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The lights are back on in Lower Manhattan. This little experiment in living without electricity and hot water has blessedly come to an end for many of us in New York. Though it is not something I wish to ever repeat again, it wasn’t all bad. After all, even in a Hurricane-Superstorm, a girl still has to eat. Here are a few things I learned in the (mostly dark) kitchen over the past week.
1. Hurricane Days, like Snow Days, are great for time-consuming kitchen projects. If you were lucky enough to not be in an evacuation zone, Day One of Sandy was a great time to cook or bake something that normally you might not have time to do. My friends did a pot of chili with black beans, beef, and curry in the slow cooker. They finished the leftovers just as the last of the chill was leaving the refrigerator. Meanwhile I tackled a multistep cookie recipe using up some odds and ends I had around like salted caramel sauce and coconut. I might normally find this kind of recipe tedious, but, housebound on Monday with the storm coming in, it was a great way to while away some hours.
2. Make food you can share. I had no intention of eating all the cookies anyway. So they came in handy when checking in on neighbors and friends after the storm passed. Everyone is a little happier with a Ziploc bag of homemade cookies.
3. If there is a chance you are going to lose power, bake banana bread. I like to store over-ripe bananas in the freezer for when I get the urge to bake. Turns out when the electricity goes, those bananas are one of the first things to defrost leaving behind a sticky puddle.
4. Cheese can last a long time. Spinach, not so much. A defrosting refrigerator turns vegetable bins into mini steam rooms that the spinach was none too fond of. But the hard cheeses, hanging out in the cooling freezer, made great snacks the whole week.
5. Canned beans plus frozen vegetables equal dinner. One of my go-to pantry dinners is frozen, defrosted spinach and chickpeas done Indian-style. Spiced up and served with rice it is a complete, wholesome meal. In the world of non-perishable proteins and defrosting vegetables this turned into my post-storm staple dinner.
6. Even the most ambitious urban camping cooks need to get out every now and then. Scrounging in the refrigerator gets old after a while, and then there's the boredom of being housebound. I am really grateful to the restaurant owners who opened up the days after the storm, serving hot meals, even if with limited menus, to the starving masses.
Overall I found that as long as there is a gas range and running water (even cold) to do dishes, I can live without electricity for many days. Cooking by candlelight and being inventive with limited ingredients can even be fun. That being said, thank god we have power back. Time to restock the refrigerator and light up the oven.
©2026 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction or distribution of any portion of this article is allowed without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.
To share this article with others, you may link to this page:
https://www.cdkitchen.com/cooking-experts/amy-powell/1308-blackout-cooking/
Things We Cooked In The Storm
The lights are back on in Lower Manhattan. This little experiment in living without electricity and hot water has blessedly come to an end for many of us in New York. Though it is not something I wish to ever repeat again, it wasn’t all bad. After all, even in a Hurricane-Superstorm, a girl still has to eat. Here are a few things I learned in the (mostly dark) kitchen over the past week.
1. Hurricane Days, like Snow Days, are great for time-consuming kitchen projects. If you were lucky enough to not be in an evacuation zone, Day One of Sandy was a great time to cook or bake something that normally you might not have time to do. My friends did a pot of chili with black beans, beef, and curry in the slow cooker. They finished the leftovers just as the last of the chill was leaving the refrigerator. Meanwhile I tackled a multistep cookie recipe using up some odds and ends I had around like salted caramel sauce and coconut. I might normally find this kind of recipe tedious, but, housebound on Monday with the storm coming in, it was a great way to while away some hours.
2. Make food you can share. I had no intention of eating all the cookies anyway. So they came in handy when checking in on neighbors and friends after the storm passed. Everyone is a little happier with a Ziploc bag of homemade cookies.
3. If there is a chance you are going to lose power, bake banana bread. I like to store over-ripe bananas in the freezer for when I get the urge to bake. Turns out when the electricity goes, those bananas are one of the first things to defrost leaving behind a sticky puddle.
4. Cheese can last a long time. Spinach, not so much. A defrosting refrigerator turns vegetable bins into mini steam rooms that the spinach was none too fond of. But the hard cheeses, hanging out in the cooling freezer, made great snacks the whole week.
5. Canned beans plus frozen vegetables equal dinner. One of my go-to pantry dinners is frozen, defrosted spinach and chickpeas done Indian-style. Spiced up and served with rice it is a complete, wholesome meal. In the world of non-perishable proteins and defrosting vegetables this turned into my post-storm staple dinner.
6. Even the most ambitious urban camping cooks need to get out every now and then. Scrounging in the refrigerator gets old after a while, and then there's the boredom of being housebound. I am really grateful to the restaurant owners who opened up the days after the storm, serving hot meals, even if with limited menus, to the starving masses.
Overall I found that as long as there is a gas range and running water (even cold) to do dishes, I can live without electricity for many days. Cooking by candlelight and being inventive with limited ingredients can even be fun. That being said, thank god we have power back. Time to restock the refrigerator and light up the oven.
Coriander Chickpeas with Spinach and Peas
Made with chicken broth, vegetable broth or water, frozen peas, vegetable oil, onion, garlic, ground coriander, garam masala, red chili flakes, chickpeas, frozen spinach
Made with chicken broth, vegetable broth or water, frozen peas, vegetable oil, onion, garlic, ground coriander, garam masala, red chili flakes, chickpeas, frozen spinach
Serves/Makes: 2
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1/2 medium onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 3/4 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/4 teaspoon garam masala
- 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
- 1 can (15 ounce size) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1 1/2 cup frozen spinach, defrosted and drained
- 1/3 cup frozen peas, defrosted
- 1 cup chicken broth, vegetable broth or water
- salt and black pepper
Heat oil over medium high in a wok or large skillet. Chop onion and garlic. Add to oil and saute for 3 minutes until slightly caramelized.
Stir in coriander, garam masala and chili flakes. Saute for 30 seconds until aromatic. Add chickpeas, spinach, peas, and broth or water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Put a lid on the pan and let simmer for ten minutes to let the flavors marry.
Remove lid. Stir in salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for another minute or two if still too liquid. Mixture should be moist but not soupy. Serve with rice.
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©2026 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction or distribution of any portion of this article is allowed without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.
To share this article with others, you may link to this page:
https://www.cdkitchen.com/cooking-experts/amy-powell/1308-blackout-cooking/