SHTF Cooking "Logistics"

[Buttoni]

Something I just now thought about. The proverbial kitchen workspace triangle layout for your stove, sink, regrigerator. is what most builders shoot for. Having had one home with a linear layout (not a galley, which I do like) of those 3 areas, I agree the triangle is preferable. That's NOT what I'll have at the BOL. Everything is way spread out on the 1/2 acre yard around the cabin.

Our BOL is very simple, well fairly primitive really. Sits in the (roughly middle) of an acre fenced yard (a guy leases our 42 acres for 10 cows). The fire pit is off in 1 corner. There is a cast iron small stove with cooking burner top on the front porch the last owners just left. Never used it to date. We have a camping 2-burner Coleman we can use on back or front porch. There's small but fully functional kitchen with a most novel cast iron stove refurbed to be electric, which is totally useless with power outages. We have a Camp Chef propane oven.

I'm trying to imagine running, back and forth 50-60', to the sink, fridge & pantry inside, the cobbler I'm monitoring way over in the corner of the yard by our flagpole. Oops! I forgot something I need, and have to run back inside;, back to the firepit to be sure the cobbler isn't burning. Well...........you get the idea. I'm going to have to get really organized and take everything outside UP FRONT if I'm gonna pull off this feat. I'm ordinarily a VERY organized person, but I'm forgetful when it comes to lining up my ingredieints by the stove. I invariably forget an item, food or utensil, and have to walk just 8-10' to get it. At the BOL, that will be about a 50-60' walk each way, and I'm getting old! Lord help me help me with this if it starts raining really hard in the middle of all this running in and out of the cabin. By then I'll be to exhausted I'll just want to sit down in my easy chair and too tired to eat. LOL

Of course, I could recruit the husband to help, but after 52 years, I haven't see a lot of aptitude in that department.

 

[GaRp58]

Poor planing is the death of any undertaking...cut your work time and work energy in half or even more by
re-arranging everything. Every calorie you WASTE after the SHTF must be replaced by two calories.
(one you burned and one you need to keep living).
Each step and each pound you carry around will cost you too much energy....have fun, Gary

 

[Buttoni]

Yes, I watch all the Alaska 'roughing it' TV shows and do know that about calorie expenditure/replacement. But you can't use the two propane stoves indoors, I assume because of fumes and fire potential (at least the box said to never use indoors). I guess the little cast iron wood cook stove on the porch could be set up closer to the firepit, but then I couldn't use that one in the rain. I suppose my husband could move the firepit, but the boulders forming the perimeter wall are really large and very heavy. Last time he shifted those around to make it a bit larger, he said to remind him NOT to ever do that again. I better bake him something real good right before I ask him to move the firepit a little closer to the cabin.

 

[bigpaul]

I've got a small wood stove which I will be setting up post SHTF, got lots of temporary ways of cooking and heating until I need that.

 

[DrHenley]

I dream of having a wood fired pizza oven built in the wall like a fireplace with a chimney outside.

 

[EastenerWesterner]

Firebox from a smoker works

 

[rainingcatzanddogs]

But you can't use the two propane stoves indoors, I assume because of fumes and fire potential (at least the box said to never use indoors).

I am going to try to do as much cooking indoors as possible because smells, especially when people are desperate for food will travel far.

My stove in my home is propane (tank is outside) and I rarely turn on the vent hood (unless I burn something). Not dead yet.

Even in a small area, as long as the tanks are not leaking propane into the air, you will be fine. cooking indoors.

My RV stove and oven is also propane. If it still makes you uncomfortable, venting a window should be fine.

The other option is butane burners which is also safe to use indoors...again, as long as the tanks are not leaking.

Best Butane Stove For Indoor Use - Single Gas Burner (modernsurvivalblog.com)

Outdoor cooking adds taste that cannot be replicated and is wonderful. But, after TSHTF, I will be doing as much cooking indoors as possible.

TEOTWAWKI is different because eventually you will run out of propane and be forced to use other means. But for less than a year SHTF...

 

[Buttoni]

I was wondering if just opening a window would solve the problem. It's good to hear from someone that has been using propane indoors. Propane has a distinct,memorable smell, as I recall from childhood exposure. I had a relative living in the country that used to use a large tank housed out behind the house, they refilled for home use. So I would recognize any propane leak easily. I'll heed your suggestions.

Yeah, I know, just like gasoline (and food) you've got it until its gone. Then it's open fire cooking perios, with all my cast iron pots or wood fired stove/cooker, which will HAVE to be outside. I didn't even know about butane burners. Just googled those and they're not very expensive. Thanks again for a great tip. I'll mention it to my husband. I suppose circumstances could negate all my other cooking capabilities.

 

[EastenerWesterner]

My stove is propane for cook top but electric for the oven. The oven isn’t hooked up to the Gen. I look to conserve that years worth of propane for heat, refrigeration and hot water. Things like a bread maker can run when I am getting the fridges cold.

I am so far out, I am not worried about lighting a wood fire. Cast iron cooking and using the smoker as an oven may attract a neighbor, but anyone else will be miles away.

 

[rainingcatzanddogs]

Our 2nd BOL is way out...but, I expect that once the cities go nuts and people start getting the idea of riding out the storm in the countryside/parks, we will have new, possibly unannounced "neighbors".

 

[MNwr786]

Just keep an eye on the flame. Blue is good, orange is bad. if it is not burning correctly, thats when you get carbon monoxide in dangerous quantity. Ive ran propane indoors for a long time for cooking. As long as you have some air flow, you should be fine. Our cabin is 24x24 (tiny) and we run our oven all the time. There is no hood, no exaust, just a window I crack open. A generator in a garage, on the other hand, will kill you rapidly.

 

[EastenerWesterner]

Our 2nd BOL is way out...but, I expect that once the cities go nuts and people start getting the idea of riding out the storm in the countryside/parks, we will have new, possibly unannounced "neighbors".

Closest ”safe” cities 12 miles away, Nasty cities 30. I fear the ones from the nasty because they come out for side shows 5 miles away. I have a plan if they come up. Riding it out in the park next door is a concern too. 7k acres smoke disapates.

 

[rainingcatzanddogs]

Same here to an extent..."safe city" 35 miles+ "Nasty" cities, 150+mi...I still will err on the side of caution.

 

[Buttoni]

My stove is propane for cook top but electric for the oven. The oven isn’t hooked up to the Gen. I look to conserve that years worth of propane for heat, refrigeration and hot water. Things like a bread maker can run when I am getting the fridges cold.

I am so far out, I am not worried about lighting a wood fire. Cast iron cooking and using the smoker as an oven may attract a neighbor, but anyone else will be miles away.

We do have two generators to use to keep the fridge going and the hubs CPAP running at night. For everything else, it's wood and fire only when the gasoline and propane run out.

 

[Buttoni]

Just keep an eye on the flame. Blue is good, orange is bad. if it is not burning correctly, thats when you get carbon monoxide in dangerous quantity. Ive ran propane indoors for a long time for cooking. As long as you have some air flow, you should be fine. Our cabin is 24x24 (tiny) and we run our oven all the time. There is no hood, no exaust, just a window I crack open. A generator in a garage, on the other hand, will kill you rapidly.

Yeah, my Dad taught us that years ago when we first started camping. We know to use our generators outside as far from the house & windows as possible.

We also have a big generator here in the city because we have to keep our basement sump pumps running or water breeches a floor seam in the basement.

I think our cabin is around 40x50 and has a loft the former owner built for their children and grand children to use when there. We just store non-food preps up there and in an outbuilding they used for workshop and laundry purposes. Again, we just use it for prep and garden tool storage. All we keep in the barn are our riding and backup mower. Has pitiful closet and pantry space, but adequate for our needs. There's just two of us.

 

[Buttoni]

Same here to an extent..."safe city" 35 miles+ "Nasty" cities, 150+mi...I still will err on the side of caution.

Our place is 10 miles from nearest 'safe city' 80 from "not safe city". But it is very isolated (interior off the dirt road by 1/2 mile) and has a near-invisible entry on the road. No mailbox there yet. Looks like it's a rear gate for the adjacent property face of the road. He has a VERY visible wide entry gate and a very posh place. Not that I would wish ill on anybody in all this, But when it comes to survival, I'm hoping intruders will go there first so we will get some warning before they strike us farther back, if they even see us behind thick stands of Yaupon trees along our shared fence. It's hard to see anything but our barn from his property and you can't see the cabin from either of the logical entries because of a rise in the land on those two sides of it. I often wonder if the former owner, in his younger day, didn't have a bit of "prepper mindset" in him.

 

[EastenerWesterner]

One of the safe cities I refer to, I am shocked still exists.
We stayed in a downtown hotel for my wife’s interview trip. The room was filled with antiques. Owners of the clinic were showing me around and where there kids had been the day before. They were a couple miles away from home and all around town.
After we moved here, we are walking in downtown and are coming up to 2 teenage Skateboarders and a kid on a bike. I was going into defense mode. The kids moved their equipment and said “how are you folks tonight?” My jaw hit the ground.
After being in LA, I truly felt like I moved to Mayfield (the Leave it to Beaver city).

 

[MNwr786]

Our place is 10 miles from nearest 'safe city' 80 from "not safe city". But it is very isolated (interior off the dirt road) from the road with access, and has a near-invisible entry on the road. No mailb ox there yet. Looks like it's a rear gate for the adjacent property face of the road. He has a VERY visible wide entry gate and a very posh place. Not that I would wish ill on anybody in all this, But when it comes to survival, I'm hoping intruders will go there first so we will get some warning before they strike us farther back, if they even see us behind thick stands of Yaupon trees along our shared fence. It's hard to see anything but the barn from his property and you can't see the cabin for either of the logical entries to where it sits because of a rise in the land on those two sides of it. I often wonder if the former owner, in his younger day, wasn't a of a prepper mindset, in fact.

When that neighbor is under siege, it sure would be nice if you showed up and helped them out! Not sure how close you are to them, but that kind of kindness would go a long way with me. "These hills have eyes" is the message I would send. You have their invaders at a serious disadvantage!

besides, the last thing you would want is the bad guys killing them and setting up shop in their "posh place" which they will be tempted to do (right next to you making you their next target)

 

[Amish Heart]

You can use a car battery with an inverter for your CPAP. We have done it many times. We have two solar panels on our garage roof hooked up to keep 3 batteries charged.
It is a pain to run willy nilly in an outdoor kitchen. I do the food prep (cutting, organizing) indoors, and haul it outside in a wheeled ice chest. If I'm doing dutch oven, I run four at a time with four different recipes. It's just easier. We have a covered patio outside our milkhouse I have a kitchen set up at. And a water hydrant real near by. We don't have an inground firepit, but I have a portable one that can be moved closer if I'm cooking stir fry.

 

[Buttoni]

When that neighbor is under siege, it sure would be nice if you showed up and helped them out! Not sure how close you are to them, but that kind of kindness would go a long way with me. "These hills have eyes" is the message I would send. You have their invaders at a serious disadvantage!

besides, the last thing you would want is the bad guys killing them and setting up shop in their "posh place" which they will be tempted to do (right next to you making you their next target)

What you say is certainly the neighborly & Christian thing to do, but his entry and house is not very close. We're set back behind his, about 1/2 mile down a narrow yaupon-lined access lane before you even get to the front of our place, much less to where our cabin sits on it. His place is way up on the county road. But we would certainly help them if we felt something untowards was going on.

They're setting up their retirement location. In their late 50's or 60's, we think. He still works in Austin but is retiring in a couple years. She retired sometime back, she said. We can just barely hear his shredding tractor when he uses it. Can't SEE him doing it at all from our place.

We do plan to discuss coordinating security efforts when things get really bad. Have no idea if he's a prepper or not. They just bought the place this past year.

Former cabin owners are probably 1/4 mile on down the road and again, we don't see or hear their comings and goings due to dense yaupon along that shared fence. Makes for great cover though when it's SHTF time. Like now.

Then on the third fence line, the longer side of our 42 acre place, there is an exotic hunting lodge with year round activity. Hunters fire once usually, occasionally twice. Plus they're always shooting at cayotes on that place to protect their investment, often 5 shots in rapid succession. So we'd never know if THAT was a gang of hungry thugs looking for food, ammo or just one of the exotic ranch's hunters shooting an elk. I confess I enjoy watching the elk and other critters in the evenings. We can easily see them though our 15' yaupon-cleared area on that fenceline. It's in a line straight out from our front porch. I confess I'm also amused by all the rutting sounds the elk make in the fall.