How do you store food for storms, earthquakes, and more?

[bomag]

During a recent power outage, I realized that my pantry was bare of canned and dried beans, pasta, bags of rice, and canned goods. I hate to open the refrigerator and freezer during an outage.  We have dried fruits, but that's about all.  

Have people had any luck canning dinners (casseroles, stews, etc.) to shelve for a season?  I was thinking of borrowing a pressure canner and trying some dinners in jars - like beef stew and shepherd's pie. I don't have much canning experience beyond one batch of applesauce, but it seems like it should be doable.

[monique]

Hi Bomag
We dry veggies in a small excalibur, and then vacuum pack them. We do it to have good quality veggies when camping. But the vacuum packs last really long. Idea?
Good luck!
ps what about having a personal energy-supply-thing? we have solar power...so only in day-light our own energy supply, still it's something.
Monique

[bomag]

Hi Monique -

Drying could be a part of it. We dry apples and peaches now. We could dry more veggies. And store jerky (for a short while). But when the power is out, our water is off too. We store water for drinking, but I was thinking of ready-to-eat meals. We have a wood stove that is good at heating up things, but cooking is limited.  We have a camp stove we could set up on the porch.

Solar power would be great. But in the Pacific Northwest in the winter, solar isn't reliable. Sometimes those little solar lights can't even glow after a day of gloom... We have a small generator, but in the winter, the gas degrades in gas cans and we don't have other uses for it. I think I'm whining now

I'll experiment with making soups from dried veggies. We always have cans of sardines and tuna.

[Erin]

Even if you just pressure canned broth you'd be off to a great start. I'd ask your friend if they still have their pressure canner's manual. I know my pressure canner fairly well for putting up soups, bone broth, etc. that's also to the manufacturer's guidelines...

[farmfresh]

Slightly lost girl had an interesting post recently after going through a hurricane. She managed to stay AIP and has this to say about it.... www.slightlylostgirl.com/2014/10/06/aip-survival-tips/

[beachfrontaz]

I recently purchased a canner for this purpose but I never had the energy. Ball put out a canning book that has a lot of recipes in it. It's cheap. You'll just have to make Paleo modifications.

I am currently poised to throw out most of my pantry because it sat through an AZ summer (130+ degrees in the garage). I will be replacing it with canned meat, fruits and veggies preserved accordingly, and the various nuts, flours and oils that we use. But this new stuff is hella expensive, so it's coming in the house before next summer!

Another idea: I often keep a 10 pound bag of ice in my back fridge. I can dump it in a cooler and put my meats in there during a blackout. I have a few 5 gallon jugs for the water cooler always on hand.