Handy hints for cooking without a cooker please

[bran]

My cooker went sizzle and pop yesterday, so until I have it fixed or replaced I need to do without.

I have bought a slow cooker so I will be checking out the slow cooker threads and trying to get to grips with that this afternoon, but what else can I do? I have a toaster, a microwave and a rice cooker. A typical meal for us would be pasta based dishes with pesto, cold meat/baked chicken and vegetables (either oven roasted or stir-fried), or Indian or Malaysian curries with veg included in the curry and served with rice from the rice cooker, or chinese stir-fry with noodles or rice. I like to eat a lot of green leafy veg which I will sometimes cook in the microwave (spinach, kale) or stir fry (cabbage, pak choy). DS won't eat potatoes at all, except for chips occasionally.

get out the manual for the rice-cooker - you can do all sorts of things in them

actually when we were kitchenless in the new house we did most things outside on the barbecue (gas one with an otherwise useless ring at the side), even if it meant dh cooking in a waterproof.

I'd forgotten the gas barbecue, thanks Mrs Badger. Ours doesn't have a ring at the side unfortunately, I could probably still use a wok over it though, although I'd have to be careful of the handles. Probably won't try it today though as it's raining and the barbecue is on a roof terrace so exposed to howling winds.

I know that one of our rice cookers (yes, we have two) you can steam in. But the one we use most often is a mini one and I'm pretty sure that you can only use it for rice. I think I actually have a rice cooker cook book somewhere, probably unread. I must do a search.

Lakeland sell a pasta 'cooker' - which looks like a tall jar. I think the idea is that you pour boiling water in it and somehow it cooks the pasta.

Will do a search and see if I can find it

the pasta cooker is just a posh saucepan iirc - still needs to go on the stove.

you need one of these assuming your saucepans are ok for induction

My brother has one
He didn't bother getting a stove top, just uses this and an oven

Can't find it online, but it is in their catalogue, if you have one?

Actually, I did cook resonable-ish pasta yesterday by just pouring on boiling water and covering. It it took a fair bit longer and probably would have worked better with fresh pasta.

That could be useful CD, a bit expensive for a stand by though.

you can do couscous like that too

I'd forgotten about couscous. So, I'm ok for carb then it's just veg that I'm a bit stuck with as I do like a mixed stir fry.

I've done pasta in the microwave before now, just put it in a suitable bowl with some boiling water and put it on but can't remember how long for.