The "Out of Commission" Kitchen
Our kitchen is currently back online and working, thank goodness, but I was thinking of our old "out of commission kitchen" while making dinner last night.
Even though our kitchen is working, sometimes it is difficult to make dinner after we're messy from working all day or too tired to slice and dice. I always fall back on my "out of commission kitchen recipes" when this happens.
Before we sunk all of our savings into "the house", Aaron and I spent three weeks backpacking through mainland China...from the southwest to the northeast. And, most days, we ate "hot pot"...often in a house or back alley stall. There we learned to appreciate the simplicity of one dish meals.
Do you have any "out of commission kitchen" strategies? Trissa and Nick from Pigeon Point have an out of commission kitchen this week and I was thinking of sending them a few of my "work arounds". Maybe you have some too!
(These are from the time we spent in Xijiang, between Kaili and Guiyang (Zhong Guo) in the Guìzhōu Shěng province. No plumbing...a wok over coals in the living room. Everyday. In many locations in the world, any kind of kitchen is a luxury.)
So, in honor of Trissa and Nick's "out of commission kitchen", here are some of my favorite one dish meals. We use a crockpot
BASIC POT ROAST
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
5 pound rump of beef
2 or 3 tablespoons fat or oil
2 onions, sliced, or 10-12 small white onions, peeled
1 or 2 carrots, scraped and cubed
Herbs and other seasonings as desired
1 cup beef broth
(Splash of red wine if you like)
Other vegetables as desired
Directions: Cook in a crockpot on low for 3 hours and then on low for another 8 hours. After it's finished, you can throw the onions and the beef stock in a blender for a sauce.
MOROCCAN-STYLE CHICKEN AND ROOT VEGETABLE STEW
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
2 skinless chicken breast halves (about 8-10 oz)
3/4 cup chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced (or 1/2 t. minced garlic from a jar)
1/2 tablespoon curry powder
1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 cinnamon stick
1 cup 1/2-inch pieces new potatoes (from a can)
1/2 cup 1/2-inch pieces peeled parsnips
1 cup 1/2-inch pieces peeled turnips
1 cup canned low-salt chicken broth
2 tablespoons dried raisins
1/2 cup drained canned diced tomatoes
Chopped fresh cilantro
Dash cayenne pepper
Directions: Throw it all in the crockpot and cook it all day. About an hour before dinnertime, pull the chicken out and shred the meat from the bone, then put it back in to let it absorb the flavors.
ROOT VEGETABLES WITH MUSTARD SAUCE
1/3 cup whole grain Dijon mustard
1 cup canned low-salt chicken broth
1 tablespoon fresh minced garlic
2 large red onions, each cut into 8 wedges, peeled
1 pound small turnips, peeled if desired, each turnip cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 pound peeled baby carrots
2 cans new potatoes
2 leeks, chopped
8 oz medium-sized mushrooms
Directions: Throw it all into the crockpot, let it simmer for 6-8 hours. Yum.
CHICKEN WITH TOMATO CREAM SAUCE
2 shallots, minced (about 1/4 cup)
2/3 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup chopped peeled tomatoes (from a can or fresh)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil or 2 teaspoons dried
2 tablespoons minced garlic
4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves
2 cups uncooked farina or orzo
Directions: Place minced shallots, whipping cream, white wine, chopped tomatoes, garlic and basil in crockpot and simmer on low for 6 hours. Grill chicken breasts and then cut them into strips. Add chicken and uncooked orzo or farina to crockpot and continue to simmer for 1.5-2 more hours. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.
Other "out of commission kitchen" appliances: rice cooker
And, there's always s'mores!
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Comments
These are great- I am going to pass them along to someone I know who is kcurrently kitchen-less. We kept our stove fully operational during our kitchen remodel- just covered it with heavy drop cloths-some might find gross- but we treasured that small convenience. We also used our Weber grill and local pizza place for slices and a salad. On very long tiring days, it was slices only-but we try to be healthy.
Also, your China photos are amazing! What a great experience.
Posted by: Jocelyn | May 1, 2005 9:57 AM
Ha, we have more in common than bungalows and Habitat for Humanity. I also spent a few months backpacking in China :-)
I'm not much of a cook....grilling in the backyard is my solution.
Posted by: StuccoHouse | May 1, 2005 10:54 AM
Just delurking to say that these sound so good and healthy! I'm ashamed to admit that when our kitchen was out of service a couple of years ago, we ate nothing but takeout for days. I have to find my crockpot again. I remember how good everything smells when it is simmering away there all day. In fact, my mom used to make things in the evening, stash them in the fridge, then put them in the pot before we all left for work and school in the morning. It was so comforting to come home to the smell of dinner cooking. We had very unhealthy stuff in that though...lots of cream soup and so forth. This sounds better.
Posted by: dar | May 1, 2005 4:39 PM
Yep, it's certainly "out of commission." I was smiling all the way through this post :)
Trissa just went to the vegi stand for this week's take, and to the grocery for tonight's dinner. The kitchen may be out of commission, but it hasn't sunk in yet. We cooked lunch on the Webber...
We'll post pictures tonight or tomorrow - the kitchen is disappearing before our eyes...
Posted by: Nick | May 1, 2005 5:41 PM
You are so kind! As I was thinking about tonight's dinner, all the sudden it hit me. I've been thinking about what and how to cook, but I hadn't thought about where we were going to eat. Tonight we'll be fine as we haven't moved the tables yet.
Thank you so much for the recipes. I will put them to good use. The crockpot did not get packed away!
I think I'll try the Moroccan Style chicken this week!
Posted by: Trissa | May 1, 2005 6:30 PM
I like my electric skillet a lot for cooking without a real kitchen. It's great for simple things like pancakes, quesadillas, and grilled cheese sandwiches. Which aren't the most healthy meals, unless you add a salad, but are great for times when you want something quick, cheap and easy.
Posted by: Jordana | May 1, 2005 9:41 PM
Man, there are some tasty sounding recipes listed there, even for those of us with the full range of kitchen options.
Well its no help to Nick and Trissa now, but one of the ways I survive working full time, being in two masters programs, being a father and a husband and rennovating the house is owning a five gallon stock pot. I like to make multi-gallon batches of stew, red sauce, chili, etc. and freeze them in single serving containers. I try to make sure there are always several varieties at a time to choose from so as to ward off bordom.
I used to have a job that kept my on the road quite a bit. I got really really tired of restaurant and hotel food. I used to carry a rice cooker with me. Its amazing how many variations on rice and steamed veggies you can come up with. One of my favorites was to mix up tangy sauces in the microwave, chop up chicken strips from the drive through and toss them with rice and steamed veggies.
I'm looking forward to finished pics of the kitchen. If its half as awesome as the theater room and wine cellar it will have been worth the hard work and deprivation.
Posted by: Anonymous | May 1, 2005 10:05 PM
I forgot to mention our love of Amy's Kitchen products for the microwave...especially Roasted Vegetables in a Pocket! Tasty, healthy and quick. The few products I've been able to find with dairy-free, gluten-free, soy-free, low salt, no cholesterol, corn-free, vegan or low fat choices. Sweet!
A neighbor was rumored to have cooked for her family during a house renovation in a microwave that was balanced on the clothesdryer in the basement. Where they lived. For a year. THAT'S commitment.
Posted by: jm | May 2, 2005 11:31 AM
For some reason my name didn't appear with the post I made last night at 10:05 PM. Maybe I forgot to put "SD" in the appropriate text box.
For reasons lost in antiquity, what you call "MOROCCAN-STYLE CHICKEN AND ROOT VEGETABLE STEW" my family calls "Chicken Country Captain" - Go figure...
Posted by: SD | May 2, 2005 4:41 PM
"Cook in a crockpot on low for 3 hours and then on low for another 8 hours."
should one of those "lows" be high?
Posted by: Anita Rowland | May 4, 2005 9:45 AM
Whoops! You're right, Anita. That's high for 3 hours and then low for 8 hours. Good catch! Thanks!
Posted by: jm | May 4, 2005 12:17 PM
Wow thanks! I could have used these recipes last week before we became kitchen-less. I use my steamer quite often when kitchen-less. But after a week of steamed veggies you sort of get a hankering for some "country fried goodness." I've currently reached the "one more steamed bean and I'm going to scream" stage.
Posted by: chrisc | May 7, 2005 1:52 AM
Wow thanks! I could have used these recipes last week before we became kitchen-less. I use my steamer quite often when kitchen-less. But after a week of steamed veggies you sort of get a hankering for some "country fried goodness." I've currently reached the "one more steamed bean and I'm going to scream" stage.
Posted by: chrisc | May 7, 2005 1:53 AM