Prepper's Pantry: Cooking in the Dark

In a previous article, I talked about different choices for power free ingredient prep. However, this does us only so much good unless we are also able to cook without power. Thankfully, there are a number of different options available to us for this process as well. While some of these alternatives are more accessible for those living in a less urban environment, there should be something available for everyone.

WARNING: several of these methods can produce dangerous combustion residue, such as carbon monoxide, and should never be used indoors.

Gas Stoves

Whether running off propane or natural gas, a traditional non-electric stove can usually still be used during a power outage. Some of the more modern versions of this appliance may be encumbered by computerized controls (such as touch pads) that limit their utility; however, if there are manual knobs to turn on gas to the burners and matches to light them, then cooking can commence.

Traditional Gas Oven

While this process may not work for activating the oven, many meals can be prepared solely on the stovetop. Just make sure the gas is properly turned off when cooking is done.

Grills

Available in sizes from large to small, and fueled by either charcoal or propane, grills are the next option to discuss. While generally not viable for apartment dwellers (unless they have a balcony or access to a park or other common area), there are a wide variety of choices in this area.

Small cast iron charcoal grills, commonly called hibachi, are the most basic example of this category. Don't let their minimal size mislead you; they can certainly be used to prepare full meals.

Classic Hibachi Style Grill

From here, grills move up in size and expense. Next up are the traditional Weber Buoy or Kettle style charcoal grills and similar designs. There are a variety of options, capacities, and accessories to choose from with these grills.

Weber Classic Kettle Grill

Propane grills have really taken off over the past few decades, and there are a dizzying variety of sizes, styles, options, and accessories available in this area.

Weber Spirit E-310 Gas Grill

Camp Stoves

On a related (but much more portable) note are classic camp stoves. These come in many sizes, from small enough to perch on top of a small fuel canister...

Coleman Bottle Top Propane Stove

...to large enough for heating two pots at the same time. These days, most run on propane, but there are other options as well, such as butane.

Coleman Classic Camp Stove

An even more compact version of the camp stove concept is the small, folding Esbit-type pocket stoves, which are designed to be run off fuel tablets. However, they also can use twigs or even small candles in a pinch.

Esbit Pocket Stove

Fire Pits

For those with appropriate space and zoning, another possibility is a fire pit, either as a permanent emplacement or a free-standing unit.

The Author's Backyard Fire Pit

If you plan on going this route, some sort of grate or pot hanger should be purchased to simplify cooking over an open fire.

Folding Cooking Grate

Campfire Tripod Pot Hanger

There are even fire pits on the market that come with cooking surfaces included.

Portable Fire Pit with Cooking Surfaces

These are just some of the available considerations for cooking when electricity isn't available.

Regardless which option is used, it's always a good idea to have some sort of fire suppression system on hand in case of accidents or emergencies. 

Have fun, and cook safely.

Rope as Cordage

In any “survival packing list” worth a darn you’ll see “cordage” listed as an essential. Even if you aren’t roughing it in the wilderness, having rope and cordage on hand can be a real asset in a disaster or disruption of normal life.

Some quick background information:

• Cordage is twine and string, useful for small tasks.
• Rope is bigger than cordage in all dimensions.
• There are two types of rope, static and dynamic. This simply means one (static) stretches less than 5% of its length under load, and the other (dynamic) stretches more than that. 
• Both types have a broad range of uses, but when the power is out, sometimes having rope on hand is the difference between waiting for someone else to solve your problem, or being able to do it yourself. 
• Static ropes are generally used for climbing, rappelling, and other activities where humans are going up and down the ropes. 
• The cheapest, most readily available rope worth having on hand is dynamic, and made from synthetic fiber, 3/8th of an inch in diameter. 

You can do a lot with dynamic rope, from simply tying things together to creating a simple pully system using household hardware items like eye bolts and carabiners. I generally like to have one or two lengths of this type on hand, although the last two times I used up my stash it was just to teach youngsters how to tie knots. You can get 100 feet of it for about $6 at Home Depot, and essentially the same stuff at Lowes.

https://www.homedepot.com/b/Hardware-Chains-Ropes-Rope/3-8-inch/N-5yc1vZc2grZ1z1slt3 

In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, one of the problems we had was a massive amount of downed trees, leading to a lot of chainsaw and tree removal work. One tree dropped right over my neighbors' deck, and the problem became how to remove the tree without having all the weight of the trunk fall on his deck. Fortunately, (or unfortunately, depending on how you see it), my neighbor was able to arrange for a professional to remove the trunk with heavy machinery before I had another weekend free to help him finish the job (which is a huge plug for having a solid Homeowner's insurance policy).

That neighbor and I had already used a bunch of rope to control the fall of tree limbs as I limbed the big beech tree. I tossed the rope over a limb using a weight (small sandbags work great for this), then tied a safe knot around the rope, and neighbor tied the other end to his lawn tractor. He would apply tension with the lawn tractor, and I would chainsaw the limb, letting him pull the limbs away from over his fence so they landed safely on the lawn. A six dollar rope saved hundreds of dollars in fence repair.

I’ve since found commercial block and tackle pulley systems available for very moderate prices (this one costs about the same as a few eye bolts, plus high strength snap-over carabiners, and I think I'll purchase one for the next time I have to teach kids about simple machines (levers, incline planes, and pulleys).

https://amzn.to/4hKjQeD

One other use of cordage was helping another friend cut through the downed forest to get to his shed where they stored their animal feed. When we got to the shed, it was crushed, but my buddy had a come-along and a bunch of 550 cord. In order to not snap the cord, I wrapped it around the fallen tree trunk about a dozen times to distribute the pressure over multiple strands, and that worked fine to pull the fallen oak off the shed enough to retrieve the animal feed so they could keep their farm running.

Finally, knots. You should know how to tie a square knot, and a bowline. These two knots cover the vast majority of practical rope and cordage uses you will encounter in an emergency, or a camping trip. Yes there may be more appropriate knots for tying down a rain fly over a tent, but you can get it done with square and bowline knots. 

There is a lot more information about the different types of rope out there: braided, double braided, twisted, natural fiber, kernmantle, etc. There are a lot more knots, and a lot more potential pulley setups. There are many better ropes than a 3/8” polypropylene rope, but I found that the cheap 3/8th polypropylene, as well as non-milspec 550 cord, served perfectly well in disaster response.