When it comes to Mother Nature, anything can happen. From Hurricane Arthur, to the earthquake in Oklahoma and the massive mudslide in Colorado, it is clear that natural disasters can strike anywhere at any moment. In case of an emergency, many people have prepared disaster kits equipped with canned, freeze dried, and dehydrated foods and plenty of water. If you haven’t already, it’s time to make one.
After accumulating supplies and storing them in a safe location, it’s important to learn how to prepare your foods if you lose electricity, cannot leave your home, or have no access to clean water for days or weeks. After days of being in close quarters, eating dehydrated and freeze dried foods for every meal can get old. Here are some cooking suggestions to help you through your emergency.
Cooking Tips
Tropical storms, tornados, and hurricanes often result in loss of power. In extreme cases towns can lose power for days or even weeks. To prepare for such an occurrence invest in a sun oven, a cooking tool that requires no fuel or electricity. The sun oven is powered by solar energy and can make anything that a conventional oven can. They can be used for baking, steaming, boiling, and drying or dehydrating foods. When the electricity initially goes out, you can use the sun oven to cook up your refrigerated meats or frozen foods before they spoil. Sometimes during the most extreme storms, people may not have access to clean water. The sun oven can be used to purify water, as well as to sterilize medical or cooking tools. Its usage doesn’t have to be limited to an emergency; you can incorporate it in your daily cooking routine and reduce your electricity bill.
If there’s flooding or high winds that make it unsafe to go outside, use a fireplace to cook foods and use candle warmers, chafing dishes, and fondue pots to keep food warm. If you have canned vegetables or soup you can remove the label and heat the food straight from the can to enjoy.
Recipe: Vegetable Beef Soup
In the event of an emergency, dehydrated and freeze dried foods are easy to incorporate into any meal. Regardless of what foods you have in your food supply, soups are very easy to make. Check out this recipe for vegetable beef soup. Your ingredients may vary depending on your food supply.
Ingredients: ½ cup of dehydrated carrots, ½ cup of dehydrated diced potatoes, ¼ cup of dehydrated onion,
2 tablespoons of dehydrated celery, 1 can of beans, 4 cups of vegetables stock, 1 cup of egg noodles, 2 table spoons of olive oil, ½ cup of dehydrated beef or texted vegetable protein, and ½ teaspoon of herbs.
Directions: First rehydrate the dehydrated ingredients using cold or boiled water. If you don’t have access to clean water, be sure to boil it. Once the vegetables are plump and rehydrated, add olive oil to a pan on medium heat. Then add the onion and celery and let that cook for 5 minutes. After, add the beef or TVP, vegetable stock, potatoes, carrots, egg noodles, and herbs. Let that simmer for 8 minutes. Next rinse off your beans and add them into the pan at the 7-minute mark. Once the soup is finished cooking, add a pinch of salt and pepper for added flavor. To make your own seasoning, simply grind up dehydrated onions for onion powder, or garlic for garlic powder.
Then eat and enjoy!
