Green Living Thursday

With the recent cold weather, wind and snow, I thought it would be a good idea to discuss some ideas about what to do in the kitchen during a blackout. It is inevitable that sooner or later our electricity is going to go out. We all remember last winter when it was out for several days. When that happens, fixing food can present a problem. Here are some tips to help you get around in the kitchen when the electricty is out.


The key to getting through a power outage is to be prepared. Preparing ahead for possible blackouts will make it easier to get through them if they do occur. One way of preparing is to stock your refrigerator and pantry with foods that let you fix a decent meal without electricity. Canned items such as tuna are an excellent thing to stock in the pantry for emergency situations. When cooking any dish that will reheat well or can find a second life in a salad, make extra. If you have leftover cooked pasta and a few fixings - olive oil, oil-packed sundried tomatoes, olives, canned tuna - it's a cinch to throw together a satisfying salad. Or you could reheat that pasta in ready-made sauce from the pantry in a chafing or fondue dish or over a camp stove.

If you have a few hard-boiled eggs stashed away, all the better. Extra blanched or roasted vegetables are good with a vinaigrette, served at room temperature. Leftover meatloaf or any roasted meat can anchor a supper, as can ratatouille or chile.

Barbecues and outdoor gas grills can save the day and the dinner, but if you don't own such gear, there are simpler solutions. Just think outside the box - or maybe take something out of its box. The camp stove you haven't used since your trip to Yosemite can heat up all manner of leftover home-cooked or canned food, and so can that chafing dish you got as a wedding present more years ago than you care to admit.

Heating leftovers or canned foods or making something really quick like pasta in store-bought sauce; an omelet, or warmed tortillas piled with whatever is around.

Checklist

-- Learn the art of planned overage, but use extras in your meals within a few days even if there hasn't been a blackout. Replenish your standby supply as you go along.

-- Check what non-electric cooking options you have. Make sure they are in working order and you have the needed fuel - charcoal for the grill, portable gas cylinders, Sterno or denatured alcohol, even small candles for those buffet warming dishes.

However, do NOT under any circumstances use gadgets and fuels designed for outdoor use in a closed space like your kitchen. Carbon monoxide-filled fumes can quickly turn that blackout meal into your last supper.

With a little planning, it is possible to make it through a power outage and still manage to eat well. Don't forget to check on your neighbors during times when we are experiencing situations such as power losses or severe weather.