Cooking without power

I am sitting her, looking out of my window watching the second severe snow storm within a week and I am wondering whether the power will go out again.
Yes, that's right.  I apologize for not writing and uploading a blog last Sunday; we had no power for 4 days. Blizzard Nemo forced us to get back to the basics of life; burning logs to keep warm (or at least trying too), cooking on the gas stove top only and arranging one's timetable to the natural daylight hours. We had quite an adventurous time; one I wouldn't want to live through again so soon. It's not that we weren't prepared, we just didn't think it would last 4 days. The temperature in parts of the house actually dropped close to freezing. We are lucky none of our water pipes froze.


The fun part for me was to see how I can make the most of the food that was left in the refrigerator and freezer. And so we had big breakfasts, simple freezer dinners and lots of cake, which I had baked before the storm in anticipation of a possible power outage. I am amazed how many carbohydrates we ate and still felt hungry all the time.  Our bodies really needed the fuel to be able to keep us from shivering.

As an acquaintance said "We went out to shovel snow just to stay warm."
We had 20 inches on the driveway, so that kept us plenty warm. As for keeping the food safe, the garage became our refrigerator and the snow drifts on the upstairs balcony our freezer space.

 The only other place to escape the cold was of course my culinary school and I relished the time spent in the warm. We completed our first 6-week module this week and I am proud to say, I finished with straight A's and a 100% attendance record, despite the snow. But unfortunately, it was less actual cooking this week and more revision for the final exams; a written one on Thursday and a second Knife Skill's Test on Friday. I can't believe it's already six weeks since I first got up at 4 am to go to school and I am really looking forward to start Culinary Foundations II on Monday. This is where the cooking starts; less demos by the Chef Instructors and more cooking by us, the students.

So, keep tuned in. I promise that next week I will tell you more kitchen stories.
... If we have power, that is.
Keep save and stay warm wherever you are.