Using cooking skills to survive a black out

The Late Night Gourmet

The Late Night Gourmet

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Joined
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4:45 PM
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Location
Detroit, USA
Website
absolute0cooking.com
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I’ve been dealing with a power outage – downed power lines because of extremely high winds - for most of the day here. There were rumors that we would be without power for as long as three days. I was sure they were being overly pessimistic. But, just in case, I decided to go out and buy a generator. I didn’t want to lose everything in my refrigerator.

But, that wasn’t the only reason for wanting a generator. I immediately realized how dependent I am on modern technology. I realize the trap that I’m in, but I am in willingly.

Not having power is an immediate adjustment. I keep reaching for light switches, instinctively trying to turn light on in the room. We don’t have any Internet. I know most of human civilization lives just fine without these things, but I immediately missed them. I feel like I am a survivor on The Walking Dead, thinking about things like the charge on my phone, I’m rationing its use as if I will never see electricity again.

So, I went out to get a generator, and my family joined me so that we could have one last look at civilization. On the way there, we started researching different prices and different locations for generators. The prices vary wildly. If you buy them from a big Box Home Improvement Center - like Lowes or Home Depot – expect to pay more for it. But, you can get it for a fraction of the price online. But, I didn’t have time to wait for an online delivery.

We decide to sign up for a Lowe’s credit card to benefit from a 5% first time use bonus. We tried signing up for it, and the woman who was helping us to do it kept screwing it up. Hilariously, I got flagged by Lifelock as suspicious activity – someone was trying to open a credit card in my name! So, they denied me access to the credit card.

The timing worked out perfectly. While we were there, my son found out that the power was supposed to come back on at 9 o’clock. So, we left without buying anything, and ordered a cheaper generator online. We could certainly survive till 9 o’clock.

The power came on at 7:30, and we were overjoyed. That lasted for about 20 minutes. Then, darkness.

It was 9:03, and my wife wanted me to call the power company to see why it wasn’t on yet. I thought her impatience was amusing, but I didn’t let on I thought that. The power came back on at 9:04, lasted about 10 minutes, then went off.

It’s 1140 now, I can’t really make anything to eat, since I want what’s in the refrigerator to last as long as possible. But, you may have noticed all those bottles in the picture at the top of this post. These are all phenomenally good examples of their type of liquor. I’m convinced that they gather together to help take my mind off of my last days here, trying to survive without Internet access.

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This is an interesting concoction. The absinthe applies a licorice overtone to the other flavors here. That cherry moonshine does actually taste like chocolate cherries. I don’t know how they do it. It’s like a lollipop that gets you drunk.

Power was restored a little bit before midnight, and it seems like it’s here to stay. I decided to add ice to my drink. I’m glad my skills in the kitchen help me to survive this crisis.
 
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The Late Night Gourmet said:
But, you may have noticed all those bottles in the picture at the top of this post. These are all phenomenally good examples of their type of liquor. I’m convinced that they gather together to help take my mind off of my last days here, trying to survive without Internet access.
Click to expand...
:D

Seriously, I hope that power is restored for Thanksgiving....
 
The Late Night Gourmet - when the zombie apocalypse comes, you're my guy to hang out with. Those cherries will be all the food we need. :)

We had those high winds here yesterday, gusts up to 55mph, and yeah, a lot of people lost power. We didn't. We used to lose power every time a fly burped, but several years ago, during a massive winter storm, everyone across the tri-state lost power, some for two weeks, and I think it forced the power company's hand (or gave them the opportunity) to effect some better repairs, and we've rarely lost power for more than a few minutes at a time since.

Me in a power outage - I just just and try to enjoy the quiet, but MrsTasty is a basket case - she lights every candle we own, gathers every flashlight, calls the power company for automated updates, worries that the food is going bad, that we're going to die, wants to go get a hotel room, the whole bit.
 
CraigC said:
Quite familiar with generator use here. Just make sure to run it DRY after use!
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I am at my parent's house in Houston right now. My dad has a big generator on wheels for hurricanes.

You don't need to run them dry. You do need to run them every few months to keep gaskets and seals lubed. Today's gasolines are pretty stable, and pouring some STABIL into the tank will make it even longer lasting. My dad rolls his outside every couple of months, and runs it for about 30 minutes.

Late Night, I hope you get your power back soon. But, I like the looks of your "survival kit."

CD
 
Well, Craig has always run ours dry and it's went 2, maybe 3 years without being started once; yet, it always starts right up and it's close to 10 years old. Ours is also on wheels and runs a large window AC, 2 refrigerators, a deep freeze, microwave or toaster oven, portable cooking burners, a lamp or 2, and we've even hooked up the TV and VCR when oldest DGD and her parents were living with us after a long distance move and before they found a house. We even let the neighbors run a cord for their refrigerator a couple of years.
 
We've had thousands of earthquakes since the 7.1 we had, 150 people killed so power has been on and off here in Christchurch. I'm in a good area so I never lost power or water. Whole subdivions were wiped out. I bought a gen set, just in case. I had all my family staying here at different times because they post power etc. power is so taken for granted!! I'm ok with no power, we used to go camping for years so we have gas units stored in the garage should we have another disaster. All I really need is ice, for my drinks,lol.

Russ
 
rascal said:
We've had thousands of earthquakes since the 7.1 we had, 150 people killed so power has been on and off here in Christchurch. I'm in a good area so I never lost power or water. Whole subdivions were wiped out. I bought a gen set, just in case. I had all my family staying here at different times because they post power etc. power is so taken for granted!! I'm ok with no power, we used to go camping for years so we have gas units stored in the garage should we have another disaster. All I really need is ice, for my drinks,lol.

Russ
Click to expand...

My parents and my sister live North of I-10, the Interstate highway the runs through Houston. They are told NOT to evacuate if a hurricane is coming, because Houston is the forth largest city in the US, and over 7 million people live in the Houston area. People North of I-10 are told to stay put, so that people South of I-10 can evacuate. Of course, there are exemptions for people with special needs.

My parents and my sister have stuck it out for two hurricanes, so far. My sister goes to my parent's house, and they use the generator to keep food cold, and provide minimal lighting and food safety. They can cook on the grass grill on the covered outdoor kitchen. My sister is an RN at a hospital, so she has to get to work if possible. She has a Volvo AWD SUV, so she can usually get to the hospital, and get home when her shift is done.

CD
 
I used to work with quite a few Gen-ees a while back.
We all liked the Honda's because if the spark plug was bad, it only took one very light pull on the recoil cord to get it started, every time.
Perhaps now, others are just as easy.

If you're allowd to burn fires in your area, here's something to have on hand in case you run out of gas.
Extra credit if you have some pre-cut for an emergency (good for camping too).

You could also drive a half-dozen 16 or 20-penny nails halfway into it so the cooking vessel doesn't have to sit on top.

Extra-extra credit if your chain is sharper than this dudes!:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJRH2LG54XM
 
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