Category Archives: Lifestyle

Environment, food, Lifestyle, Recipes

Power Outage Recipes

With the power out and nearby restaurants and markets closed, meal planning and preparation becomes a central part of survival. This is especially tricky for those that don’t normally cook at home. Here are a few tips and recipes for making delicious food in the dark.

Tip #1: Use fresh food in your refrigerator first

By using the fresh food first, you’ll get all the nutritional benefits and won’t have to pitch it later. Stir-frys are an easy way to whip up a delicious meal that contains a lot of fresh produce.

Recipe: Bottom Drawer Stir-Fry

Heat a large saute pan or wok. Add 1 TBSP oil until hot but not smoking. Add chopped onions, peppers, beans, broccoli, spinach, carrots, mushrooms, and any other fresh produce in the drawer. Stir until tender. Combine in a separate bowl 1 tsp each of mustard, soy sauce and honey and pour over the veggies. Toss until coated. Season with black pepper and serve.

Alternate: If you have meat on hand–such as sandwich meat , sausage or leftovers–dice and add any of these to the stir fry for extra flavor.

Tip #2: Use dairy items before they spoil

The dairy items in your refrigerator and freezer won’t keep for more than one day or two at most (unless its freezing outside). That means it might be time to allow yourself ice cream for breakfast.

Recipe 2: Hot Cereal with Ice Cream

Follow the cooking directions on the package of hot cereal (Cream of Wheat, oatmeal, etc). Instead of adding milk and then sweetening, use a vanilla-based ice cream. It will add a sweet, creamy texture that is almost guilt-free. If you still have some ice cream leftover, add a dollop to your morning coffee to makeup for that latte you’re missing.

Look for more power outage cooking tips and recipes coming soon.

Environment, Family, Lifestyle, Weather

Storms and Power Outages: Are You Prepared?

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Severe storms often cause the power to go out, as happened in Maui the first week of December 2007. With a major noreaster set to hit New England this weekend, more power outages are likely. Here is a checklist of items you will need to see you and family through safely:

  • 7-day supply of food that will not spoil, including pet food
  • 1-gallon of drinking water per person and animal per day
  • Emergency supply of medications
  • Battery backup system, especially if you or anyone in your family uses a medical device
  • Cell phone
  • Flashlight with extra batteries for each person (headlamps keep both hands free)
  • Battery-powered radio with extra batteries
  • Telephone that doesn’t require power to operate
  • Water purification tablets
  • Hand sanitizer
  • Gas grill for cooking with extra propane
  • Extra blankets to stay warm if you have electric heat
  • A full tank of gas in your car
  • Books, magazines, and games to pass the time without TV

In addition to having these survival items on hand, there are a few other safety tips you should know. Because gas grills produce the deadly gas carbon monoxide, only use them outdoors away from windows. This goes for gas lanterns and generators, too. Turn off and unplug all electrical items to prevent damage from surges when the power is restored. Keep the refrigerator door closed as much as possible and throw away any food that has reached 40-degrees or more.

Make sure you have a hand-crank can opener, a stovetop tea kettle and liquid dish soap. These will make meal prep and cleanup easier.

Remember that if you live in the Northeast or other areas where the temperatures are below 32 F, you can put your food into a plastic bin, cover it and set it outside to keep cool.

Environment, Lifestyle, Science

Solar Panels Work in Bad Weather

 

Living on solar power in Hawaii means free, abundant power most of the year. The return on investment here happens much faster than in other parts of the country. Situated just above the equator, Hawaii gets a lot of sun even in winter, which of course is one of the reasons it is America’s beach. In addition, power rates in the islands are the highest in the country and climbing. But what happens during periods of dark clouds and stormy weather like last week?

Heavy rain and storms often cause the Maui County power grid, which is supplied by hulking diesel-powered generators, to crash as it did last week. Most of the island went dark. However, at my off-grid house, we still had power thanks to our independent solar system. But what good are solar panels when not even a shadow of the sun is visible?

I went out to the power box at least every hour to check. According to the power meter, the solar panels were delivering juice to the batteries even under dark, thundering clouds. On the worst day of the storm, the panels brought down 1 kilowatt hour–more than our gas generator would had it been running all day and enough to power lights, the water pump and WIFI. Despite the storm, we still had power.