Meeting 3b: The Power is Out: Cooking with No Electricity

Lissa Estes and Colleen Cole taught about different ways to cook with out electricity. Here is the information they shared.

Alternate cooking                     

Alternate fuels: unleaded gasoline, Coleman white gas, natural gas, propane, butane, wood, charcoal, alcohol, used or new cooking oil, candles, paraffin.

No Cook

Be sure to check your pantry and just check around your kitchen, you will find plenty of food for a day or two without having to cook: fruit, cereal, nuts, bread, veggies, crackers, chips, cheese, canned tuna, canned fruit/veggies, dried fruit, sprouts, sauerkraut.

No cooking needed foods.

Fuel Efficient Cooking

Solar: long, slow cooking, use like a crockpot. Food cooks at 180 degrees, food will cook evenly, does not need added fat or water. Best if aimed at sun and adjusted throughout the day.  DIY or purchased

Wonder Oven: principle is insulation, use like a crockpot. Boil food for 5-10 minutes, then place in Wonder Oven and allow to finish cooking. (See Shalyse)

Thermos: bring to boil, then finish cooking over time.

Rocket Stove: brick or cement block. Uses small pieces of scrap wood or twigs. Makes a quick hot fire with very little fuel. There are many types of purchased rocket stoves, some are able to charge cell phones. (See Coleen)

Sterno: Very low heat potential, use for reheating, or very quick cooking. Use a reusable foil windscreen.

Tuna can with homemade fuel; cardboard and paraffin, cooking oil and wick. Add a shade for light.

Hibachi: alcohol and cotton balls, medium heat for a short amount of time. Use for quick cooking think pieces of marinated meat, or for reheating

Wood: use appropriate amount of fuel, best  used when fire has burned down to coals

Pellet stove: good for 72 hour kits, medium heat that does not last long. Good for reheating, rehydrating noodle soup, making oatmeal, making hot water for cocoa/herb tea

BBQ grill: charcoal, propane: large piece of equipment, can be used for long slow cooking as well as quick hot cooking. Try out recipes and know your grill. Use direct as well as indirect heat.

Box Oven -  cardboard lined with foil: uses charcoal. Good for baking bread, cookies, cake, biscuits, muffins. Be sure to vent the bottom for air flow. Needs a rack and needs to be on a flat surface. Charcoal briquettes have a general rating of 1 per 25 degrees (although I always seem to need more). Start charcoal in a starter chimney, or make one out of a #10 can. Put some newspaper in the bottom with a little cooking oil on the paper to keep it burning longer. Can also use foil pans, aluminum pie pans. Try making a window using turkey oven bags taped with aluminum tape. Can use wire to make a rack, or use cans to hold the rack. (See Coleen Cole for sales data on charcoal)

 

Solar oven made from a car window shield!

A solar oven that can be purchased online.

Another way to cook food.

Carrot cake that Lissa cooked in her Dutch Oven.

Lissa's Dutch Oven bread!  We posted the recipe for everyone under resipes.

Other methods for cooking.

Best Ingredients

Parmesan cheese and bacon bits! They fix almost any meal!!!

Lissa mentioned if cooking pasta it's best to use the thinnest pasta for quick cooking.

Keep in mind

Food cooks at 180 degrees.

Determine how long the situation is likely to last. Assess if you have time and a place to prepare, cook and clean up a meal. Are you bugging in or bugging out?

Use fresh, then frig, then freezer, then canned. Use no cook, then renewable fuel, then limited fuel. Your frig and freezer are connected even if they have two doors, keep both areas closed as long as possible.

Use food with high surface area: angel hair pasta, cut foods into small pieces, always use a lid.

Use as little fuel as possible: Make the most of your heat source: use ALL the heat, when you are finished cooking dinner food, heat water to make oatmeal in a Thermos for breakfast or to wash dishes, or the kids!

Experiment: make things at home on a day when it does not matter if your experiment does not work out. Make some notes and determine what works and what your family likes.

Always use the rule of three: 3 ways to cook, 3 ways to open cans, 3 ways to start a fire, 3 meals from which to choose, 3 ways to put out your fire, 3-3-3-3-3.

Resources

Lds.org

So1thing.com

FEMA

Pinterest

Foodstoragemadeeasy.net

Youtube: sun ovens, rocket stoves, oil lamps, thermos cooking: just follow similar links. Find  your favorite videos, subscribe to several. Watch many videos and compare, then decide what works for you.