Winter Storms: Power Failure
Prepare for power-less cooking
When the lights go out, many people quickly learn how dependent they are on their stoves and microwaves. How would you fix your food without electricity?
University of Georgia experts say you don't have to go hungry during a power outage. You just have to be prepared.
You can cook in the fireplace or on a one- or two-burner camping cook stove. You'll have to go outside to use it the camping stove.
Even gas or charcoal grills can be handy in a pinch. The key is to be smart when you selecting the food you'll prepare.
Think simple. Think, 'What can I cook in minutes over a roaring fire or outside in a blowing wind?'"
Stock up
Here's a list of easy foods UGA experts recommend stocking up on in preparation for winter power failures:
Canned meats. Ham, chicken and turkey are available. Look for them on the same grocery aisle as canned tuna in most stores.
Packaged pasta mixes or rice mixes. You can even mix these with the canned meat or tuna to create a quick-to-fix "camping meal." You can easily prepare it in your fireplace, camp stove or gas grill.
Hard cheeses. Hard cheddar, Swiss, provolone or mozzarella can be kept even without refrigeration for several hours before they lose quality. And don't forget the crackers.
Canned soups or dehydrated soup mixes. Soup or water can easily be heated in the fireplace or on a camp stove.
Fruits. Fresh, canned or dried, fruits are healthful and don't have to be cooked.
Vegetables. Fresh or canned veggies are nutritious and also require little or no cooking.
Cereals. Cold cereals can make a meal or a great snack for the kids. And nothing is more soothing on a cold winter morning than a steaming bowl of oatmeal. Be sure to get instant, and just add hot water, straight off the fire or your camp stove.
Peanut butter and jelly. Who doesn't like peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches? And what could be easier to "cook"?
UGA Extension food specialists say many packaged food products work well, too. A boxed macaroni-and-cheese mix cooks in 10 minutes and can become a great meal when mixed with beans and wieners.
And while you're at the store, also buy things that make powerless cooking work, like plenty of starter sticks for the fireplace, a hand-operated can opener and fuel for the camp stove or grill.
Source: Judy Harrison, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension