If you had no cooking facities what would you do?

[AdoraBell]

So, if you had DCs to feed and no way to cook, other than a microwave, how would you get around the "problem"

It's looking like I may be without full facities for a while and my mind is empty (there's a terrible echo)

could you not get a camping gas cooker? I have one here with two rings and a grill,it connects to a gas bottle. or even one of those single ring ones would be enough to heat a pan......
there are some things that do not need cooking but obviously your kids cannot live on cheese sandwiches.
the other evening when our electricity had run out I made a tuna salad, it was OK...........

Poached salmon (salmon in dish with bit of water & sliced leeks - cover in cling film, microwave approx 4 mins) with microwaveable rice.

Are you able to do some preparation? Make up freezer portions of meals then just defrost/reheat?

If you can borrow or buy a slow cooker - they are great for making stews, soups, curries etc

Microwave risotto

You can do bacon on a paper towel. Takes about 8 mins in mine on high.

Poke potatoes with a fork and bake. 6 of them takes about 25 mins in mine.

Egg, chopped peppers, cubed ham, cheese -- zap for about 2 mins in a greased mug. A bit rubbery but not too terrible.

Lasagne can all be done in the microwave. You have to brown the minced beef first in the microwave, and drain and season it, then proceed to assemble layers of pasta, ricotta, parmesan, tomato sauce. When you get to the top, put your layer of mozzarella under a top layer of ricotta/parmesan or it will get really tough. Cover with cling film. Try it at medium for about 20 minutes depending on how fast your particular microwave is.

Slice potatoes thinly and add a tin of evaporated milk (not sweetened condensed) and seasoning, plus a few dabs of butter in a casserole dish. Stir grated cheese through, cover with cling film and zap about 25 mins., stirring from time to time.

Pasta from the refrigerated section of the supermarket sometimes comes with microwave directions.

I would eat out more than normal, and there would be lots and lots of sandwiches and tinned soup (heated in the microwave...)
You can gussy up tinned soup with fresh herbs, minced garlic, crumbled bacon...

What about a George foreman grill or similar? Meat can be cooked on that, veg in the microwave?

I have a little plug-in electric ring -- look in camping gear shops.

Do you have any way of bbq-ing?

yes, do you have a garden?

We bought a little plug in double electric ring thing. It was dreadful and horrible, but got us through 3 months without a kitchen.

A friend is in a flat and couldn't afford a propper cooker. He has a halogen ovena nd two plug in rings, oh and a toaster.

But I second the slow cooker - mine is used several times a week. And a steamer - you can wrap fish or chicken in foil and cook it along side veg and rice.

If you have a microwave, kettle and a little two-ring burner, you can get by for a while.

Is this happening now? Take advantage of the fact it's summer and think of sandwich meals as 'picnics'. There's really nothing wrong with sandwiches as meals, if you put something halfway decent in them.

Stock up on cans of veg, beans, corn, carrots, peas, they can all be microwaved. Soups as well.

Try to eat lots of fruit and yogurt and cheese.

Try not to worry if meals aren't 'normal', at the end of the day it's just food. Better to have a healthy sandwich for dinner than some overly processed microwave meal of meat and veg.

You can boil eggs in a kettle . ( have done this)

Get a toaster.

have you got toaster, a kettle, a cheese sandwich maker?

lots of food ideas.

soft boiled eggs can be done in the kettle - just pop them in then boil the kettle and once it's sat for 3 minutes, they're done.

droves - i wrote that and then saw your post!

all veg can be done in the microwave, much healthier that way.
rice and pasta can be done with boiled water in the microwave too.

when i re-did my kitchen, i had to cook using the microwave, kettle and cheese toastie maker for a week.
the fridge was in another room, thankfully, but we had to use the bathroom for water.

Thanks for all the good ideas, I can do so much on the BBQ but we're in winter (South America) so evening meals in the week are a tad more difficult, but not impossible.

I have BBQ'd with snow swirling around. If you have a gas-fired BBQ it's much easier than using charcoal as the temp stays more constant.
You can grill a whole chicken with a can of beer with a hole in the top standing up inside -- chicken must remain upright during cooking. Rub the chicken all over first, including cavity, with herbs and spices to taste. You might end up with chicken for a couple of days.

Do you have a deep fat fryer?

I have been without a kitchen for 4 weeks now (new kitchen & building work) and I have used allow cooker, rice cooker, seemed veg on the top rack of the rice cooker, toasted sandwiches, salads, and takeaway!

No deep fat fryer, and no gas BBQ and ours is nowhere near the house so no light past about 5.30, but I may still be able to sort something out. Thanks again everyone. Got a ready roasted chicken today.