Are these any good to use alongside a halogen oven?

K,A+P_2

Hello

Cooker packed up yesterday (while my boyfriend was lovingly cooking me a beef and lamb stew - a once in a lifetime thing!! :eek::mad: I think it was a conspiracy!) and I'm far too poor right now to get it fixed. It'll be cheaper for me to just buy a second hand one eventually, but in the meantime, boyfriend's dad has very kindly given me a JML halogen oven to use.

What I'm wondering is, would it be a good idea to get one of these...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1500W-ELECTRICAL-SINGLE-HOT-PLATE-PORTABLE-HOTPLATE-05-/320593513419?pt=UK_Home_Garden_Kitchen_Ovens_Hobs_Cookers&hash=item4aa4dccbcb

as well? Just for cooking pasta/rice/things that would be an annoyance to cook in the halogen oven. Or are they absolute rubbish?

Thanks for your help!

Kate

Owain_Moneysaver

might not be quite as powerful as a proper cooker ring, but should be fine for pasta and small frying pans etc.

There's a two-ring Breville stainless steel one, usually £60 but at half price, in Argos.

rinabean

My MIL has one like that. She doesn't often cook on the hob - less than once a week - but she seems to be happy with it. I have an induction one which was only £30 more. It's a lot nicer to use, it's no more difficult to look after, it uses less power... but it was more money. Depends how much you use it, whether or not your pans are good for induction hobs, and whether or not you have the extra money. I use mine at least once a day so I felt it was worth the money.

If you have a microwave, you can cook pasta and rice there. It's actually easier than on the hob, so worth considering just doing that if you are only boiling and not frying things on the hob.

rosieben

I bought something like that one from arg@s for £17 a few months ago. Its great for frying an egg, make sauces etc and I'm sure it would be ok for pasta and rice (I do mine in the micro). I don't use the hotplate much, I have a steamer, slow cooker and combi/micro oven, I haven't had a big cooker for over 3 years.

Memory_Girl

Another one who uses the halogen oven / microwave thingie. This is what I use to do steamed veggies, rice, pasta and polenta.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MICRO-MASTER-MICROWAVE-PRESSURE-RICE-COOKER-CASSEROLE-/270841338265?pt=UK_Home_Garden_Kitchen_Steamers_Cookers_PP&hash=item3f0f66d999#ht_500wt_715

Have you tried looking on freegle / freecycle for a new to you cooker? People seem to be changing their cookers in advance of Christmas at the moment as a few have popped up on our local one.

MG

rosieben

Memory Girl, I have a similar mw steamer to yours - also from ebay - its really good for rice and veg etc

K,A+P_2

Thank you for your help everyone

Alas, I don't have a microwave either! (That blew up a couple of years ago and never got round to buying another one - can't say I ever missed it, until now that is!)

So I'm assuming the hotplate gets hot enough to actually boil the water?

Really it's only for me and my little boy, boyfriend doesn't live with us yet and he only comes round for dinner a couple of times per week. So if this is going to save me a fair amount of money on electric by not using the cooker...it might not be such bad luck after all!

K,A+P_2

Also, I have looked on my local freecycle group and there doesn't seem to be anything about at the moment. Will keep my eyes peeled though. There are a lot of second hand shops round this area that sell second hand electrical bits and bobs including cookers which is handy.

Owain_Moneysaver

K,A+P wrote: »

So I'm assuming the hotplate gets hot enough to actually boil the water?

Oh yes.

It will get hot enough to set fire to the chip pan if you let it.

HelenYorkshire

Can you stretch to one of these? http://www.amazon.co.uk/Andrew-James-Electric-Induction-Warranty/dp/B004BM749S/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
Disclaimer - your pans need to have iron in them (test them to see if a fridge magnet sticks).
It's very efficient, heats up in seconds, cooks really fast and well. (I just posted a review on there as "English girl"). I've found built in electric hobs to be an absolute b*gger to heat up, cool down when you need them to. An induction is as responsive - if not more so - than a gas hob.
I'm living fine on this - using one cast iron skillet and one cast iron casserole pot - and a microwave