No kitchen to cook in, help!

Pearcrazy

I am having a kitchen refurb and am likely to be without a cooker or kitchen sink for about a month. I have a microwave and slow cooker I can use but with limited access to water I need ideas on meals. I am planning to cook ahead and freeze some but any ideas on fresh stuff would be most welcome. Thanks!

skogar

Hello Pearcrazy,

I know this is not really what you have asked but I thought I would post in case it is useful.

When I had no kitchen I was able to borrow a little electric oven with hotplates from a family member. They also do the 2 hotplates on their own. At one point I had a sandwich toaster with flat plates and you could cook things like steak on it. Similarly if you can get hold of a trangia or fondue pot you can cook on those successfully inside. It might be worth asking around and seeing if anyone has anything in their loft which might be helpful. I'm assuming you would also have access to a kettle. If so couscous would be  easy to do. What is the issue regarding the water? Is it that you will not have any at all or are small amounts not a problem?

Elisheba

Can you buy a camping stove, then you can make some things in pots, which will give you a much greater range of meal options. 
Meals for the slow cooker - soup, rice pudding with frozen fruit, stews and casseroles, baked potatoes.
Microwave - you can cook pasta, steam veg, you can get gadgets to cook sausages and bacon I believe. 

Pearcrazy

Thanks for your responses, very helpful. I will need to research how to cook pasta in a microwave. I will have access to a kettle and had forgotten about couscous, great idea. 

 However now I think about it. I suppose my main concern is actually prepping the meals. As a good old styler I always cook from scratch and positively dislike ready meals. The only water available will be upstairs: to chop veg, meat, clean as you go and wash hands while cooking without constant access to water is daunting.  

Any ideas on meals which are super simple to prepare in such an environment would be most welcome.  

Rosa_Damascena

Well it's going to be a tough month but it will be worth it when you have a beautiful new kitchen.

Do you have a family to feed? I realise that you're used to having a cooked meal every night, but if it's just you, might you able to get by just with a fridge / freezer and perhaps eat more food that requires little prep?

ToastLady

Surely you won't be without water in your kitchen for an entire month. When we last had a kitchen refit, water was not off for very long at all. If that is going to be the case, maybe you could get a large bottle of water (the kind that are used on water coolers) with manual hand pump to use downstairs and a plastic basin for hand washing.
Any chance you could stock up your freezer with home made meals prior to the refit, so that they can be defrosted and then reheated in the microwave/slow cooker to cut down on as much food prep as possible later on?

kazwookie

Make in advance and freeze spag bol, chilli, sandwiches, roast meats.

Get a camping water bouser set up, and use that for hand washing with a bucket for waste water.

PaulieHerts

I’ve been in this situation for the last 7 weeks but only without a kitchen sink/water for the last week!
ive been cooking a large casserole in the slow cooker at weekends using pre chopped meat, frozen casserole veg and onions, lentils etc.  It’s been stretching for 2 or 3 meals for the 2 of us. I have also found tinned potatoes a God send and add these and frozen peas for the last hour or 2.  Something else I have never bought before is ready cooked mini sausages which I add to beans or to stretch the casserole further.  I also borrowed a single plug in induction hob and have my microwave.  I am happy to report that I cooked a chicken stir fry on my new hob in my partly finished kitchen last night, 😊😘. We have only had 2 takeaways and 2 meals out during this whole process!

GreenQueen

When we had our kitchen done, I froze lots of home made "ready meals" - lasagne, shepherd's pie, fish pie, etc, so only need some salad or microwaved frozen peas to accompany (the carbs were already frozen in). It wasn't the most interesting, but it was functional, we also had a couple of pub meals/takeaways, but tried to keep those to a minimum - however, at the messiest bits of the work, it can be nice just to get away from it for a little while.

I belong to a village facebook group, and there are always people willing to lend out things - if you have something similar you could see if anyone has a hob/mini oven you could borrow for a couple of weeks.

Pearcrazy

Thanks for all your helpful suggestions. 

We are new to the area so don’t really know any neighbours or friends yet so perhaps trying a neighbourhood facebook group may be an idea to borrow a hob. 

It does seem a long time without water but the from the date the kitchen will be gutted it will then be four weeks before the last item, the worktop, is fitted, it doesn’t help that Easter is in the middle. 

I will be cooking in advance but my old integrated fridge freezer will be gone although I do have a small backup. It does mean I can’t do enough for all the meals. 

buildersdaughter

We were in this situation whilst building our own home, but we're campers, so used to it!
Water / prep: You need 3 builders buckets and 1/2 fill 2 of them with water every morning. Put a small amount of disinfectant in one - that's your hand wash. The other is for veg washing. The empty one is for waste water. 
Have rags available for  general wiping up etc.
Best water containers are the 5 litre kind that you get Ecover / BioD washing liquids in - if not available, then 2 litre soft drinks bottles will do. Fill 2 or 3 every morning.

Not sure if it's worth investing in a Remoska- we use ours anyway when camping and to save energy hen cooking some meals.