Cooking in 10 minutes or less

[torakris]

I broke my foot a week ago and it was finally put into a cast yesterday. I was hoping for a cast that would enable me some walking/standing ability (without crutches) but because of the location of the break it was impossible....

My husband has been cooking for the past week (I wasn't supposed to even be standing...) and he really can't cook, he can't even read the directions off a back of a package.

I am starving and want to eat decent food the problem is I have a tiny kitchen and there is no table that I can sit down at to do prep (the only table is on the other side of the house and two steps away). I tried putting a chair in the kitchen put it was too low and it took up so much space I couldn't really get around it.

Without the support of crutches I have only about 10 minutes standing time before my right leg starts to quiver as I can't put any weight on my left foot at all....

What can I do in 10 minutes?

As I am also unable to go shopping, I really need to stick to the staples (and I am pretty well stocked).

I am really running out of ideas and I don't want to eat any more instant ramen, retort packs of curry or tinned fish!

[jackal10]

Buy a copy of Pomaine's Cooking in Ten Minutes: Or the Adaptation of Cooking to the Rhythm of Our Time

Raymond Blanc (Foreword), Edouard De Pomiane, Andre Giroux (Illustrator), Peggie Benton (Translator)

ISBN: 1897959044

Wonderful book!

[torakris]

Buy a copy of Pomaine's Cooking in Ten Minutes: Or the Adaptation of Cooking to the Rhythm of Our Time 

Raymond Blanc (Foreword), Edouard De Pomiane, Andre Giroux (Illustrator), Peggie Benton (Translator)

ISBN: 1897959044

Wonderful book!

←

I just checked but it isn't in stock at Amazon Japan...

by the time it gets here from the US I won't need it anymore...

anything else?

[appreciator]

Well, if you could stand to chop a few onions, sauté them, then add some canned tomatoes, some minced garlic, various spices and throw in a can of chickpeas and a squeeze of lemon... that'd probably be done in about 10 minutes. At least the active part of it. You could serve it over couscous or rice or pasta depending upon what spices/herbs you wanted to use.

I've also got a fairly quick snapper, onions, zucchini and tomato recipe but again, it does involve some chopping.

Edited April 28, 2005 by appreciator (log)

[SuzySushi]

Can you get hold of (buy/borrow) a kitchen stool or even a stepladder that you can sit on? Can you prop yourself on one crutch? Can you prep/chop on a small cutting board held across your lap into a bowl held between your knees while you sit?

I had the same problem years ago when I broke my metatarsal and was not supposed to put any weight on my soft cast. A neighbor lent me a kitchen stool & I used that to sit at the counter.

I don't remember specifically what I cooked, though. I do remember a friend brought over some casseroles placed in individual ramekins that I could just heat in the microwave as needed. Maybe you can assemble some casseroles and freeze them.

[Tepee]

You poor, poor dear!

I happen to be quite an expert in quick meals....too much to do...too little time and all. Let's see...

1.If your family can stand rice gruel/porridge, you can do quite a number of variations.

i) plain watery Teochew gruel, where the gruel boils until the rice grains just opens up. Serve it with pickles, preserved vegetables, fried or salted eggs. Not much prep needed.

ii) chicken and mushroom gruel, Add some stock for more flavor.

iii) fish gruel. Simply chop up some fresh fish (get hubby to do this) and ginger.

2. Roasted/baked chicken. Buy cleaned (if possible, chopped), marinate and pop into the oven.

3. Sandwiches. Get the children to make them. Use leftover chicken in (2), tuna, eggs, salad and etc.

4. Baked fish. Various styles. Malaysian recipe: 10 minutes of marinating with curry powder, ginger+garlic+lemon grass (blend to make it easier for yourself).

5. herbal meat soup (where you throw in the whole lot of chinese herbs and chopped meat) and rice noodles

6. Buy pizza crust and add simple toppings. You can still join the cook-off!

7. Make a no-fuss bean chilli and eat with tacos.

8. Do a no-cook salad, where chopping is minimal. Hand-shred the vegetables.

Will think of more later. Keep that foot rested and relax with some Boh Songket tea.

Edited April 28, 2005 by Tepee (log)

[helenjp]

So where's your hotplate? The perfect time for tabletop cooking has arrived, I'd say.

I just remembered a really lazy wheeze I used to love when I came home from work on the last train at night back in the old days...tuna salad, especially good when mild new onions are in season as they are now. Soak slivered onion in several changes of lukewarm water if your kids are not too keen on it.

Natto omelet with shredded nori and/or negi is a another good hurry-up dish.

Softboiled egg broken over a bacon salad (constructed by your kids) and topped with your favorite dressing.

Put sake-marinaded chicken, salt salmon etc. on top of the rice in your rice cooker...wrap it in foil if you want to avoid contamination!

Toppings such as chopped peanuts and green coriander on tofu.

Pork belly slices, liberally sprinkled with salt, pepper and dried herbs/chili while still in the meat tray, then scissored up (don't separate the slices!) and fried in squares of 3-4 overlapping slices. Hope that's clear, because it's very easy.

Why not do prep at your dining table? Stick what you want in a bucket, so you can manage to carry it on crutches.

Best luck.

[SuzySushi]

Okay... a few more recipe ideas:

For skinless, boneless chicken breasts or thighs --

Place on a large piece of foil on a baking sheet. Top with (your choice) ponzu sauce; chopped fresh herbs & butter; chopped mango chutney mixed with a little curry powder. Seal foil to contain chicken & juices. Bake until chicken is cooked through.

Salmon with blue cheese --

Place fresh salmon steaks or fillets on a microwave-safe plate. Microwave on 70% power until barely cooked through. Sprinkle with crumbled blue cheese. Microwave 30 seconds to 1 minute longer, until blue cheese is melted.

[Paris M]

I am a big fan of the omelette. Add whatever you have on hand and do a quick saute of raw ingredients in the pan if need be.

[Maison Rustique]

You may regret your decision to stand even for 10 minutes when you've been instructed not to stand at all. You could be causing further damage or prolonging the healing process. I broke my foot last October. It's hard to follow those orders to stay off it, but the doctor made it clear that I would probably need surgery if I caused any further damage by standing or walking on it.

I went through the same thing--living with my husband's "cooking" and it was difficult for both of us. Why not try sitting in the kitchen with him and tellling him what and how to do it?

I'm so sorry! I hope you will heal quickly!! I finally got the all-clear on mine yesterday.

Edited April 28, 2005 by Maison Rustique (log)

[Patrick S]

Kristin, what a coincidence. I broke my off part of my left calcaneus on the 11th. Because of the location of the fracture, on the lateral margin of my foot, and its type (avulsion), I didn't have to have a cast, only a velcro post-op 'shoe' and crutches. My problem hasn't been so much standing with all my weight on my right leg as it is keeping my left foot somewhat elevated to keep the swelling down. If I stood up too long, it would feel like my foot was goung to explode from the swelling. I'm sure I looked a bit odd with my left leg propped way up on the table doing prep, but it worked. I also borrowed this seat-on-wheels thingy that has a bicycle type seat wheels that allows me to move around the kitchen.

As far as quick cooking goes, I do lots of stuff involving various pseudo-random combinations of tortillas, sandwhich steaks, onions, cheese, salsa, salad mix -- quesadillas, burritos and so on. You can make something very quick, plus you can do it all in one pan so you don't have to spend much time dishwashing.

[jackal10]

Grills, or steak, or fish or other protein, Even grilled in a frying or ridged pan.

Stirfrys

Pasta

[therdogg]

Take out.

Rest and heal, forget the cooking.

[ludja]

really simple-- like canned soup + grilled sandwiches (or just toasted)-- egg salad, tuna fish, canned sardines and hard boiled eggs, canned salmon.

maybe someone else could make these, along with a salad...

Good luck with your recovery.

Edited April 28, 2005 by ludja (log)

[jgm]

Here's one of my favorite meals. I don't know if it'll work for your setup, but perhaps you could adapt it.

I use an electric skillet, with a very heavy extension cord, and put it in the middle of the table. Into it goes about 3 to 4 cans of low sodium chicken broth. Each person is assigned a space in the pan.

Have fresh vegetables cut up into pieces - whatever you like. Peppers, onion, mushrooms, slivers of carrot. Here in the States, some of this could come from a salad bar, but I don't know what you have available there. Also have whatever (raw) meat you like, also cut into chunks.

The idea is that everybody puts whatever they want to eat, into their corner of the skillet, and it cooks in 2 to 3 minutes. They fish it out with a slotted spoon, and put it on rice. Cooking can be repeated until everybody's had enough, or you run out of food, whichever comes first.

The broth that will be left, is heavenly. Tomorrow, throw more meat and vegetables into it, along with rice or noodles, and call it soup.

The beauty of this is that all of the prep can be done ahead of time and stashed in the fridge.

[torakris]

I am getting tons of ideas!

The strange thing is that if someone else posted the question I would be able to rattle off a bunch of things, but I am drawing a blank when I need it ....

My husband will go shopping on Sunday to stock up for the week and I am getting some great ideas for the shopping list.

[Marlene]

Do you have a crock pot Kris? There's lots of things you can throw into a crock pot without too much prep.

Ribs. Throw them in with some sliced onion on the bottom and covered with bbq sauce. Let them cook on low all day. Or on high for about 4 hours. I usually brown them first, but it isn't really necessary.

[torakris]

Do you have a crock pot Kris?  There's lots of things you can throw into a crock pot without too much prep. 

Ribs.  Throw them in with some sliced onion on the bottom and covered with bbq sauce.  Let them cook on low all day. Or on high for about 4 hours.  I usually brown them first, but it isn't really necessary.

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I passed my crockpot onto a friend a couple years ago....

[Radio7]

One of the simplest things around is my go-to quick meal/snack:

raw tofu.

I like it plain or in soy sauce.

Plop a cube in a bowl, microwave it for about a minute, remove, and liberally douse it in SS.{I often add broccoli florets before nuking, if I have them around}

Yum for me.

(hopefully this doesn't horrify my fellow EG'ers. Lol)

get well soon!

Radio

[appreciator]

What are your favorite 10-minute meals? What do you like to make when you're too tired/broke/bored/busy to really cook?

Found a link to a topic which starts out as quoted above and continues with commentary about: Fast and Fresh, Healthy, fast dishes

Just a little more, potential, inspiration

[Abra]

Poor Kris! What a blog this would make, eh? No-foot cooking in a tiny space...I can see it now. I'd be thinking about what could steam in the rice cooker atop the rice. And if you do have an electric skillet, shabu-shabu, sukiyaki, or tempura made at the table. At least you're lucky to live in a place where there's so much prepared and packaged stuff that your family already likes.

How did you break your foot?

[rooftop1000]

Have your husband get some roasting chickens and any other roast size meats available and just pop them in the oven ...assuming a teeny Japanese kitchen has one. Sometimes I just roast 2 big chickens in the summer so there is something to make without cooking again- chicken salad, salad with chicken anything that calls for shredded chicken, add to soups, sandwiches, or make quick sauces and rice ...

feel better

and if they raid the fridge its real food

tracey

[torakris]

How did you break your foot?

←

Well....

it all started when I got this silly idea of mountain biking to the top of Mt Fuji... We were just getting into the start of our second 12 hour day when it started pour, we decided to push on anyway. It was raining so hard it was difficult to see, when suddenly my front tire hit a large rock.....

I wish it had been that exciting....

I tripped over a toy just outside my front door....

[Abra]

Wow, you got me! I was thinking about how brave you were, hauling the kids up the mountain in the blinding rain...

[David94928]

I broke my foot a week ago and it was finally put into a cast yesterday. I was hoping for a cast that would enable me some walking/standing ability (without crutches) but because of the location of the break it was impossible....

My husband has been cooking for the past week (I wasn't supposed to even be standing...) and he really can't cook, he can't even read the directions off a back of a package.

I am starving and want to eat decent food the problem is I have a tiny kitchen and there is no table that I can sit down at to do prep (the only table is on the other side of the house and two steps away). I tried putting a chair in the kitchen put it was too low and it took up so much space  I couldn't really get around it.

Without the support of crutches I have only about 10 minutes standing time before my right leg starts to quiver as I can't put any weight on my left foot at all....

What can I do in 10 minutes?

As I am also unable to go shopping, I really need to stick to the staples (and I am pretty well stocked).

I am really running out of ideas and I don't want to eat any more instant ramen, retort packs of curry or tinned fish!

←

While I don't have any ideas on quick and easy meals for you I might have something to recommend that will allow you to get around both inside and outside.

Last March my wife dislocated her ankle and broke both bones in her leg just above the ankle. She did't have the upper body strength to get around on crutches so her

mobility and freedom were severly limited. We heard about a device called a Roll-A-Bout that you rest your injured leg on and, while walking on the good leg, roll along on the imjured leg. We were able to find a retail outlet only 90 minutes away from us and we bought a good used one. It wasn't cheap - about $400 - but worth every penny in the end. It gave my wife almost 100% of her freedom that she wouldn't have had otherwise.

Here's a link to the Roll-A-Bout website: http://www.roll-a-bout.com/

Good luck with the meals.

David