Extended power outages can cause severe hardships when it comes to heating and cooking if you have an electric stove and a furnace. This is especially true in brutal winter weather when temps can get down to zero or below. Who wants to freeze trying to cook outside on a gas grill in -2 weather? Not me!
If you can afford a wood stove for heating and cooking I urge you to get one and have plenty of seasoned wood available. I've cooked on two different types over the years and found it easy and enjoyable. The first one I used was a little pot belly stove with just enough cooking surface to make a big pot of soup or stew. For two winters we had either a good homemade soup or stew for dinner and pots of oatmeal for breakfast, all cooked on that little pot belly stove. When it was not being used for cooking I kept a pot of hot water on it for making tea and cocoa. I had a good gas stove but I loved cooking on the little stove, it saved us money, and I used it most often.
Another wood stove we had was a big one with a top that opened and a nice big cooking surface which allowed me to cook full meals, including biscuits, pancakes and bread. I used cast iron pans for meats and most vegetables and the roaster from my Nesco cooker to bake. I'd place the roaster pan on the stove and insert a rack, add the lid and let it heat up. Then, I'd put in whatever I wanted to bake and just keep a close eye on it. It worked out fine. Again, I had a nice gas stove but preferred the other stove and loved the savings from using it. Our house had no furnace and the gas space heater cost a fortune to use so cooking, baking, and heating with the wood stove just made sense.
Truth be told there are just some things I like to do the way my grandmother did years ago, like canning and cooking on a wood stove. I take pride in the fact that I can survive living the way she had to.
If you can't afford a wood stove then you should at least have a kerosene heater and plenty of kerosene and spare wicks stocked up. You can cook on a kerosene heater but much caution must be used. I've used one to cook soups, stews and keep hot water for tea and cocoa and one of the biggest dangers is that a child will bump into the heater and knock over the pot and cause a fire. So if you cook on one and have small children around, please consider something like a baby gate around the heater.
I've heard there are camp stoves that use one pound bottled gas so it might be nice to have one of those but make sure the one you choose is safe for indoor use.
If you have a fire place, learn to cook in it now rather than when you're forced by circumstances to do so. Waiting to learn after the power has gone out may mean serving under or over cooked foods or nothing at all because the finished product is simply not edible.
Also, remember that while a fire place is nice to have a lot of the heat it produces goes out the chimney. A wood or kerosene heater will keep more heat in the house and you and your loved ones will stay warm and cozy as long as you have fuel for it.
Prepping Granny
If you can afford a wood stove for heating and cooking I urge you to get one and have plenty of seasoned wood available. I've cooked on two different types over the years and found it easy and enjoyable. The first one I used was a little pot belly stove with just enough cooking surface to make a big pot of soup or stew. For two winters we had either a good homemade soup or stew for dinner and pots of oatmeal for breakfast, all cooked on that little pot belly stove. When it was not being used for cooking I kept a pot of hot water on it for making tea and cocoa. I had a good gas stove but I loved cooking on the little stove, it saved us money, and I used it most often.
Another wood stove we had was a big one with a top that opened and a nice big cooking surface which allowed me to cook full meals, including biscuits, pancakes and bread. I used cast iron pans for meats and most vegetables and the roaster from my Nesco cooker to bake. I'd place the roaster pan on the stove and insert a rack, add the lid and let it heat up. Then, I'd put in whatever I wanted to bake and just keep a close eye on it. It worked out fine. Again, I had a nice gas stove but preferred the other stove and loved the savings from using it. Our house had no furnace and the gas space heater cost a fortune to use so cooking, baking, and heating with the wood stove just made sense.
Truth be told there are just some things I like to do the way my grandmother did years ago, like canning and cooking on a wood stove. I take pride in the fact that I can survive living the way she had to.
If you can't afford a wood stove then you should at least have a kerosene heater and plenty of kerosene and spare wicks stocked up. You can cook on a kerosene heater but much caution must be used. I've used one to cook soups, stews and keep hot water for tea and cocoa and one of the biggest dangers is that a child will bump into the heater and knock over the pot and cause a fire. So if you cook on one and have small children around, please consider something like a baby gate around the heater.
I've heard there are camp stoves that use one pound bottled gas so it might be nice to have one of those but make sure the one you choose is safe for indoor use.
If you have a fire place, learn to cook in it now rather than when you're forced by circumstances to do so. Waiting to learn after the power has gone out may mean serving under or over cooked foods or nothing at all because the finished product is simply not edible.
Also, remember that while a fire place is nice to have a lot of the heat it produces goes out the chimney. A wood or kerosene heater will keep more heat in the house and you and your loved ones will stay warm and cozy as long as you have fuel for it.
Prepping Granny