No hob or oven, what can I cook?

[KurriKawari]

Am so tired I can't even think straight on what should be a basic question:/* *

We will be without a hob, oven and fridge freezer as kitchen redone. I do have a microwave, kettle, toaster and airfryer. What can myself and a teenager eat for a couple of weeks? * *

I would highly recommend you get a table top plug in dual ring hob. You can get them off Amazon for about £40. Honestly, they are great, and means you can cook things in the air fryer and on the hob etc if necessary.

You can do loads in an air fryer can’t you? I don’t have one but I’m sure I’ve seen people do meat/fish in them?

Microwave you can do baked potatoes, packet rice, frozen veg - tbh with that combination you can do loads.

Get some easy frozen microwave ready meals in too for ease.

Slow cooker and you can make bolognaise, chilli con carne, casseroles. We are a lot of quiche and salad and ne potatoes when ours was being done

You can cook rice and pasta (even spaghetti) in pyrex dishes in the microwave, toasties in toastie bags, garlic bread and naan bread in the toaster.

Plus bbq at the weekend?
I think with the m/wave & airfreight you'll be fine.

I kept the use of my oven through the majority of my refit, will you definitely have 2 weeks without it?

Get a plug in single induction hob from ikea, they are about £30. Can then easily make pasta/ rice/ stir fry/ anything hob based.

Quiche and salad - can warm the quiche in the air fryer or microwave

Falafel, hummus, halloumi wraps - falafel and halloumi come out really well in the air fryer

For two weeks for two people in the summer you'll be fine with a microwave. Get a microwave cookbook, get some healthier ready meals, bulk out with salads and microwave-ready frozen veg.

I've lived in houses with only a microwave to cook with for years at a time, and had to do it again for six weeks last year. I found the lack of prep space and sink much more of a pain than the lack of a hob/oven.

We will be without a hob, oven and fridge freezer as kitchen redone. I do have a microwave, kettle, toaster and airfryer.

Will you have a way to keep fresh food chilled, like a mini fridge, or not? There are loads of things you can cook in the microwave, etc, - but if you can't keep perishables like meat, fish, dairy, veg, fruit, etc cold, that's a big limitation.

Top microwave meal choices, kedgeree (made with smoked mackerel to minimise mess and fishy smells), spaghetti carbonara, salmon fillets with new potatoes and broccoli (possibly with generic soy sauce based flavouring) McCains pre-prepped jacket spuds with all the toppings.

Oh yes, I missed the bit about the fridge freezer. Either move it into another room, buy a small second hand fridge, shop daily for perishables and have a cool bag, or ask a neighbour to spare you a shelf and nip round once or twice a day to get stuff to cook.

Buy a small plug in hob and a temporary mini fridge. £150 on top of the cost of a new kitchen would mean you can cook absolutely everything you already do. And then sell or donate the fridge afterwards.

If you're in social/private rented housing and don't have the fridge money, you'll need to buy meat/fish/salad leaves/cucumber/dairy as you go along, but potatoes, root veg, pulses, pasta, rice, tomatoes, bread, eggs and the like will keep fine in a dark, cool cupboard (like under the stairs?) - make sure that veg is out of plastic, kitchen roll or clean teatowels will absorb moisture. Milk will keep for a day in a sink of cold water that you change when it stops feeling cool - bathrooms tend to be the coolest room if you don't have a cupboard.

It's a pain in the arse if you're more of a shop once a month and use lots of frozen ingredients person, but it's not impossible.