Cooking with no power

I didn't know what recipe to post today, but as my husband is outside setting up the dutch oven, I got an idea:) I want everyone to stop and evaluate what source you would have if you had no power to cook. All of the food storage recipes won't be any good if you have no way to cook it. So here are some ideas:

Barbeque: I use my barbeque at least twice a week throughout the winter, and a lot more in the summer. Everything just seems to taste better. *Right now make sure you have enough propane to last you. Also some briquets and matches just in case. Also practice now to cook a variety of different things now instead of when you have to.

Dutch Oven: We have collected quite a bit of dutch oven supplies throughout our marriage and it is really fun to see what you can do. I recently bought a dutch oven bread pan to test it out today. I will add some pictures later -Rob is just barely putting the dutch oven on the coals. We use our barbeque tray to put the briquets in, but have also done it camping or just in a pile of rocks. The trick to the dutch oven is to know how many briquets and where(top or bottom). We are no way near experts, but it is fun to experiment. I found this site that gives great tips and recipes, so we use this as our cheat sheet. Print some off today because if there is no power to cook than there is no power to print them off later:)

Sterno stove or canned heat: I bought a couple of these cells at $4.50 each at Emergency Essentials. The stove unit is $8.00, or 2 cells and stove for $14.95. It is a safe alcohol gel that can cook for 5 hours once lit or provide 10 hours of warmth. You can read more about it at Emergency Essentials. You can buy it online and pay shipping or pick it up locally in South Jordan. Boils 1 cup of water in about 15 minutes. It takes a little longer and you can't expect to cook gourmet meals on it. It burns smoke free and can be used inside.

Portable stove: These are $25 at Emergency Essentials and you would need some extra butane canisters as well. I don't have one personally but I am tempted:) My barbeque as the stove on the side so it has that same effect. Yet, this is portable and could be taken with me if needed. If you plan on using it inside make sure you have one that is approved to be used indoors.Fireplace: This is a great way to keep warm while the rest of us are without heat. We had a gas fireplace before and I can't see how that would be possible to cook in. Many builders don't even allow them anymore--we asked:) If you have a wood burning one you could place a dutch oven in it or use the roasting stick technique. I did read that you should never burn charcoal in the fireplace, because it can create lethal carbon monoxide that will not be removed completely by the chimney. If this is your option practice up!

Let me know if there are any more cooking ideas that you can think of!