit & relax!

I am also hoping that by cooking with minimal kitchen it will influence what I choose when I do get to the kitchen, just as you found it did for you, as I will know what is important and what works for me. We plan this house to be our home for life - heck it might take our life to finish it - so it only needs to work for us.

maryb

onedayiwill wrote: »

maryb - thanks ... good to know I'm not crazy jumping in to do the kitchen right away and that it is quite possible to cope with minimal kitchen for a long period. Most people have told me I need to do the kitchen first but frankly I'd rather have a nice place to sit and relax followed by a nice bath to sit & relax!

I am also hoping that by cooking with minimal kitchen it will influence what I choose when I do get to the kitchen, just as you found it did for you, as I will know what is important and what works for me. We plan this house to be our home for life - heck it might take our life to finish it - so it only needs to work for us.

We took so long to get round to redoing the kitchen that the brown 1970s colour scheme was almost retro chic again by the time we did it!!