When the stuff hits the fan it is possible that we will have to alter the way we cook our meals. It may be that we won't have any electricity or that electricity will be so expensive that we can't afford to use as much. Gone will be the days of flipping a switch to turn on and leave on every light in the house. In that case, we will want to conserve as much as we can when cooking our meals IF we even have electricity available. Its possible that even with electricity non-existent or in short supply we may still have propane for our homes and grills but again there may be no way to get the propane refilled so we need to be able to make it last and conserve it. Something else to consider are the cooking smells when the stuff hits the fan. If we are trying to keep others from being drawn to the smells of food cooking then we need to also try to prepare meals that won't be quite as aromatic like a steak cooking on the grill. Of course, we may not be able to eliminate all cooking smells but we can minimize them as much as possible.
There are many ways to cook our food so I won't go into how to do each and every one of these methods. I just want to touch on some of them and then in later posts maybe select a few and go into more detail. There are a few ways to conserve fuel and prevent cooking smells that are very similar. They are thermos cooking, fireless cooking and haybox or wonder box cooking. With thermos cooking you basically add your hot liquid and grains or dried food to the thermos and seal it and let it cook in the thermos. You can also use the thermos to make things like fresh yogurt. The haybox, fireless Cooker and wonder box cooking are similar. You will bring your food to a hard boil (liquid is necessary for this method) and then transfer the boiling food in its pot to a well insulated box of some type and seal it up and then it finishes cooking from the heat contained in the pot. I use an old cooler and blankets for my haybox but you can make one specifically designed for your pot then line it with sawdust, hay or paper or any other insulating material. For each of these methods you will have to be able to bring your food or liquid to a boil but after that the food cooks passively with no further heat source or effort which conserves fuel. Since the food is sealed up as it cooks there is very little smell created with these methods. The biggest smell will be from your heat source and after you open it to eat which will be minimal.
Another method of cooking that is virtually free of fuel is solar cooking. If you've never cooked with a solar cooker or oven you might not appreciate cooking with just the power of the sun. Another thing you may not realize is that there is almost no smell when using solar to cook since the food is cooking inside a closed pot which itself is enclosed in the solar cooker. Best of all its free energy from the sun. You can either buy a solar cooker or make one as well. Price range for different cookers can go from expensive to under fifty dollars.
Charcoal or wood coals are easy to store and can be a very efficient way to cook if you use it sparingly. You don't want to create an aromatic barbecue with your coals because its a waste of fuel and a definite attraction to hungry people. If you have a cheap stainless steel steamer that opens up like a flower and closes down like a little space ship then you have the makings of a nice little grill. Simply open the steamer basket and put about four lit coals inside. Now place a small 6 or 8 inch wire rack on top and you have a grill that will cook two or three pieces of meat or other food at a time. If you are very careful you can use this tiny grill inside to cook quickly and prevent the smells but since you are only using a few coals to cook with the smell is minimal and over quickly. Another way to use coals efficiently is to use them with a cast iron dutch oven. Since the lid stays on the dutch oven the smells aren't as strong. Also, the Dutch oven cooks very efficiently and uses very few coals so its a great way to cook when the stuff hits the fan. Don't forget the apple box oven when cooking with coals. The oven is made almost entirely with scraps and simply uses a few coals to heat up the oven.
There are also several ways to cook with hot rocks but you have to be careful to select non porous rocks that don't hold moisture to prevent the rocks exploding and hurting someone or wasting your food. For all hot rock cooking you will need to have a fire. Its not ideal to have a fire in all situations but for some it may be necessary. One method is to dig a pit and line it with large stones. Then start your fire and let it burn down to coals. Prepare your food by wrapping it packet style either in aluminum foil or non poisonous leaves. Place the packets in the coals and then cover with dirt and another layer of leaves. The food will continue to cook underground with the hot stones and there will be no smoke or smells. You can walk away and do other things until your food is ready many hours later. Another method that is similar is to cook in a heated clay pot and bury the pot as it continues cooking. The other way to cook with stones is to gather non porous rocks about the size of a fist and stick them in the fire to get hot. When the rocks are hot you will want to dust off the ashes and then add them to your cooking pot of food. You will need about ten or twelve stones for this to be effective since the liquid will begin to cool the stones. Seal the pot and insulate it and the hot stones will cook the food inside. You can douse your fire if you need to and the food will cook without smells or any other fuel.
If you only need to heat up a small amount of food in a short amount of time then you can heat the food with simple items like candles, sterno, an alcohol or penny stove, a lantern, a fuel efficient rocket stove or even in an aluminum packet on your car engine (if it runs) or in a small fire. Packets can also be used on the dash of a car on a very sunny day. All of these methods use very little fuel and are so quick that the cooking smells are quickly dissipated.
One final way of conserving fuel and preventing smells is to use a pressure cooker. A pressure cooker can be scary for some people but they are really pretty safe if you follow the directions. Don't pull out the Jumbo canner unless you are cooking a large amount of food. Use the smallest pressure cooker for the amount of food you are preparing and it will heat up and cook faster saving fuel. I have stove top pressure cookers in various sizes so that depending on what or how much I'm cooking I can always use the appropriate size pot. Since the cooker is sealed the smells won't be overpowering but there WILL be some smells as the cooker releases steam. Since it cuts cooking time down by more then half, it is however a fast way to cook with very little fuel. In some preparations the food can be brought to pressure and then the heat turned off. If the pot is insulated then it will retain the heat longer while the food inside continues to cook. Just be careful not to allow too much steam to release when insulating the pot and it will keep the food under pressure until it is finished cooking. Be sure to release all the steam before opening any pressure cooker.
With so many methods available it should be possible to both save fuel and keep cooking smells to a minimum when the stuff hits the fan. Some of them are also a good idea to incorporate into your food preparations now since saving fuel means saving money and who doesn't want to do that? Hopefully we won't ever HAVE to employ some of these methods but it may be a good idea to practice and become familiar with some of them now so that we are prepared for later. The benefit is that you'll be saving money in the form of fuel while you practice.
Southern Wood Elf