The Storm Gourmet: A Guide to Creating Extraordinary Meals Without Electricity

By Daphne Nikolopoulos

This book proves that, with a little planning and minimal effort, you can eat surprisingly well during power outages. In hurricane season, this book is a crucial resource. It can be used for any emergency or anytime you are without power. And you can use this book for quick, easy meals anytime, especially for camping or for quick summer meals. You will find shopping lists for creating the ultimate emergency pantry; more than 70 recipes using nonperishable and shelf-stable food items; suggested menus for quick, well-balanced meals; a practical guide to growing a storm-proof herb garden; advice, tips, and anecdotes about weathering the storm. Yes, gourmet meals can be prepared from canned goods with some fresh ingredients.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pineapple Press
• Release date: Oct 1, 2014
• ISBN: 9781561647750

Daphne Nikolopoulos

Daphne Nikolopoulos is the editor in chief of Palm Beach Illustrated and editorial director of Palm Beach Media Group, which oversees Naples Illustrated, Weddings Illustrated, Palm Beach Charity Register, Naples Charity Register, and palmbeachillustrated.com. Born in Athens, Greece, Ms. Nikolopoulos has worked as a journalist in the U.S., U.K., and Greek markets since 1990, specializing in travel, food, and luxury lifestyles. During her career, she has traveled the globe and experienced world culture both on and off the beaten track.

Book preview

The

STORM GOURMET

The

STORM

GOURMET

A Guide to Creating Extraordinary Meals

WITHOUT ELECTRICITY

DAPHNE NIKOLOPOULOS

Copyright © 2005 Daphne Nikolopoulos

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Inquiries should be addressed to:

Pineapple Press, Inc.

P.O. Box 3889

Sarasota, Florida 34230

www.pineapplepress.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Nikolopoulos, Daphne

The storm gourmet : a guide to creating extraordinary meals without electricity / Daphne Nikolopoulos.-- 1st ed.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN-13: 978-1-56164-334-9 (pbk. : alk. paper)

ISBN-10: 1-56164-334-3 (pbk. : alk. paper)

1. Cookery (Canned foods) 2. Menus. 3. Emergency management. I. Title: Meals without electricity. II. Title.

TX821.N55 2005

641.6’12--dc22

2005015228

First Edition

10 9 8 7 6 5

Design by ospreyDESIGN, www.ospreydesign.com

Photography by Sigvision

Printed in the United States of America

Pineapple Press books are available at special quantity discounts to use as premiums or promotions or for use in training programs. For more information, write to Director of Special Sales, Pineapple Press, P.O. Box 3889, Sarasota, FL 34230. Or call 800-746-3275. Or contact your local bookseller.

For Toula,

the kitchen goddess

"If necessity is the mother of invention,

then resourcefulness is the father."

—Beulah Louise Henry, U.S. inventor

Acknowledgments

Though it isn’t always easy to see the positive side of foul weather, I gratefully and humbly acknowledge Mother Nature for bringing out the best in human nature. In 2004, when four hurricanes slammed into Florida and the Caribbean islands with impunity, individuals and communities came together in the face of peril. Neighbors helped neighbors batten down and, later, rebuild. People generously shared their resources with strangers. Utility staff worked long after dark for weeks to restore power. In short, we learned we are survivors and can be surprisingly resourceful when the chips are down.

This book is an example of that resourcefulness. Being without electricity for two weeks made me miss hot showers and freshly brewed coffee, but it also made me realize I’m not dependent on them. I began to contemplate how to do things differently and discovered that everything, down to how we eat, is part of life’s ever-changing scenery. I am deeply grateful for that lesson.

I would like to thank June and David Cussen, and everyone at Pineapple Press, for believing in this book; Sig Bokalders for his talent and friendship; Carey O’Donnell for her energy, enthusiasm, and amazing ideas; Herb Perez-Vidal for his culinary expertise and constructive criticism; Paige Bowers for her help with research and her unconditional encouragement; and Scott Sanford for urging me to write in the first place. Very special thanks to all my friends and family who tasted and critiqued every single recipe; to the forecasters at Colorado State University for generously sharing information; to Pasta USA for providing samples and listening to my crazy ideas; to Mary Lambert, PhD, for her guidance with herbs; to the USDA staff for their input on emergency food management; and to everyone who consented to interviews, often at short notice, and provided valuable input. Most of all, I thank my husband, Peter Lioubin, for being my rock through stormy weather, and for his ideas, vision, and loving support through the development of this book.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Getting Prepared

The Well-Stocked Storm Pantry:

Meal Plans and Shopping Lists

The Ultimate Storm Pantry:

A Fourteen-Day Meal Plan

Just the Basics: A Five-Day Plan for

Basic Storm Meals

The Spices of Life

Essential Herbs: Potting Your Own

Herb Garden

The Backyard Tree: Using Nature’s Bounty

Manual Gadgets

Sample Menus

A Florida-style Brunch

A Latin Fiesta

Picnic for Two

A Pan-Asian Supper

A Mediterranean Sampler

Appetizers

Tomato-Mushroom Bruschetta

Chunky Hummus

Avocado Salsa

Spicy Salsa

Tapenade Toasts

Creamy Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Thai Peanut Dip

Creamed Tuna in Avocado Boats

Pesto and Chickpea Spread

Soups and Salads

Salade Niçoise

Hearts of Palm Salad

Mom’s Black-eyed-Pea Salad

Gazpacho Martinis

Vichyssoise

Bean and Roasted Red Pepper Salad

Dijon Potato Salad

South of the Border Corn Soup

Greek-style Bean Salad

Tropical Tuna Salad

Shrimp and White Bean Salad

Mango-Carrot Salad

Main Courses

Savory Ham with Dijon Cream

Currant-Mustard Ham

Minted Pineapple Ham

Curried Chicken

Cranberry-Orange Chicken

Chipotle Chicken Soft Tacos

Asian Bulgur Pilaf

Honey-Mustard Chicken with Pecans

Chickpea and Potato Stew

Salmon-Tabouli Salad with Sun-dried

Tomatoes and Pine Nuts

Salmon with Tahini Sauce

Valerie’s Tuna Cannellini

Asian Chicken Pasta Toss

Provençal Chicken Pasta

Lemon-Herb Pasta

Pasta with Salmon in Creamy Dill Sauce

Island Shrimp

Pasta Puttanesca

Savory Vegetables in Herb Dressing

Peanuty Chicken over Puffed Rice

Pasta with Pesto Sauce

Dressings and Sauces

Tahini Dressing

Apple and Cider Vinegar Dressing

Asian Peanut Sauce

Mustard Maple Vinaigrette

Grapefruit Relish

Walnut Raspberry Vinaigrette

Classic Dijon Vinaigrette

Guava Vinaigrette

Desserts

Poached Moroccan Fruits

Black Forest Tarts

Lemon-Lime Custards

Chocolate-Vanilla Parfait

Key Lime Pie

Tiramisu

Black & Tan Cookies

Peach-Raspberry Cobblers

Rose Water-scented Pistachio Pudding

Raisin-Date Nut Balls

Oranges with Grand Marnier and Cinnamon

Aunt Poppy’s Peach-Raspberry Torte

Poached Ginger Figs

Beverages

The Hurricane

Café Frappe

Spiced Coffee

Mock Sangria

Cranberry-Lime Fizz

Spiced Red Wine

Herbed Ginger Soda

Pineapple-Guava Cocktail

Limeade

Spicy Bloody Mary

Appendices

I. Refrigerated Foods: To Keep or Not to Keep?

II. Substitutions

Index

Introduction

If you live in an area that is prone to storms or other natural calamities, chances are you can relate to the reasons this book was created. Hurricanes, blizzards, tsunamis and the rest of nature’s tantrums strike without remorse, and often without warning, leaving in their wake unpleasant consequences from minor inconvenience to all-out disaster.

During a major weather event, the critical decisions of securing life and property are complicated by disruptions in critical resources like electricity. Storms aren’t the only culprits in electrical sabotage; power loss can occur due to an alarmingly long list of