There is growing interest in learning to live off the grid. More people see the wisdom in stocking up on food, learning to garden and to can their own food supply. Some are doing more themselves, such as learning handyman and mechanical skills for their homes and vehicles. We all want to save money and make a buck stretch farther.

To some degree, we can address both the urge to be more self-reliant, and the need to be prepared for emergency situations. Here in Northern California, we have been a witness to earthquakes, floods, fires, wind storms, heat waves, and even vandalism (some say terrorism) that have taken down the electric grid for hours and days at a time. Preparing to carry on without power is something everyone can do.  

The following are some recommendations of things you will need for food preparation during an extended outage. Many of these might also make good gifts during the upcoming holiday season. Granted, some are not inexpensive items, but could be lifesaving tools for those who can afford to give gifts that cost a little more. They are also meant as a guideline for those who may just be beginning their journey to self reliance. We will get to the less expensive necessities in a future article, or you can find suggestions on my blog.

Feasting Off the Grid
 
Barbecue Tools and Heat Resistant Mitts. No matter how you cook during an emergency your cooking source will be hot. Having some long handled utensils - spoon, fork, basting brush, tong, metal spatula - will make cooking less dangerous. Oven mitts designed for high temperatures are also a must. These are all on sale now as everyone is closing out their summer items.  However, disasters do not only happen during the summer months, and these items could be valuable in any season.

Camping Dutch Oven. A camping Dutch oven has three legs, a wire handle, and a slightly indented, rimmed lid so that coals can be placed on top to increase heat and supplement the coals below. This provides more uniform internal heat and lets the inside act as an oven - making it great for baking breads, cakes and biscuits. The best Dutch ovens are made of cast iron. Dutch ovens are also perfect for long, slow cooking, much the same as a crock pot. The feet on the dutch oven also make it possible to stack them two-high, further stretching limited fuel.

Fire Pit. When it is not practical to build a fire in your yard to use for cooking, a commercial fire pit is a great alternative. You’ve seen them – they have a steel bowl to hold the coals, and usually a wrought iron frame or stand. With a screen lid to catch cinders, these usually are acceptable for fire codes (better to check your local regulation),  These are great  to burn wood or charcoal for fuel to make great foil dinners or even as the fire for Dutch oven cooking.

Sun or Solar Oven. Solar Ovens are portable and easy to take if you have to evacuate your home or move to the yard after a disaster.They require no additional fuel, just the sun. They cook at lower temperatures making them easy to use and ignore when your attention is needed elsewhere. They can, however, be adjusted to reach higher temperatures making it possible to bake a loaf of bread.

Fuel.  Don't forget the fuel. Now is the time to purchase charcoal or propane. A load of firewood would serve not only when cooking but also to warm the inside of a home. Fire starters are small and inexpensive, but a great gift which can help to conserve fuel since they can get a fire going in a shorter period of time.

Preserving the Harvest

Now that you have a way to cook, what will you cook? Help your loved ones stock their shelves using some of these great tools.

Traditional Water Bath or Steam Canner. I prefer a steam canner because I am always concerned about spilling all that hot water on myself. Combine a traditional canner with a pressure canner and you can preserve anything you can grow or trade for. When giving a canner as a gift, be sure to include a good book which lists processing times. You can often get these for very little money from government Extension Services.

Canning Utensils. Long handled spoons and ladles, and a jar lifter are a must to protect your hands from hot water and steam. Add a canning funnel, small strainer for skimming and you are set to begin.

Vacuum Sealer. A vacuum sealer is a must when freezing foods. Sealing greatly extends the life of your foods. They can also be used to seal smaller quantities of dry foods such as beans and pastas in a quart size canning jar, when you have a smaller family.

Steam Juicer. A steam juicer extracts natural juice from fruits such as grapes, berries, or other fruits with high water concentrations. Just boil water in the bottom section of the juicer, place fruit in the top section and let the steam do the work. Concentrated juice drips into the third section and is them drained out using plastic tubing. Juicers are great for making jellies and natural fruit juices. This would be a great gift for anyone living in an area where berries grow wild or where there are lots of grape vineyards.

Pressure Canner. Should the power fail and you need to preserve the meats that have defrosted once the power returns, you will want a pressure canner. Vegetables, soups and homemade salsa all require a pressure canner.

Fruit and Vegetable Strainer. Fruits or vegetables are placed in a hopper at the top of the unit. Foods are then guided down the neck of the hopper into a spiral. The spiral moves the food through the strainer. It is then forced through a screen where the seeds and skin are removed. These are real time savers when making tomato sauce or juice, applesauce, pear sauce and even salsa and baby food. Both electric and hand crank models are available.

Dehydrator. Dehydrators can remove the natural water found in  fruits, vegetables, meats. You can make fruit leathers and home-made jerky without additives. Dehydrating is a great way to preserve more of the harvest while saving space. Dried foods can make great snacks as drying preserves the nutrition and flavor. As a word of warning, overheating can destroy your harvest and many fruits and vegetables need to be treated before drying or they will turn brown.

Speaking of Grains

Remember the bread we are going to bake in our Dutch Oven? Now is the time to prepare to have flour on hand and a way to grind more. But flour isn't the only thing we can do with stored grains.

Electric Grain Mill. While some disasters may leave us without electricity, some will not. If we are truly becoming self reliant we will be using our food storage and thus, most days we will have power when we need to grind flour for the day or week. I recommend a mill with stainless steel blades. There are many good models of varying sizes. You should choose one based on the number of people in the family and the storage space available. A small model may require you to spend a little more time but a large model that is too big to be stored in the kitchen will probably rarely be used.

Hand Powered Grain Mill. There will be times we will be faced with living without the electric grid. When this happens a hand powered mill will become a best friend. Purchase a mill which can be securely clamped to a counter or table. Grinding by hand is not easy and you want your unit as stable as possible. If you can only afford one mill purchase a hand model which can also be converted to electric until you can afford an electric model.

Grain Roller. This tool is fairly new to the general public. It makes it possible to turn grains into flakes. You know all those flakes in a multi grain cereal? They are not all oats. This roller makes it possible to make wheat, rye, or barley flakes or flakes from any grain being stored. They are also great for cracking seeds.

Disasters can happen anywhere, but finding value in the tools that contribute to a self-reliant lifestyle will cause us to realize that these capabilities are valuable in the best and worst of times. Now is the time to support those around us who have caught the vision of self reliance and to encourage those who still need a nudge. Take a day to play with and learn to use your new tools, so when it is time to use them off-the-grid, you can do so without hesitation. There is always time to drop a few hints, or leave your wish list lying out before the coming holidays. You never know what clever pixies might do with this information.