A month without a kitchen

[spinbaby]

The good news is that I'm getting a new kitchen.

The bad news is that we'll be without a kitchen for three to five weeks while construction goes on. For a month, I will have only a refrigerator, a chest freezer, and a microwave in the basement to work with.

Any suggestions to keep us nourished without eating out for a month are welcome.

[elleng]

1. GOOD LUCK!

I think a DUer was in this situation a few years ago. Maybe s/he or someone else will recall.

[PoliticAverse]

2. Consider buying an inexpensive (<$50) rice-cooker/multi-pot also. n/t

[cbayer]

5. Yes. A crock pot is a great idea as well.

[spinbaby]

6. Good idea

I've had my eye on this gizmo:

http://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00FLYWNYQ/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=28AWYOZZ74COT&coliid=I2767L2CM3R53B

I'm also considering what I can make ahead and freeze.

[Kali]

16. ooooo that thing looks interesting!

[The empressof all]

18. It's fabulous

I use mine at least three times a week! When I went through my kitchen renovation it was my daily pot! We call it the magic pot because everything comes out delicious.

[Galileo126]

3. But a cheap outdoor grill?

My buddy was in the same situation as you, and he lived off his grill. However, if that's not an option, maybe a microwave cookbook? I'm terrible at using the microwave for cooking - everything seems to come out rubbery for me, so I gave up.

Best o'luck - and may the kitchen fairies give you a great new kitchen!

[cbayer]

4. I would get a hot plate and a toaster oven.

With those things, you should be able to make just about everything you want.

I don't know where you are, but an outdoor grill would be great if it's not too cold.

I went through this for about 6 months many moons ago. It was kind of like camping and I didn't really mind.

[spinbaby]

7. Too cold

Not going to grill in the snow.

[Kali]

8. electric wok and a crock pot

also a lp or white gas camp stove - I used ours for a month when our gas was off for pipe repairs, even heated water for the dishwasher with it. yes I am that warped.

[Warpy]

11. Disagree, electric woks are just not worth the money

A camp stove and Chinatown special will work a hell of a lot better, although I don't think camp stoves are great in confined areas.

There are also portable gas rings out there for people who love cooking Asian style and have electric ranges. I had one years ago and it was super. This one is close to the one I had: http://www.amazon.com/Grillex-GB-10K-Portable-Gas-Burner/dp/B0055QMXJK . The replacement gas cans were a little on the expensive side but in 4 years, I think I only went through half a dozen of them.

[Kali]

12. Oh I agree about electric woks as woks

but as a general cooking pan when you don't have anything else it is good for lots of things - you can even make popcorn in it! they are better than an electric fry pan since they are deeper, good for most anything OTHER than stir frying. LOL

that little burner looks good, how long does a can of fuel usually last?

[Warpy]

13. I used it for Chinese cooking

which is all prep work, with the cooking being hot and fast. 6 cans in 4 years sounds about right to me.

It's what I used for the Great Pepper Gas Fiasco. I was cooking a huge feast for a bunch of people at their home. It was snowing, so I couldn't do it out on the deck like I usually did, so I took the gas ring and the prepped stuff down to the basement. The last thing I did was a chicken recipe that started out with sauteeing 8 hot Thai peppers in hot oil until the oil was infused and they started to blacken. I came upstairs with the covered dishes of food and found the house full of gasping, crying people with beet red faces. Even the cats were coughing!

So if you do that recipe, do it outdoors or under a HazMat hood.

[tosh]

9. I've been there!

My experience dragged on far beyond 5 weeks but there were THREE THINGS that saved my sanity...

1. A small convection/toaster oven, about the size of a small microwave that I picked up for $36 at Lowes. It was amazing and I'd never have survived without it.

2. Mr. tosh rigged up our old sink still in its cabinet frame with casters, (I told him that was cRaZy!) so twice a week we could roll it up to the plumbing and do some dishes. (He was right after all!)

3. Crock pot - I used this excuse to upgrade to a newer, larger oval shaped one with good timer settings.

We moved our farmhouse kitchen table into an adjacent room, topped it with a tablecloth and an old piece of glass and the c/t oven, microwave and crock pot became cooking central. Oh! We had a tall steel shelving unit that we placed nearby to store basic dishes & cookware.

As the project dragged out I added baskets with my herbs, etc. and other necessities.

It all worked pretty well but OMG was I glad to get my kitchen back! It was worth it!

Edited to add: the coffee maker was on the table, too.

[Warpy]

10. First expect the job to stretch out more than that

The construction guy's estimate is based on two things: first, no unforseen problems; and second, all the inspectors will show up when they're supposed to and sign off on the job without any nitpicking.

Second, do yourself a favor and buy yourself a hot plate so you can scramble eggs in the morning and boil pasta and do other simple cooking.

I've gone for months at a time with a hot plate, a fridge, and a toaster. I managed to knock out some pretty good meals with that combo.

[SheilaT]

14. A microwave, a crockpot, an electric frying pan,

an electric grill, a two-burner hot plate and you'll hardly miss the kitchen.

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

15. I went through this, and for me, the worst part was washing dishes in the bathroom sink.

[spinbaby]

17. We'll be using the laundry sink

And cooking on top of the washer. Not ideal by a long shot.