Table Of ContentSurvival Food
Handbook
Provisioning at the Supermarket for
Your Boat, Camper, Vacation Cabin,
and Home Emergencies
Janet Groene
“Be prepared for what?” someone once asked Lord Baden-Powell,
the founder of Scouting. “Why, for any old thing,” he cheerfully replied.
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Dedication
To my parents Ida and Irving Hawkins, who taught me to have good
food on hand for good times and bad. And to Gordon Groene, my soul mate
and skipper, who navigated our years of good times ashore, aloft, and afl oat.
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| Introduction
Contents
Introduction 1
Why a Cookbook Without Fresh Foods? 1
How to Use Th is Book 2
1. Food Readiness with Supermarket Staples 13
A Tour Th rough the Grocery Store 13
2. Extending Life of Fresh Foods 20
Supermarket Savvy 20
3. Before You Start Shopping 25
How Much Is Enough? 25
4. Bracing Breakfasts 31
5. Makeshift Main Dishes 42
Main Dishes with Meat 42
Main Dishes with Seafood off the Shelf 57
Meatless Main Dishes 60
6. Sustaining Soups 66
7. Salads from Your Shelf 78
Main-Dish Salads 78
Side-Dish Salads 82
8. Backup Breads and Substitute Spreads 86
Bread Is Basic 86
Substitute Spreads 93
v
9. Substantial Sides and Salvation Sauces 98
Side Dishes 98
Sauces Save the Meal 107
10 Desperation Desserts 113
11. Snacks and Trail Mix 124
Snacks in a Sack 124
12. Freezer Failures, Fires, and Floods 132
Th e Big Th aw 132
About Floods 134
Food and Fires 134
Appendix: Gear for the Prepared Pantry 136
Water Supplies 138
Choosing a Spare Stove 140
How to Bake Without an Oven 141
Th ree Ways to Cook Rice 143
Substitutions, Fakes, and Look-alikes 143
Equivalents 145
Recommended Resources 146
Index 147
About the Author 154
Introduction
Why a Cookbook Without
breakdowns, or unexpected delays.
Fresh Foods? In our suitcase travels it means hav-
ing a small stash of snacks so we
Th e iconic motto, “Be Prepared,” don’t have to rely on an overpriced
means diff erent things depending minibar. Back home, being prepared
on who, where, what, and why. means having a reserve of water,
To my father, as a Scout leader, food, and fuel in case of power out-
it meant bringing out Velveeta and ages, a burst water main, or other
saltines for supper when the skies emergencies that have hit our neigh-
opened and his woebegone troop borhood. At times we’ve also been
had to hunker under their canoes stalled by illness, forced to delve into
instead of cooking spaghetti over a food reserves because we were just
campfi re. To my husband and me, too sick to get to a grocery store.
preparedness aboard our sailboat Stuff happens. Boats run
meant enough supplies to cruise the aground, break down, get becalmed
remote reaches of the Bahamas for and gale-bound, or are delayed by
weeks without refrigeration. bridges that won’t open. Campers
In our RV travels it means hav- may get stuck by forest fi res or high-
ing food on board for boondocking, way closures. Hunters, trappers, and
When you’ve found the
perfect place, extra pro-
visions allow you to stay
as long as you like. (RIVA)
1
Survival Food Handbook |
city folks get snowed in. Manhattan recipes might give you hope. It’s
never sleeps, yet even the Big Apple likely you’ll use them in concert
experiences interrupted food, fuel, with fresh ingredients. Even when
and water services after fl oods or all fresh foods are gone, however,
power outages. you’ll have balanced and interest-
Disasters aside, there are many ing meals available from your pan-
happy reasons for having food in try, food lockers, and dry bilges. If
reserve. Friends drop in, or you nothing else, these recipes can help
might decide to stay an extra week you rotate supplies so your pantry
in your hunting lodge or moun- remains ready and relevant.
tain cabin. Spare food allows you Th is book isn’t about buying a
to be spontaneous. You don’t need year’s supply of MREs to squirrel
a very large food reserve to make away and forget. It’s about enjoying
it through an impromptu weekend nutritious, varied, and attractive
sleep-in or camp out. meals every day, even under diffi cult
Food preparedness is simply an circumstances. In these pages you'll
insurance policy. If you need the fi nd recipes plus tips on fuel and
stowed food supplies, you’re cov- water, which are also crucial to food
ered. If you don’t, donate them to a preparedness.
food bank at the end of the season, Now, let’s eat.
trip, or voyage.
Emergency organizations such How to Use Th is Book
as the Red Cross urge the public
to keep food and water on hand Based on my own experiences as a
for at least three days so you can household cook as well as a camper,
fend for yourself until help arrives. RV wanderer, and sailor who’s lived
Depending on your lifestyle you off the grid for months at a time,
might decide to expand that three- here’s how to understand my recipes.
day supply to three months or
more. Stockpiling food is not just Th is book assumes you will
for doomsday survivalists. It is have at least one backup way
creative, challenging, and smart. to cook. It also assumes you
For boaters, campers, and other may lack refrigeration at least
adventurers, provisioning is a skill some of the time. Refrigeration
required by the sport. units break down. Electricity
If you think canned and pack- fails. Batteries go dead. Stuff
aged foods cost too much, taste happens. See the Appendix for
awful, and aren’t good for you,these ways to bake without an oven
2
| Introduction
and Chapter 12 for tips on what for homemade solar cookers on
to do when the freezer fails. the Internet.
Stove burners, ovens, grills, and As much as possible, buy shelf
campfi res vary greatly in the foods with no added salt. Most
amount of heat they deliver. commercial foods are high
To be assured of food safety, in sodium; when you com-
especially when cooking meat bine two or more such foods,
or eggs, use an inexpensive sodium overload can result.
instant-read thermometer. You can always add salt to
Pressure cooking is highly rec- taste at the table.
ommended. It stretches your Many stored staples don’t
fuel supply and saves precious release their best taste and
time. Th e lock-on lid is a plus highest nutritional value until
in case of spills when cooking they are milled or ground.
in a boat underway. A pressure It’s smart nutrition practice
cooker can also be used as a to stock wheat berries, oat
canner and sterilizer. groats, and other whole grains.
Spice blends such as rubs and You may also want to store
curry powders diff er widely. whole coff ee beans, spices, and
Many cooks prepare their own, seeds. Consider investing in a
often starting with freshly grain mill to make fl our, and
ground whole seeds and pods. a mortar and pestle to make
Measurements in my recipes spice blends or grind nuts. A
are just a start. Also, most small manual or electric coff ee
canned and packaged foods grinder is useful for very small
have some seasoning of their chopping and grinding tasks
own. Fine-tune seasonings to such as coff ee, tea, medicinal
your own tastes. blends, and spices.
If you have fresh herbs, use one In this book “fl our” refers to
tablespoon chopped fresh in all-purpose (wheat) fl our, but
place of one teaspoon dried. even that can vary in diff erent
If you have room to stow a parts of the world depending
high-quality solar cooker, it’s on the type of wheat and how
best to get a sturdy, effi cient, it’s milled. Moisture content
commercially made unit sized varies with climate. If you mill
to your needs. Use it often to your own fl our, settings range
learn how it works in diff erent from fi ne to coarse, a matter of
seasons. You can fi nd designs personal taste. Many non wheat
3
