Going Off The Grid

About author / Pamela Chester

Mom of two; graduate French Culinary Institute; kids cooking program instructor; Master's degree in food studies. Creates kid friendly foods and loves her slow cooker.

My wish for cooler weather was granted one quiet afternoon last week, when the familiar smell of ozone that precedes a lightning storm hit the air. As our dog started to do her normal pre-storm routine of hiding under the bed and curling into the smallest and tightest ball she could, I knew we were in for a doozy. This storm was unlike anything I had seen before. As we watched out the window, all the trees in the yard looked as if they were going to be uprooted, and the rain was coming down sideways.

For a moment I thought we lived in Kansas during twister season, as I watched our baby pool skitter off in the wind and get lost in the woods forever. Every few moments we would hear a new emergency vehicle siren. Trees were down everywhere in the area, blocking many roads and felling some major power lines. The baby pool wasn’t the only thing we lost in the storm. The power in my house went out for three long days, which left some nice time for quiet family togetherness (time to get out all the board games). But it also left me pondering what to do for meals and how to save what I could of all the food I have stockpiled in the fridge and freezer.

So if you are ever stuck without power after a big storm, I wanted to share some ideas of how to save some of your perishable food and pass some time cooking by candlelight. For one thing, I learned if you have a gas stove you can cook any refrigerated products you don’t want to lose for immediate consumption. You can also use an outdoor grill (never bring it indoors though) to grill all of your meals until the electricity is restored. If you live in an area where you frequently have power outages you may want to invest in a propane camping stove, along with lots of candles and flashlights. That way you can continue to cook some of your meals without leaving home.

Another thing to think about is how to save a refrigerator full of food. With my dad visiting from out of town, we had lots and lots of stuff in there, including some bags of ice. That’s actually a good thing. The fuller your fridge and freezer, the longer the items in there will stay cold. Just try to keep the doors closed as much as possible and you may be able to save most of the items if the power is restored within 24 hours. If your refrigerator is only half full it may start to warm up a little sooner. To prevent your freezer from defrosting so quickly during summer power outages you can add a couple bags of ice or better yet, keep some two liter bottles of frozen water in there just in case.

We had a few bags of ice in our freezer which actually kept the freezer colder and our items stayed frozen overnight. In the morning, I packed everything I could in coolers and made a little road trip to a friend’s house, who still had a nice cool fridge. We kept some ham and cheese to make sandwiches that day along with some fresh produce for salad. By this point I had used up all the milk—we had a couple meals of cereal (which my son really enjoyed), and made a nice batch of instant chocolate pudding. If it’s apparent power won’t be restored anytime soon, you can purchase dry ice to keep everything cool. Just add a well-wrapped block to each shelf. You’ll need to open windows to allow the gases from the dry ice to escape.

If items have been at a temperature of over 40 degrees for more than two hours, it’s best to get rid of them. Items you may be able to keep, even if they aren’t under refrigeration after 24 hours include butter, fresh produce, jams and jellies, and ketchup and mustard. But always go by the saying, “When in doubt, throw it out.”

Those three days without power really made me appreciate all our modern conveniences. My son who had been a bit confused by the whole thing, also appreciated it, and this week has been marveling over each and every appliance and light, shouting “the power is back on!”

Serves/Makes: 6

• 1 package chocolate or vanilla instant pudding
• 2 cups cold milk
• 1 container (4 ounce size) whipped topping
• 4 chocolate creme-filled sandwich cookies, crumbled