Food Preparation for an Expected Power Outage

We had a blizzard this week. The weather people told us to expect it, but because we really haven't had bad weather this Winter, most people ignore the warnings. As they did this time. We didn't. We had prepared.

This picture shows our backyard as seen through our back door. Poor Sparky-the-puppy wanted to get in but I made him wait so I could take this picture. We got about 15 inches in 24 hours. By the time it was done, those pots in the back (last year's tomatoes) were in a 3-foot snow drift.

If you know there's a possibility of losing power, think about these:

• Many fruits and vegetables will hold their quality at room temperature, so keep some of them on hand always.
• Apples, bananas, tomatoes, grapes, heads of lettuce, squash, onions, potatoes, celery, peppers, and other produce will store well as long as they are stored in a cool and dark place.

We were ready. We had been stocking up for a while: rice, beans, honey, salt, dried fruits and vegetables, powdered milk, case of soy milk and bags of cereal for Tween. But...I went to Sam's Warehouse last weekend to stock up for my raw foods diet experiment. Spread on the dining room table are bags of pears, oranges and apples, bunches of bananas, onions and potatoes. We have even more potatoes (sweet and baking) plus onions in the basement, along with squashes and pumpkins left from our last year's harvest. The carrots from the fridge could have been moved to the basement.

We have sterno and a chafing dish for warming diced potatoes and onions. We have small cast iron skillets that will work with a little stove we made from a canned-ham-can and tea-lights.

Our power stayed on, but still, we were ready!