(Continued from Part 2.)
Cooking
Use a stove as long as you have electric power, natural gas, or propane. If you can find an old fashion wood-burning cookstove, great. This allows you to be able to cook when fuel or grid electrical power is gone. With a lot of gas stoves, the surface burners will work without electric power, but you will need to light them with a match or some other spark source. The oven will not work in modern models without electric power.
A camping stove, gas, propane, or charcoal grill can be used. However, you will need fuel supplies. And, of course, proper ventilation is a concern.
If you have a large propane tank then you can install a “wet leg” with this you can fill the smaller 15-20 pound propane tanks. This doesn’t go very fast, especially in the winter. In the summer, cool the small tank and it will fill a lot quicker.
There are also some cooking options with Sterno, in the short term. You can also cook in a fireplace. Even more basic is a and outdoor campfire. But leep it small as you don’t want to attract attention. Practice cooking with a Dutch oven with charcoal or hot wood coals. Anything you can bake in an oven you can do in a Dutch oven. Nothing beats cast iron. But you do need to practice, practice! Tongs to move charcoal or hot coals around, and leather gloves and a lid lifter are very helpful. Cast iron does get hot, and stays hot. Dutch oven cookbooks are very helpful here. Again, practice! The base size is a 12 inch diameter, 6 quart. However, I would get the deeper 8-quart size, as you’ll find that it is easier to bake bread in it without burning the top of the bread. The range of available sizes includes 8 inch, 10 inch, 12 inch, 14 inch, 16 inch, and even a 20 inch. The size you want will depend on your needs. (Cast iron is heavy.)
Flaxseed oil (edible) is the best for seasoning cast iron. (See: Cooks Illustrated.) First, clean and dry and then warm the cast iron to 200 degrees to open the pores in the cast iron. Carefully rub the oil over the surface, then in 350-450 degree preheated the oven, put the cast iron upside down in the oven over some foil to catch the oil drippings and bake it for an hour. Let it slowly cool for two hours or more in the oven to further season it. They say to repeat this five times. Avoid soap and water for cleaning at first to give it more time to get a good surface, scrape and dry it. Over time, oils from cooking will produce a stick-free surface and you can then use some soap and water. Don’t store with the lid on tight, but put a folded paper towel between the lid and the pot to allow water to escape, and decrease…