This is something I've brought up a couple of times here. Cooking is a survival skill, and the best place to practice cooking is in the kitchen. The problem is not that people can't cook with out electricity, its that they don't know how to cook period. But like preparedness, most people will never see the need to learn how to cook.

I’ve been telling myself I need an outback oven for a few months.

I plan on getting one to play with over the winter.


What size one do you have?

Geeze, guys.

Ponder for a moment.

You live in an apartment building. The lights go out. You can't make a campfire. You can't go out back and kill an armadillo and strap it to the tailpipe of your '53 harley.

And as a point - some gas stoves WON'T work without electric - they have electric ignition and no pilot light and don't assume anyone knows they can jsut light a match.

So, you want to cook. No electric, no sterno, no camp stove. Now what?

Based on what I hear on my scanner, the obvious answer is to dial 911 on whatever will connect to the dispatch center.

It's done for skinned knees. It's done for 3 year old children "out of control."


Surely 911 can be relied upon to deliver some food?
Isn't that why we pay taxes?

So now what?

You die in a few days and the world is better for it if you are that stupid. Sometimes the gene-pool needs a little chlorine.



Or you adapt and use some brain power and go outside to cook.

Why can’t you cook with Sterno or propane or white gas or butane or wood or alcohol?

I live in a house and cook with some of those things every few weeks. All it takes is to go outside and cook, anyone can do this with a minimal amount of motivation and brain power.

I'll play along. Like the others here, left to my own devices I'd bust out any of the multiple camp stoves I have, or take an old coffee can and make a hobo stove like I've been meaning to do, and get my cookin' on. But assume I didn't have these things, and had to make do.

Well, most canned foods are already cooked. They may not be their most appetizing at room temperature, but they are edible. Hot dogs are also precooked (at least, all the ones I am inclined to eat) so there's that too. Eat those first, of course, because your fridge is out. If I'm not in an apartment that resticts it, I may have a propane grill to use for grilling/cooking. Even if all I keep in my pantry are baked beans and non-condensed soup I am in business for a little while, at least. Certainly enough to keep me away from the PODs until the grocery store spins back up.

As far as actual recipes for this stuff... well, I've never thought of it. Aside from a salad every thing I would think to cobble together would require heat because in a pinch I'd still have that to work with. Even jamboree mulligan needs heat to cook.

Actually, if they can't figure out something on their own, maybe it's best if they don't play with matches or Sterno or Coleman fuel or propane tanks... etc.

Every time there's a disaster or a storm, there's at least one story about people who do dumb things trying to cook and end up killing themselves (and their families). They're in a tightly closed camper and run the propane stove for warmth until they die. They don't have power, so they drag the propane BBQ into the living room and die. They bring a cheap BBQ and charcoal briquets onto the kitchen table and die of carbon monoxide poisoning. They try to heat something with candles, walk off for an hour, and burn the house down. They try to start a fire with gasoline and set themselves on fire.

Cold food is the only answer for some people. Of course, that's if they have the food.

And if they happened to have some armadillos around (not likely in NY and PA), and managed to catch one, clean it and cook it, they'd probably show up with leprosy.

Sue

I don't understand the overall hostility to the original post. They're looking for a human interest story. I don't sense any negative agenda. The gist of it is:

"Were looking for unique recipes from actual hurricane victims who are cooking (or just stirring together) unexpectedly delicious concoctions in the face of extreme circumstances."

Electricity is off. Doesn't say you can't have a gas BBQ, Coleman stove, wood stove or fondue set.

- - - - -

Martin upped the ante, though, with "No electric, no sterno, no camp stove."

That makes it a bit more interesting. As a rule, an apartment dweller is highly dependent on the grid, and is unlikely to start "unofficial renovations" to harvest wood from the walls.

Depending on the situation, they may be able to pool resources with other tenants or people in the neighbourhood. A couple of gas barbecues can help out a lot of people.

I agree that a blackout would be a very poor time to start building experimental stoves using volatile fuels.

Other than that, it's cold food. I do a lot of crude meals when camping, usually cold beans from a can with hot sauce and crackers. Barbaric, I know, but it keeps me going. A cup of hot tea (or a hot toddy) certainly adds a lot to a rough meal though.

Cornflakes, Salad and Scotch eggs?

Even a very basic home emergency camping stove can be had for less than $15.

http://www.amazon.com/Portable-Push-Butt...6491&sr=8-7

You can even get this stove with 5 butane gas cartridges for $23. With 5 cartridges that would last a family for about a week.

If these folks don't have a basic backup to even make a cup of tea or a bowl of porridge, then I suspect that these folks aren't even going to have any spare candles, flashlights, first aid kit, spare tinned food etc in their homes either. Can we call these folks the 'StarBucks Generation'?

How many Skinny Vanilla Lattes can you buy for $23?

How many Skinny Vanilla Lattes can you buy for $23?

ONE. LOL