Winter Cooking with no Oven

[Mark and Mindy]

We only have 2 gas rings in Hymie and no oven and although I'm a reasonably decent cook I do make good use of our oven at home.

We're primarily low carbers which does tend to mean a lot of frying which I'd rather not do in the van in the winter with only the top vents open as greasy smells tend to linger.

We want to be out and about during the winter in Hymie, what would be a good way of cooking healthy meals which are heavy on the protein/fat with plenty of green vegetables? We will probably be 50/50 wilding and on a site with EHU but we don't have an inverter.

 

[Snowbird]

Although we have an oven we find the slow cooker and pressure cooker get used more.

 

[robnchris]

A remoska and or slow cooker for when you are on EHU, cooking outside even in winter shouldn't be a problem unless the weather is high winds and driving rain, BBQ or external gas rings will keep cooking smells outside.

 

[vwalan]

pressure cooker used on the gas. cooks food fast and thorougher.
even bread of sorts https://www.instructables.com/id/Easy-Bread-Anywhere:-"Baking"-bread-in-a-pressure-/
chicken easy done ,then cut and quartered then a quick fry in a pan they look roasted.
never hardly use bbq or cook outside gives the game away if free camping.
shame you dont have a grill .twoburners and grill is ideal.

 

[Theonlysue]

Steamers are really useful, and using a fry pan on low without oil.

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[Mark and Mindy]

We aren't outdoor cookers, don't have a BBQ at home as we never used the one we had previously and it died of being outside for a long time rather than through overuse, with a small van (5.41m) we're limited on storage space for what extras we can take.

I like the idea of a pressure cooker, not had one myself but remember the one my mum had with one of those massive weights which used to hiss alarmingly. I won't ever forget the pigs head she cooked for soup, I lifted the lid and saw the nose just clearing the top of the liquid, just can't unsee the image of those nostrils!

I did wonder about a Mr D's if I could find somewhere for it be when we're in transit, does anybody use one?

 

[TinaLes]

Remoska Oven when on hook up.
Wilding ....Saucepans & deep sided frying/sortie pan (Tefal) all with tight glass lids.
I did full turkey Xmass diner, using these methods at Baltic Wharf CMC Bristol last year.

We too are nowadays on The Keto Diet, which is going to be more difficult when touring in the van. We used to have a good supply of large potatoes for jackets,bread rolls, loaves, and crackers for cheese, all of which we dont eat anymore.
I do DRY FRY (enough fat in meats)fry at low heat in the van, just keep the lid on to avoid fat splashing as much as we can, I poach the eggs in a small saucepan, then of course we can fill up on baked beans, but now we have no bread rollsNo Chocolate bars, Biscuits or sweets to suck on either Just nuts & Raisins , and dried fruits I guess.
Its gonna be hard,but doable, cos I aint giving in until I is skinnier or the wife is
Good Luck.
Lesmondo
PS: we have a Tek Tower oven in the van, but its crap so we dont use it for anything other than warming plates or keeping food warm until served.
We dont do ready meals as they are mostly not Keto Friendly.

 

[Reallyretired]

Although not a total solution, a lid on the frying pan does keep down the greasy smells. Like you I like a healthy diet which tends to mean a lot of frying as its a good way to increase the fat content. Surprising that few frying pans are sold with lids.

 

[TinaLes]

We use these at home & in the van, they are great and last years, could not live without them.
Les

Tefal Precision Plus Non-Stick Pan Range / Black

Tefal's everyday non-stick, long-lasting cookware range with Thermo-Spot®

www.tefal.co.uk

 

[Reallyretired]

Also Im afraid baked beans are not particularly low carb, even the no added sugar ones.

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[rangi]

FISH CURRY Serves 4

4 chunks of Cod Loin
1 X400 gm tin crushed tomatoes
1 med Onion chopped
Teaspoon Lazy Garlic
1xJar Madras Curry cooking sauce
Veggie stock cube +200ml hot water

To serve Naan Bread. chopped banana

Fry onion and garlic for 5 mins, tip in curry sauce,toms and stock. Bring to simmer then add fish. Gently cook until the fish flakes. Serve immediately scattered with Banana slices, and Naan Bread.

Easy recipe, 1 HOB 1 pan, easily modified quantity of ingredients, baulk out with Rice? or instant noodles? Add crème freich? Yoghurt to take the heat out?

Have cooked this on one of those Aerosol gas cookers.

 

[TinaLes]

FISH CURRY Serves 4

4 chunks of Cod Loin
1 X400 gm tin crushed tomatoes
1 med Onion chopped
Teaspoon Lazy Garlic
1xJar Madras Curry cooking sauce
Veggie stock cube +200ml hot water

To serve Naan Bread. chopped banana

Fry onion and garlic for 5 mins, tip in curry sauce,toms and stock. Bring to simmer then add fish. Gently cook until the fish flakes. Serve immediately scattered with Banana slices, and Naan Bread.

Easy recipe, 1 HOB 1 pan, easily modified quantity of ingredients, baulk out with Rice? or instant noodles? Add crème freich? Yoghurt to take the heat out?

Have cooked this on one of those Aerosol gas cookers.

I was with you all the way...until the sliced banana bit
Like your style cant beat a good fish curry!.
Les

 

[Burgo]

Remoska on hookup. Cadac when not. We also have a small mini oven with a revolving spit attachment we keep in the garage for occasions on hookup when we want a roast or to do something like one of the mini suckling pigs.

 

[Mark and Mindy]

FISH CURRY Serves 4

4 chunks of Cod Loin
1 X400 gm tin crushed tomatoes
1 med Onion chopped
Teaspoon Lazy Garlic
1xJar Madras Curry cooking sauce
Veggie stock cube +200ml hot water

To serve Naan Bread. chopped banana

Fry onion and garlic for 5 mins, tip in curry sauce,toms and stock. Bring to simmer then add fish. Gently cook until the fish flakes. Serve immediately scattered with Banana slices, and Naan Bread.

Easy recipe, 1 HOB 1 pan, easily modified quantity of ingredients, baulk out with Rice? or instant noodles? Add crème freich? Yoghurt to take the heat out?

Have cooked this on one of those Aerosol gas cookers.

yummy!

I'd serve with a cucumber and mint raita and green beans on the side - no rice or bananas on low carbing - I'm not keto by choice

 

[Mark and Mindy]

Remoska Oven when on hook up.
Wilding ....Saucepans & deep sided frying/sortie pan (Tefal) all with tight glass lids.
I did full turkey Xmass diner, using these methods at Baltic Wharf CMC Bristol last year.

We too are nowadays on The Keto Diet, which is going to be more difficult when touring in the van. We used to have a good supply of large potatoes for jackets,bread rolls, loaves, and crackers for cheese, all of which we dont eat anymore.
I do DRY FRY (enough fat in meats)fry at low heat in the van, just keep the lid on to avoid fat splashing as much as we can, I poach the eggs in a small saucepan, then of course we can fill up on baked beans, but now we have no bread rollsNo Chocolate bars, Biscuits or sweets to suck on either Just nuts & Raisins , and dried fruits I guess.
Its gonna be hard,but doable, cos I aint giving in until I is skinnier or the wife is
Good Luck.
Lesmondo
PS: we have a Tek Tower oven in the van, but its crap so we dont use it for anything other than warming plates or keeping food warm until served.
We dont do ready meals as they are mostly not Keto Friendly.

We're away over Christmas this year, but travelling on Christmas Day so was thinking of having christmas dinner on Christmas Eve and then having the meat heated in the gravy and then I can do sprouts fried with bacon, and other green veg left over from the night before. That way I won't be doing mega cooking once we've arrived and set up, especially as we'll be walking the dogs while we still have the daylight.

To be honest I don't bother with snacks, we are currently eating strawberries and/or raspberries with cream a couple of times a week as an evening dessert and I'm going to buy tinned fruit in fruit juice (will drain before eating though) for when its out of season for the soft fruits.

Yes, as pointed out by Reallyretired baked beans have sugar in them and so should be avoided, although I find that its very hard to be 100% low carb which means that we do have the odd bit now and then but I find that sweetened processed foods to be too sweet now.

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[Hymer 1961]

As alluded to above there are many alternative ways to cook without using a conventional oven. My best friend is the Weber Jumbo Joe, compact enough to travel with us as well as offering the most versatile of cooking apparatus, far more useful than a conventional oven.

If space is really tight then the slow cooker offers an excellent solution to hearty winter food. If you haven’t already got one I recommend one that you can preheat the internal removable pan on the gas hob, which allows searing, browning and glazing etc, resulting in a far tastier end product. ( Morphy Richards Sear and Slow Digital 6.5l )

My fallback for outdoor frying or pan cooking, if I don’t want to use the Jumbo Joe, is to use Ridgemonkey pans and portable gas rings. You can cook so many different things using a Ridgemonkey, they are very versatile and because the pan is hinged contain the cooking splashes, fat and smells within. I haven’t found anything yet I’ve not been able to cook using one of the three cooking methods.

 

[Reallyretired]

FISH CURRY Serves 4

4 chunks of Cod Loin
1 X400 gm tin crushed tomatoes
1 med Onion chopped
Teaspoon Lazy Garlic
1xJar Madras Curry cooking sauce
Veggie stock cube +200ml hot water

To serve Naan Bread. chopped banana

Fry onion and garlic for 5 mins, tip in curry sauce,toms and stock. Bring to simmer then add fish. Gently cook until the fish flakes. Serve immediately scattered with Banana slices, and Naan Bread.

Easy recipe, 1 HOB 1 pan, easily modified quantity of ingredients, baulk out with Rice? or instant noodles? Add crème freich? Yoghurt to take the heat out?

Have cooked this on one of those Aerosol gas cookers.

Sounds good, except the naan and banana of course. Have to read the ingredient list for the madras sauce too,some have sugars. I would probably play it safe and use a madras curry powder.

 

[Lenny HB]

Do nearly all our frying outside on one of the ten quid single burners, carry a small pressure cooker in the van.

 

[Charlie9038]

Cadac bbq & slow cooker for us.

 

[Reallyretired]

Those £10 cookers are great. I have two of them, ideal for a bit of outdoor cooking. Curry cooked in the motorhome you can smell for the next week.

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[Edenside]

Omnia oven - you use it on a gas ring, suppose to be able to cook everything in it that is possible to cook in a conventional oven. Quite small to pack I have not had mine long but find it quite useful but I am not on the keto diet - although probably should be!!!

 

[denisejoe]

BBQ and pressure cooker for us. More pressure cooker for winter really. Great for veggie soups, curries etc.

Denise

 

[Mark and Mindy]

Lots of good ideas there, I don't want to cook outside the van when its cold, we have no BBQ and no space to carry one. I've looked at the omnia but if we're eating keto then we won't be baking and then it doesn't seem so good for what we want.

Our garage space is small compared to some other vans/motorhomes, approximately 1.2m long, 0.8m wide and the height up to the bed and we already have loads of gubbins such as leads, hoses, tools and other stuff.

We do have some of those Tefal stacking saucepans and I could swap out the frying pan for a different size saucepan with lid - there seem to be 3 saucepans with lids and 2 frying pans,

I think a pressure cooker would suit our purposes better, so I can cook a decent stew, curry or whatever faster than just sitting a pan on the hob, I've looked on the net and think that a 4L would suit us, does that sound right? I'll have to use it at home first so that I know what I'm doing and then don't have too many crises (?sp) in the van.

 

[TinaLes]

I have been using a pressure cooker for years, great for cooking stews quickly, soups in 5 mins for example, Gammon Joints 8 mins a Lb. Recipe book comes with cooker, giving ideas along with cooking times of all meats.
Saves time & a lot of gas especially LPG in the van.
Tips for use:
Brown all meats first with lid off
Caramelise any onions with lid off.
Do not add any gravy thickening agent like cornflower at the start of cooking with lid on, as it will stick and burn ruining the meal.
To release lid quickly, run whole top of cooker under cold water tap, with top weight still on of course, this releases the internal pressure instantly enabling the lid to be taken off safely.
When the lid is taken off the Gravy will be thin as expected, so thats the time to add any gravy thickeners, or simply continue cooking with lid off to reduce the liquid allowing it to thicken naturally.
Bon appetit
Les

 

[Poutie57]

When on electric we use a halogen oven it’s reasonably low wattage and cooks relatively fast, it always fascinates the Europeans when cooking outside seeing this bright light going on and off and 45 mins later a golden brown full roast chicken appears

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[138go]

We have an Air Fryer, which we love so much we now take it with us when we go away. It’s just a small oven really.

Mrs QFour

 

[Mark and Mindy]

When on electric we use a halogen oven it’s reasonably low wattage and cooks relatively fast, it always fascinates the Europeans when cooking outside seeing this bright light going on and off and 45 mins later a golden brown full roast chicken appears

Does it need an inverter or can it be used without? Love this idea of being able to use it as an oven and giving 2 options of pressure cooker on the gas and halogen oven on hook-up.

 

[Mark and Mindy]

I have been using a pressure cooker for years, great for cooking stews quickly, soups in 5 mins for example, Gammon Joints 8 mins a Lb. Recipe book comes with cooker, giving ideas along with cooking times of all meats.
Saves time & a lot of gas especially LPG in the van.
Tips for use:
Brown all meats first with lid off
Caramelise any onions with lid off.
Do not add any gravy thickening agent like cornflower at the start of cooking with lid on, as it will stick and burn ruining the meal.
To release lid quickly, run whole top of cooker under cold water tap, with top weight still on of course, this releases the internal pressure instantly enabling the lid to be taken off safely.
When the lid is taken off the Gravy will be thin as expected, so thats the time to add any gravy thickeners, or simply continue cooking with lid off to reduce the liquid allowing it to thicken naturally.
Bon appetit
Les

That's really helpful, thanks!

 

[Jane And Rog]

I’m seriously considering getting one of these. Or two. Really good for not using much gas - you basically do the initial cooking then leave it for a period in its insulated cover to finish the cooking. Ideal for just two rings.

Kuhn Rikon Swiss Made Energy Efficient Hotpans

Our Kuhn Rikon Swiss made Hotpans allow you to cook healthy meals with less fat and Food stays hot for up to 2 hours and using up to 60% less energy

www.kuhnrikon.co.uk

 

[rangi]

I was with you all the way...until the sliced banana bit
Like your style cant beat a good fish curry!.
Les

Sliced Banana, traditional accomplishment with Curry, chopped tomatoes and mint leaves also, some people do crispy fried Bacon Lardons too.

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