468278 Mon Dec 10 16:42:56 -0800 2007 11 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 3196593 Okay, yeah, this is sort of a joke topic, but also not. We're hoping and wishing we won't lose the use of our furnace, stove, oven, and refrigerator, BUT we did some preparation today. We have firewood, peanut butter, canned tuna, crackers, bread, canned fruit, water, etc. I remember when the power was out in the winter of 2002, we got pretty bored with our diet (and pretty chilly in this old house, even with a fireplace.) We were lucky, though, as the power was restored within 48 hours. Anyone? I'm in the KC area, BTW, but I suppose this applies to many, many of us Midwesterners this week. Mon Dec 10 16:42:56 -0800 2007 24126 amyzan 1 3196647 I went through six days without power a few winters ago. I did eat a lot of peanut butter, crackers, that sort of thing, but I couldn't bring myself to eat canned tuna. However, I had all of these Gertrude Hawk peanut butter-filled pumpkins that my sister sent me. I ate ALL of them. And yes, I did quite a bit of chocolate, too. I do have nuts, canned chili, vacuum-packed whole grain bread, jam, etc., plus a bunch of chocolate for my ice-storm stash. I'm in Indiana, BTW. Mon Dec 10 17:02:00 -0800 2007 3196593 131171 nofunlatte 2 3196784 Would the vacuum packed whole grain bread be a German rye? I'm curious, as that's all I've ever seen comes that way. My usual bread is a sprouted grain one we refrigerate. Thanks for the reminder about nuts. I have a stash in the freezer, and some chocolate in the pantry. Mon Dec 10 17:52:07 -0800 2007 3196647 24126 amyzan 3 3203463 Yes, it's rye (or three-grain). Very dark, sometimes I get it with muesli. My usual bread is the Ezekial, plain or with sesame, also refrigerated. But I alternate with the vac-packed German rye. It's nice to have on hand just for occasions like impending ice storms and power outages. Wed Dec 12 18:34:22 -0800 2007 3196784 131171 nofunlatte 1 3196683 Get some frozen shrimp. If the power goes out, put them outside to keep them 'good'. You can cook the shrimp pretty easily over a fire with some garlic and butter thrown in (keep the butter outside as well if you're worried about spoilage) and any spices you happen to like. Eat with the bread for a delicious meal that *may* make you forget about the cold for awhile. If you are drinkers I also recommend you stock up on wine or your beverage of choice. I usually go with wine because I can cook with it as well. Mon Dec 10 17:17:27 -0800 2007 3196593 113872 diablo 2 3196792 Good idea. The grill's still out on the patio under a cover, so that would work. I think I may even have a pound in the freezer? We have plenty of alcohol, too--wine and liquor, very little beer, though, but I suppose that's just as well. Who wants a cold beer when it's chilly inside the house already? (I guess some people, but not me!) Mon Dec 10 17:55:00 -0800 2007 3196683 24126 amyzan 1 3196698 1979.....Super Bowl XIII. My father purchased a new Volkswagen Rabbit intended for my brother who was attending USC, who had my Father's Mercedes Benz 450 SEL out with him in LA. I was attending The University of Arizona as a sophomore and another brother and I were going to drive the VW out to make a switch. with the detour to drop me off at school in Tucson. We left New Jersey on a Friday morning....450 miles later in Natural Bridge, Virginia, an Ice Storm hits and there's a major accident involving 18 wheelers hanging off bridges and Interstate 81 is closed for eight hours........try to start the car....it won't budge........later found out it was a faulty distributor cap, and no we weren't stupid enough to drain the battery. Anyway, the entire weekend with no heat, water, electricity, television or telephone service............ Coca-Cola and Lance potato chips for three days until we could get towed to Lynchburg were the nearest Volkswagen Dealer was 75 miles away. Missed one of the greatest Super Bowls games ever. Mon Dec 10 17:22:06 -0800 2007 3196593 123497 fourunder 1 3196859 I watched the news of the ice storms you are experiencing this week; best of luck. In any climate (I'm in Florida, so hurricane preparedness is a major issue) you need a backup method for cooking. Small propane grills are inexpensive; I keep one and six bottles of propane in reserve. Load up on decent canned soup, pasta, jarrred sauce, rice, and canned ham. I generally have enough in the house to last a month, without suffering. Plus I bought a large generator 2 years ago, and ever since I dutifully did my preparations we haven't had enough wind to fly a kite. But I emphasize in seriousness, have an alternate cooking medium. Even if you have a gas range, prepare to be independent and for the world to be non-accomodating for a while. Mon Dec 10 18:14:18 -0800 2007 3196593 57170 Veggo 1 3197364 Eat the ice cream first. That's my golden rule! I grew up in KC and remember an ice storm in the early 1980's. The power was out for almost a week, and school was out because power was out there, too. We had a fire in the fire place at home almost around the clock, and I remember we got to eat a ton of stuff for lunch and dinner we usually would never have been allowed to eat--cereal and milk, frozen waffles (toasted over the fire), s'mores, hot dogs, snow "ice cream" (made with snow and sweetened condensed milk--a poor substitute for the real thing, but entertaining). I remember my dad was so proud to wrap up some ground beef, frozen veggies and some seasonings in little foil packets, set them over the fire and voila--dinner in 20 minutes. He also did meatballs with leftover spaghetti, but that one didn't turn out so well. There was a lot of tuna that week, too. Dad started getting creative on day three--Tuna with olives and mustard. That's one I wish I could forget. Mon Dec 10 22:31:58 -0800 2007 3196593 16301 Non Cognomina 2 3199596 yup, eat the ice cream first. then use grill or camping stove outdoors. pancakes, granola, fruit, lentil soup Tue Dec 11 15:23:38 -0800 2007 3197364 46030 soupkitten 1 3199541 There was a thread on this topic about a year ago and I can't find it. I'm far too familiar with your situation as we lose power for days on end in any season and we have no NG, just hydro. I fully expect that we too will lose power from your same system. Here is how we cope. Outdoor cooking is not an option as our episodes generally involve 50-60 mph winds, deep-freezing temperatures and heavy, heavy whiteout snows that shut down all roads for days on end. Hot coffee is the first need. A small variety store in town has a generator and those of us without wood stoves or who don't have propane appliances troop in and receive one small cup in the dim light and catch up on gossip. Buy a hand-cranked radio. Have a good supply of batteries and keep a flashlight on every floor. After the second or third outage we purchased an oil lamp. It has received a lot of use. At the first hint of a problem, fill your bathtub with water to moderate the temperature - this helps summer or winter. Also fill available pots and bottles with drinking water. During power outages water treatment may be curtailed and you certainly won't have water on elevated ground or upper floors of apartment buildings. Never, ever let your gas tank go below half full. This advice may be too late for many of you who now find local gas pumps non-functional. As soon as the lights die, so do all POS terminals, debit and credit machines, and ATMs. Keep a cash stash on hand and immediately head to the nearest Mom and Pop variety for essentials - chain stores are completely paralyzed. We close all the doors in unused rooms and let body heat work in the main areas. Rooms will be sealed to conserve heat so don't even think of a camp stove or the like because of asphyxiation. Am I right on that one? It's amazing how eating them cold will rate canned foods. We keep Heinz pork & beans, Fay Bentos corned beef, sardines, kippered snacks and simple fruits - peaches, pears, tomatoes and fruit salad. In hot weather we head out and buy bags of ice cubes - one for the fridge freezer and two or more for the deep freeze. Cover the deep freeze with a comforter and don't open it - it should be good for up to a week in 90* weather. We look in on elderly and shut-in neighbours as a matter of course in small communities. If you're in a larger, less personal setting, do the right thing. Tue Dec 11 15:07:21 -0800 2007 3196593 55318 DockPotato 1 3199609 Lots of canned beans - usually veggie baked beans or those ready-to-eat Indian curry ones. Actually, pretty much all the TJ's shelf-stable Indian foods. Tue Dec 11 15:28:29 -0800 2007 3196593 10681 piccola