Cooking during blizzard.

[gfweb]

Philadelphia prepares in it own way for the blizzard.

 

 

[SLB]

I'm in Northern Manhattan, and we're just starting to get a little wind.  I'm thinking:  unspecified soup in beef broth (I have a freezer somewhat overwhelmed with a whole lot of frozen beef broth); tacos with the fridge full of leftovers that I somehow rounded out this week with; and some chocolate-y oatmeal cookies I spied a recipe for recently.  In honesty, I really want cake; but I don't have any basis to expect this storm to otherwise disrupt next week's work schedule, and I need the cookies for my lunches next week.  So I guess I should take advantage of the chilly, and make the cookies.

 

I'm not supposed to be eating bread right now, but I admit that, also,  there is a rye-roll that I really want to make this weekend.  Specifically, I want to make it to go with ham sandwiches next week, since Murray's cheese was handing out these samples of somebody's "rosemary-ham", and the rosemary was astonishingly tasteful, not overpowering at all, and although I don't much eat sandwiches. . . well . . . .

 

Anyway.  I have [kinda] fond memories of my decade in hurricane country, where the power-outages were for real, and the prep was life-force analytical, and strategic.  In NYC, it's just not that likely that a blizzard is going to take down the power.  Man, does that make a difference in my imagination.  

 

Good luck to y'all, down the mid-Atlantic.   We're only getting a foot, and -- at least in the city -- our power lines are underground.  Hang in there.

Edited January 23, 2016 by SLB (log)

[gfweb]

We finally got a generator that powers everything. Amazing effect on how I view storms. We went from 3 one to five day long outages a year to a total of 2 minutes a year. Makes country life better.

 

Edited January 23, 2016 by gfweb (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

As of a few moments ago our forecast in central New Jersey got upped.  I figure however much we are supposed to get we will get.  My work tomorrow is cancelled.  As we speak I am reheating leftovers for dinner (chicken tetrazini) along with thirty second green beans.  Meanwhile I am anovaing 48 hour (or until the power goes off) chuck steaks for a future meal.

 

I am OK until the power, heat, internet, or hot water go off -- which unfortunately is not a farfetched possibility.  Memories of Sandy.  Was most annoyed because an emergency battery powered LED lantern I ordered from amazon failed to arrive today, when it was scheduled.  Amazon kindly did send batteries and a supply of epazote.

 

Tonight I stocked in a case of wine and yesterday a case of rum.  And about five pounds of nuts.  Not to mention a case of Small Hand orgeat waiting on the doorstep when I got home.

 

And remember, methode rotuts does not require cooking.

 

[gfweb]

wine , rum, nuts

 

you are good

 

[MetsFan5]

In northern nj we should be ok, I've definitively experienced a lot worse than what is forecasted. I chose to go 'college style' with a case of beer and a bottle of fireball. Despite being 35 years old but hey, whatever. 

 The pup has yet to experience significant snow and is in hog heaven.

 

we have steaks and a whole chicken ready to throw in the BGE if needed. Just wish we had some fresh veggies. 

Edited January 23, 2016 by MetsFan5 (log)

[Thanks for the Crepes]

I was in the middle of reading the Oatmeal thread/topic earlier when the power began flickering. Oh no! So I shut down my computer, the modem and router, and the TV. Then I lit a candle. I had the last load of laundry in the dryer and the last load of dishes was still running, so nothing I could do about that. The dryer was almost finished, so I put all the clothes away, flashlight nearby, and by that time the power had stabilized. I dread power outages. We live on a quiet cul de sac, which is very nice in many ways except that it puts our little residential area right at the bottom of the power restoration list. During Hurricane Fran, my sister who lives in the Middle of Nowhere, NC on twenty acres at the end of the power lines got power in 2 days. There are a couple of commercial chicken barns on her line. I got it in 9, after every last person in the state was restored I believe. At least it was warm then.

 

I used to do the water in the bathtub, but luckily, we have never lost water here. We live practically in the shadow of a water tower, and they must have generators to get water to the top of them. I also have an analog phone that works because it has its own underground power supply. AT&T wants to take it away, and I think the government is going to let them, but I'm keeping it until they pry it from me. It's critical for locating ice, propane and batteries during extended outages when stores have power and I don't, and shortages are rampant. More than once I have stood on line for ice deliveries, where they just pile the bags on pallets and people queue up to carry them out, to be too late to actually get any.

 

For now the power has stabilized or, of course, I couldn't be posting this. The dishwasher has completed its cycle too. The power blips weren't even enough to stupify the electronic clocks or the dishwasher which will reset and flash midcycle at the drop of a hat. We have a small generator where we can run a few things like the two fridges and electric fireplaces on drop cords. We can also run a few lamps, and I have an electric Dutch oven that I use for everything from cooking to heating water for dish washing. I would give anything for a gas stove, but as long as the generator cranks, we won't freeze or starve or lose any food. The generator is enough to run the electric coffee maker too, and the essential water bed heater gets a precious slot.

 

Power is not likely to stay on here, though I fervently hope it does. Our temps are fluctuating right around the freezing point with constant precipitation ranging through snow and sleet to (mostly) destructive freezing rain. Storing food on the deck is out because the temps aren't low enough to keep anything solidly frozen, and even though I have two big coolers, the raccoons would pillage them. Hmm, if the chain we use to secure the generator with a padlock were long enough, I might be able to thread it through the handles and keep them out that way. They would just chew through rope or simply untie it. Sure hope that generator cranks if we need it and that we don't need it.

 

I already had my shopping done by Thursday, and everything seemed normal in our stores, except maybe the line at the liquor store was three deep at two registers instead of no waiting at one register for a Thursday.

 

I also boiled up some eggs, and bought some organic sourdough and and an olive oil/rosemary boule. I cooked spare ribs low and slow in the crockpot today, hoping the power would stay on at least long enough to cook them, and I even got to run them under the electric broiler to crisp them up. I also made a very nice chef salad with some of those boiled eggs, sliced cheddar, seedless green grapes, a medly of cherry and grape tomatoes including green, orange, yellow, brown and red ones, some cucumber, and just a little thinly sliced red cabbage. I put it all over a bed of extra fresh and frilly green leaf lettuce. My husband commented, "You know this salad would cost about $20 in a restaurant."  Completed the meal with toasted olive oil rosemary bread and butter.

 

I have enough charcoal to fire up the grill about twice, maybe three times. The only way I'm crunch/sliding my way out to the grill for that though is if we lose power, the gennie won't run, and the rib eyes start to thaw. 

 

 

[MetsFan5]

You're much more prepared than I am! I figure whatever happens it cannot possibly be worse than Sandy. I'm not at risk of losing our car (now cars) and having no power for 10 days. I've gone through worse. Not that I wouldn't be pissed if we lost power and had to put all our frozen food in a shed and stay in a hotel with a puppy. 

 

  Does anyone have fun drink ideas using snow!? I'm not creative so I think unfrozen Fla-Vor-Ice tube, some fresh snow and maybe some vodka depending on the flavor of the pop. Sadly I don't have any vodka but I have a husband who drives an X3 we are about to get rid of so maybe it's time to push that beast to do what it should do best.  

[Thanks for the Crepes]

Although I used to eat maple snow ice in Vermont, it was a very rural area, and I was too young to know better. After seeing how black the large snowbanks get when they melt in spring, I no longer consume snow.

 

We sure had fun with our maple snow ice back in the day, though.

 

If you are bent on the idea, maybe something overly sweet and strong-flavored like Kahlua or Grand Marnier would make a nice snow ice.

[Lisa Shock]

I was reading online a few days ago about how polluted snow is nowadays. It's up to you...the only thing I can think of is to make a snow-cone with tightly packed snow and Midori. There used to be some sort of fake ice cream people made with sweetened condensed milk and snow, but my family never did, I just heard about it third-hand.

 

I'd also like to suggest, for anyone able to still head out to the store, you might want some paper plates, bowls, disposable cups, plastic utensils and lots of napkins. If the water goes out, your life will be easier. Even if you have water, if the power goes out, those with electric water heaters won't have hot water to wash dishes in.

 

BTW, forgot to mention that chefmd's bread looks really good.

[Thanks for the Crepes]

Yes, Lisa.

 

Paper and plastic plates/bowls and plastic utensils are always on hand upstairs in the linen closet sealed in a big clear zipper bag that came with a comforter I bought. They are an essential part of any outage survival kit, when every drop of water must be hauled and heated if you have the means, and even more necessary when you don't. I actually try to avoid plastic or paper dinner ware most of the time, but in an emergency, you gotta do what you gotta do to get through it.

 

I also always keep an embarrassing amount of paper supplies of all kinds, not only because I like to get the best price by buying on sale and in bulk, but to make sure I have them if the need arises.

 

It's kind of funny, though, to see the picnic ware aisle fully stocked and the bread and milk all gone sometimes. People forget about washing dishes. I sure would like to. 

 

Other things that come in handy are a battery powered radio, and of course batteries for it, books and old-fashioned board games, so you can amuse yourselves without the usual electronics. It takes a lot of candles to produce enough light to read by. A deck of cards is nice. Most electronics won't run on the power from our little generator. Every time, my husband will unplug the fridges and try to plug in the TV over my strident protests. It makes the generator engine surge up and down like it is having death throes, and the TV will not work. By some miracle, he hasn't fried either the TV or the gennie... yet. I hope he has learned his lesson, but I doubt it. 

[Lisa Shock]

A few years ago, I got a rechargeable LED work light on amazon which they no longer sell. (it's got 100 small LED bulbs in it) A single charge gives me about 20 hours of low light with just 1/3 of the bulbs lit and about 6 hours at full brightness. -At full brightness, reading is easy. I just charge it every 6 months or so, or right before a storm. I am thinking about getting a couple more. I have one solar charging flashlight, but, it's pretty weak.  I've also got a bunch of small rechargeable flashlights in power outlets, always ready to go. I am about to get a portable solar charger for things like phones and tablets.

 

I've got the Kindle app on my tablet, that can go quite a while on one charge, and I downloaded a bunch of free public domain books onto it. I probably have a couple of years' worth of reading material there.

[chefmd]

This morning:
Water: running.

Electricity: we have it.

 

Snow looks so pretty from the window..  Wind is now starting to be loud.

[chefmd]

Double espresso with cream and unread issue of F&W.  Espresso keeps me from being hungry for a while.  Enough time to contemplate breakfast.

 

 

 

[chefmd]

2 hours ago, Lisa Shock said:

I was reading online a few days ago about how polluted snow is nowadays. It's up to you...the only thing I can think of is to make a snow-cone with tightly packed snow and Midori. There used to be some sort of fake ice cream people made with sweetened condensed milk and snow, but my family never did, I just heard about it third-hand.

 

I'd also like to suggest, for anyone able to still head out to the store, you might want some paper plates, bowls, disposable cups, plastic utensils and lots of napkins. If the water goes out, your life will be easier. Even if you have water, if the power goes out, those with electric water heaters won't have hot water to wash dishes in.

 

BTW, forgot to mention that chefmd's bread looks really good.

Thank you for liking my bread.  I cook a lot but bake only infrequently.  Measuring ingredients is not something that I like to do and inability to taste food as it is cooking is also difficult for me.

 

I think one snow cone will not kill anybody but it is just as easy to crush ice (from you freezer) in Vitamix and make snow cone that way.  If all fails, just pour your liquor of choice in a glass and enjoy

[chefmd]

Started to snow harder.  Our balcony definitely got couple feet of snow but that is probably due to wind.

[chefmd]

Breakfast did not go as planned.  Left over mushroom risotto cakes started to fall apart the minute they hit the pan.

 

So I let them fall apart completely, pressed into a pan to create some crisp bits.  Fortunately, freshly grated Parmesan (lots of Parmesan) can cover multitude of cooking sins. 

It was delicious but the picture definitely belongs on the regrettable food thread.

 

 

And much more photogenic Mandarin and Pineapple juice

 

[rotuts]

chefmd

 

how do you infuse Benton's ?   I have a lot.  good for an M.R. ?

 

only 1 " - 3 " my area, so they say.

 

Im not from NE, originally, never snowed where I grew up

 

alway astounded on the last minute stocking up lots of people do.

 

if it had been 10 " + here, food stores would have been Jamed

 

see     SV, and MR is all you need.

[lindag]

I feel for your situation!  No food in the stores is a giant bummer when you really need a few things to tide you over.

We're just getting over a cold front here in the Northern Rockies...the snow we've had since before Xmas is disappearing and the highs are in the low thirties now.  The good news is that it's crabbing season in the PNW and I was able to pick up the last two in my grocers and they were $5.99 lb.  which is pretty reasonable since I'm a ways from the Coast.  IMO, nothing beats fresh Dungeness!!!

BTW, that artisan loaf looks just wonderful!

 

[chefmd]

About an ounce of warm bacon fat per 750 ml of bourbon.  Sit at room temperature for a few hours (or overnight) and put in the freezer for easy removal of bacon fat. 

 

And of course I have SV and MR!

[rotuts]

best Weber-inging Ive found is during blizzards.

 

w at least 1 foot of snow on the deck.,    that's why they put the cover on them Weberrs1

[rotuts]

P.S. :  those crank lanterns and flashlights are wonderful to have.   mine has solar cells on the top, so stays charged if left near a sunny window.

 

had to use it a few weeks ago for 6 hours when the power went out.  Mister Cat was very interested in it

 

which brings me to my point  :  LED's in lights like these, crank or battery are very very bright, and can damage your cats and dogs

 

retina.  they are going to be very interested.  mine came from LLBean, for no reason, not there brand

 

I did find this at amazon for a starter.

 

I have the crank flashlight in my car.  no need to worry about batteries getting old or leaking.

 

well worth it.

Edited January 23, 2016 by lesliec
eG-friendly Amazon link (log)

[suzilightning]

They just upped our totals to 12-18 and the wind is starting to whip up.  finishing up the last of the venison I froze.  starting a pot of soup and then on to a pot of sunday gravy with meatballs and sausages.  all the husband wants is pasta and bread.

 

We also have wind up flashlights and radios - NO batteries needed which is a plus. 

 

well.........it was more like 25 " and we are still shoveling out.  made John some soba noodles with a nice sesame sauce and some carrots, bamboo shoots, red peppers, onions and shrimp which he has been gnawing on.  some pasta and for me some salad........

Edited January 24, 2016 by suzilightning
to change the totals (log)

[Arey]

Sitting here humming "back bay stay way from my door (and out of the crawl space since  I spent $4600 last Spring having all the wiring running through the crawl space replaced because of SuperStorm Sandy.).  From prior experience I know what I'll want when stressed, so I bought 2 bags of Lays Classics, one bag of Doritos Nacho Cheese,  a lb. of coleslaw, 1/3 lb each of turkey breast, domestic ham and domestic swiss cheese, 2 bags of pistacchios, a wedge of Stilton, a piece of Italian creamy goat cheese with a name I can't remember, a package of cream crackers, a package of Bremner wafers, and two loaves of bread from the local Italian bakery.  My house is all electric including the stove, so I have several sterno like canswith little stands to put kettles on, a one burner butane stove which I've never used because I'm afraid of it, and a kerosene heater. I also have cans of emergency type stuff such as corned beef hash, dinty moore stew, spam, and assorted soups, but unfortunately no Scotch Broth.As long as the electric stays on, and the back bays stay out  I'll be fine, but eating unwisely because when I'm stressed trying to eat sensibly would only add to the stress.

A few years ago , one Saturday evening with the power out I was sitting in the dark drinking a glass of Pinot Noir and listening to Garrison Keiler (who I don't care for) doing Prairie Home Companion (which has never appealed to me) on my little portable radio which can only pick up NJ public radio and I said to myself "You know Arey, your Saturday nights have never been anything to get excited about, but I think you're setting a new low tonight".

[chefmd]

Arey, you are so funny. 

 

Things I wish I bought:
Fresh herbs, flour (only a little left after two bread loafs), more eggs, beef (beef stew would be lovely).  I am so used to going to grocery store(s) almost daily that it is difficult to plan ahead.

 

I also tend to eat more while stuck at home.  Spent entire morning planning meals for the rest of the weekend.  Now roasting potatoes (side dish for dinner and also for tomorrow's frittata), soaking Rancho Gordo posole (for soup tomorrow), poaching left over tuna (for tuna salad), sous viding eggs (ramen soup for today's lunch).  Snow storm can be really fattening.