No hob or oven for the forseeable. What can we eat?!

Its probably worth buying a cheap microwave you can cook most things in one.

Do you have a BBQ?

What about tabbouleh and mezze stuff such as olives and you could do dolmades? You only need boiling water to make those?

Thanks for the suggestions. Microwave may be an idea and then freecycle it afterwards (v limited space in the kitchen).

Have to dash out soon, so if I don't reply apologies for rudeness.

When I had no kitchen I bought a cheap two ring gas stove and we had a microwave oven, that lasted me for 9 months ?

We've just got a new oven as ours kept turning off when it got hot, a lovely Belling one in brushed chrome to match the kitchen...and it was freeeeeee! ?

Pot noodles?

if i were you i'd buy a cheap george foreman-style thingy. that way you can grill veggies, make cheese toasties, cook quorn stuff... I got an own-brand one from Asda for about £8.

Hope your man comes back quickly with the part!

When we were having our kitchen done, we lived off kebabs and Nando's for 4 weeks. That's not very helpful though is it ?

Personally I would get a microwave, but if you want to avoid bulky purchases then these will apparently unlock your toaster's hidden potential:

http://www.jmldirect.com/Toastabags-PT4400/

I managed with a George Forman Grill and microwave for a month, in fact we ate more healthily than usual with griddled meat and microwave steamed veg or salad. I bought some of those microwave steamer bags. I'd certainly recommend that you buy a cheap microwave to tide you over.

You could make a veggie curry - nuke the veg (sweet potatoes?) tin of chick peas and add a jar of curry sauce and nuke again. Serve with one of those nuke-in-the-pouch rices.

Buy a relatively cheap slow cooker from Tesco/Argos (about £20) - lob everything in it and leave for several hours! Also second the idea of cheap microwave. We had no oven/hob for a couple of weeks whilst husband was gutting the kitchen and we seemed to manage OK.

In this weather to be honest I'm living on salad and bread so not really a huge need to cook anything. You can poach fish in boiling water straight from the kettle (bung in a bay leaf, stick of celery, maybe some stock), cover and leave for 10 mins. Otherwise a cheap microwave or one of those single gas rings that run on a cartridge that goes in the side? They are about £10 from our local chinese supermarket/corner shop place, or you could get them in a camp shop I should imagine.

Or buy a cheap steamer - you can do rice and veggies in there no problem.

You can cook rice/pasta in a thermos flask if you have one anyway....

There are a million and one things designed for outdoors that 'cook' with just the addition of boiling water. And not a few from the supermarket, rice, pasta, cous cous, "mash" and 101 other things in packets and pots... 99% of them would fall into the same category as Fray Bentos pies to Hitchers though. There's loads of 'toaster' things too, icky pastries mostly but you can get a JML ? Toaster bag thingy from your "local retailer" and make tosties. Poach/boil eggs in the kettle.

Or just buy meths for the bloody Trangia & eat semi normally.

You need an electric frying pan. Fantastic - you can cook anything in them, even bake cakes.

http://www.lakeland.co.uk/prestige!REG-a-la-carte-multi-cooker/F/C/cooking-baking/C/cooking-baking-small-appliances/product/12278

Having read everybody's suggestions (my own was to barbecue and eat loads of salad), I think the idea to buy a cheap version of the George Foreman grill is probably the best idea. Something that you might have room to store and use in the future rather than a microwave which would be an expense that you'd then give away.

I also think meths for the Trangia if you really fancy pasta or rice on the side of whatever you grill. And I'd probably treat myself to one takeaway a week so I didn't get bored.

Wow, thanks for all the replies. What an industrious lot you are!

The man has been again and declared that he doesn't have any parts and will have to speak to our landlady. No timescale given...

Whilst loathe to spend money (and space) on a gadget we won't use in the future, it's looking likely we'll need to - that electric frying pan thing looks particularly cool Soph. The trangia might tide us over, although I may then be posting in a couple of days 'what, apart from pasta and pesto, can I cook on one ring?' ? Sadly we've no outdoor space otherwise I'd love to BBQ every day. Is it illegal to sit on your own roof and BBQ? ?

We tend to eat very hob-heavy food (risotto, curry, stir fry, omelette, pastas) so it's a challenge to think of anything else tbh. I've always avoided a George Foreman as we don't eat much quorn, although I guess we could do veggies in it, with boil in the bag type rice? A steamer I could definitely get interested in, although we don't tend to eat veg on its own, irnoically enough. Can you really cook rice in it?

Cooking on a single ring is dead easy, you just need more time and a little prior planning.

ETA- If you like curries etc.... I don't see you having a problem.

It's cooking some rice to go with the curry that'll be the problem ONE. Naans in the toaster here we come...

Cook the rice *in* the curry?

Feck sake woman... Rice is a doddle.

1 cup basmati to 1.5 cups boiling water. (Do it in your 'leccy kettle)

Back to boil and roll for ten minutes, covered, don't stir.

Take off the ring, place a clean tea towel between the lid and the pot and allow to stand for 15-20 mins. (While you do the curry).

Simples.

I always use cold water to make my couscous (with a squirt of lemon juice and tablespoon of olive oil stirred in). Just cover it, wait for it to soak in (10 mins) and taste to see if you need any more. Marinade chopped peppers, cucumber, parsley and tomatoes in olive oil and lemon juice in a separate bowl and combine when ready. Toast some pittas in the toaster and you're sorted.

Tangent - if you rent the property, and the cooker, it's really the landlord's responsibility to provide you with some temporary means of cooking. I suggest you request the loan of a microwave or some such.

WSS, we lived on sandwiches, salads and cous cous for 4 months before we learned this!

I'm almost certain that cookers, be they gas or electic are specifically exempted from being the responsibility of the landlord to maintain. As long as they don't pose a danger.

I thought that if they were named in the spec that the landlord was responsible for the maintenance? I may be worng though, ours was gas and it was condemned so they had to replace it!

I thought that if they were named in the spec that the landlord was responsible for the maintenance? I may be wrong though, ours was gas and it was condemned so they had to replace it!

I thought that if they were named in the spec that the landlord was responsible for the maintenance? I may be wrong though, ours was gas and it was condemned so they had to replace it!

I can only speak from a Scottish law point of view, but unless your tenancy agreement specifically states that such items are the tenants responsibility to maintain, then the deal is that anything provided by the landlord is the landlord's responsibility to maintain. I've never come across anything to suggest a specific exemption for cookers.

Thanks guys. The ladlady is aware and it was her that sent the electrician round (if I was paying him, I would have been a bit more forceful about trying to get a timescale out of him!).

So far we have suggestions for couscous and pittas (shame we had it the day before the cooker broke but hey ho ?) - thanks flissy. I'm not really feeling the pot noodle type things to be totally honest . Curry/pesto/risotto when I can get hold of some meths and find the trangia in the attic. And in the longer term possibly a steamer, maybe a grill - and see if the landlady will pay for our gadets and takeaways?!