What is your favorite way to prepare for an ice storm?

As a late transplant from New Orleans, I know from hurricanes but not ice storms! (In New Orleans, the hurricane mantra is "beer, condoms, rolling papers". ;^))

What to do? A medicinal bottle of scotch or bourbon? Lots of CDs from the video store, in the hopes that electricity won't go out?

But how to stock the refrigerator and pantry?

Ilaine don't sweat it! This is nothing. But when we do get a big snow I usually make sure I have plenty of coca-cola, coffee and cream. You know, the essentials.

ah, yes. let the panic begin (if it hasn't started already) at the local supermarkets.

The traditional French Toast - Bread, Eggs and Milk. That's what everyone is running to the stores for, right? They never report on Syrup sales though.

One or all of the following:
hot buttered rum
roast beef
fondue
raclette
ski socks
Johnny Cash

Oh no, those are staples, not storm provisions.


My "extra" freezer holds MREs, prefab dim sum and at least a half-dozen types of vodka. Your mileage may vary.

For last-minute disaster provisioning, I always recommend bulk Costco profiteroles, in the freezer section. Because when that extended ice-driven power outage eventually leads to the desperate OMG-I-have-to-eat-everything-perishable-or-throw-it-out stage, wouldn't it be great if the only items you had to go Kobayashi on were boxes of slowly-thawing cream-filled bon bons?

Seriously though, for emergency survival food, I'm a big fan of heat-and-eat Indian items...MTR brand when available, Tasty Bite in a pinch. I don't know of another cuisine that better survives the translation to retort pouch (aka MRE) preparation, or is more palatable when reheating isn't an option. Shelf life is nominally about two years (for "best flavor") and it can remain quite edible for up to a decade, depending on storage temps. Skip the supermarkets and stock up at your local Indian grocery, where it'll run you maybe $2-2.50 per two-serving pack.

Our very own Jacques Gastreaux said it here , in post #1.

An array of pharmaceuticals, a bed.

This is why my extra freezer is full of cakes and buttercream.

I wanna be in that freezer instead of being in the ice storm

I bought injera and a bunch of meat, lentils, and veggies. I'm planning an Ethiopian meal for Valentine's Day. Fortunately, those weren't the foods in greatest demand, though the shelves were seeming pretty bare.

Bread and milk.

Baguettes, actually, Wonder Bread won't do.

And not so much milk as some good cheese. Epoisses, maybe.

And I hate to drink the good stuff in the cellar, but if mother nature says it's time to break into the Burgundies, what can you do?

Milk, bread, icemelt. No diapers anymore, thank goodness. Hot chocolate ingredients for our overexcited children. Kahlua for coffee. Xanax for when the inevitable snow day fight starts.

This is the same thought process that lead my dad to buy a case of snickers for his hurricane provisions. Now that hurricane season is over, he is concerned his stash might go stale by next season. Guess he just has to eat them now and be ready to buy a new case in May.

An "ice storm" and "freezing rain" are two different forms of precipiation. I would much rather have freezing rain than an ice storm. Freezing rain is rain that freezaes on its way down and lands as ice pellets (sort of like sleet). An ice storm is much different. In an ice storm the rain falls and lands as a liquid but the ground and everything the liquid touches is below freezing and thus forms a layer of ice on the ground and particulary tree branches which get heavy and bow against power lines, knocking out power.

Why do people always race for a 24-pack of the Charmins? Does ice make people poo? Ok, so I'm off topic. What about milk? I know people who never drink milk who all the sudden by a gallon or two of stuff.

We go out and buy it because we are going to have hot chocolate the entire time!!!

In my profession, the well planned snow event is an art form. This year I am not as well prepared as I usually am but I do have my Bailey's and hot chocolate, organic cheddar popcorn, and short ribs. I'll spend the day watching movies and munching away while the ribs braise in the oven.

There is also a sufficient amount of chocolate and other Valentine candy around to meet any candy crisis I might have.

Among other things I'm missing a nice soft cheese, a hunk of piave or parmesan, and some veggies but it's only supposed to be a small storm so I shall survive.

You're not a lawyer by any chance, are you?

My father performed over 50 years of government service as a meteorologist. I did learn a thing or two from him, God rest his soul.

1) Rummage through kitchen cabinets, looking for a bottle of brandy.

2) Look out window, enjoy ice patterns on trees

3) Feel sorry for government employees studying their Federal Registers (that is what they do, isn't it?).

As a good, lifelong Washingtonian, I did my duty and went to the grocery store to buy milk.

Of course, I did NEED milk anyway - I felt like I should have worn a sign around my neck attesting to that fact - "I HAD TO COME HERE FOR MILK ANYWAY! SAVE YOUR SCORN!"

It worked out well for me because the grocery store was right next door to where I had planned to go to - the Italian Store! I stocked up on enough tasty comestibles to get me through the pending weather crisis well-fed

Yet another reason I am applying for a grant from the Rockeweller Foundation to establish a research institute so we can clone you.


By an amazing coincidence, this is almost the same procedure I use to rotate my supply of Girl Scout Cookies. Who needs Snickers when you have Samoas (or as we fondly call them in honor of the 4g fat in each one: "little heart-stopping cookies")?


Hope and Glory (1987)

I stopped in to Giant tonight for kitty litter for the trunk of Mr. BLB's new car. I also needed milk but they were cleared out.

I figure I'll run to Trader Joes in the morning before it gets too bad for milk and veggies for the beef shanks.

Or I'll dig out the dried milk and make due if I have to!

I did manage to make it to Artisan Confections for Mr. BLB's Valentine's Gift so if things get dire, I can always dig into that...

Jennifer

I wish I had more raisin bran to go with all of the extra milk I bought. If I were made to survive on what I have in my apt, I would be glowing orange (Tang!) and salty (from consuming all of the stuff like Rice-a-Roni that I used to buy in bulk but no longer eat).

Nah, it's not really that bad. Fortunately I have fresh bread, three or four kinds of cheese, a dozen eggs, lots of tortilla chips, two avocados (those go first), peanut butter, ice cream, plenty of pasta, three bananas, five Granny Smith apples and oatmeal to be made with all of that milk. Oh, and I have chocolate. Several varieties. I'll be fine.

I fear that there is an entire generation who has no idea what Tang is or why it was important to us.

When I was little, I was actually allergic to oranges, and I had to drink Tang to get my vitamin C. I liked it, though. All I needed to know was that it was what the astronauts drank

I can't believe there are 23 posts and not one of them says : "YOU ARE A STUPID WEENIE", because you are a stupid weenie for asking this question.

Did anyone say Pregresso Soup? Call moi what you will, I like them blue cans when I'm stuck in the house. You can make up the difference with a grilled cheese sandwich made with yuppie bread and snotty cheese.

Amen. Another storm of the century of the week.

Ah, well, I learned YEARS ago that the Korean family which owns and runs the Metro Market a block and a half or so up the street lives in Burke, VA. So, when a bad storm hits, they simply get a room (or three) in a local hotel and keep that bad boy OPEN.

For Dame Edna and myself, I will be making that Tortilla Soup we saw on "America's Test Kitchen" this past weekend. I already had a whole chicken from the selfsame Metro Market and found dried Epazote at Todito's (just a bit further up the street). Unbeknowst to both of us, we BOTH got some milk, but I forgot to get some oatmeal. Oh well. We will have to settle for French Toast. What a sacrifice.

Freakin %#$@!

It's brutal out there, ain't it?

Sounds like TMG Upper Northwest is meeting -- finally! -- at Hillvalley's.

Not a snow day? So sorry. Better luck tomorrow.

It's a snow day out here, so I won't be teaching that knife skills class tonight after all. I guess there are some benefits to living on the rural edge of suburbia.

I think you people have it all wrong. You're supposed to make veal stock when it snows. And then turn it into demi if it keeps snowing. Unfortunately (well, not really), I'm flush with both veal and duck demi, so I won't be doing that today. But I would if I didn't already have a big supply on-hand...

Wake me up when it starts to snow/sleet/freezing rain/ice storm...yawn.

Fortunately I have Mott's, a korean run corner market, nearby...one year, when the rest of DC was shut down because of snow, they were apologizing to their customers because they opened up two hours late because they had trouble driving in from Virginia.

I made chicken stock yesterday, and will enrich it tomorrow by poaching a chicken in it. Does that count?

A foot of snow would be a lot more fun than this ice storm crap.

The ideal mid-February snow day scenario involves an early afternoon stroll to the neighborhood watering hole. A seat at the bar near the front window is essential, for the purpose of gawking at the falling snow and passersby.

Definitely. What will you do with the enriched stock and poached meat?

WOO HOO!

FED GOV'T CLOSES AT 2 TODAY.

HELLO BED!

Sorry. A little anxious with my double clicking.

I'm planning to make the spiced butter for tomorrow's meal in a bit. I'm really glad I bought provisions for my Valentine's meal yesterday. The original plan had been to shop yesterday and find the things I couldn't find then today, but I had a very successful errand circuit yesterday, finding everything on my list (and only a few things not on it ), so I'm all set.

Glad you clicked. I just called my husband to let him know, and nobody had told him. He says they're always the last to know, sometimes they don't find out until they've worked past the release time! And the OPM website is overwhelmed.

You'll have to go to Meaghan's, DCPS isn't letting me go And after my day I don't know if I have enough Bailey's for anyone else.

Very disappointed in the "weather event." Very. I did walk out to buy TP...but only because it's on sale.

I'm glad I telecommute, however.

Because the house is always cold, the goal is to cook something that requires using the oven, either for a long time, or at a very high temperature.

Tonight, it's pizza. I will be drinking a single malt while I make the dough.

Tomorrow, Valentine's Day, (vegan) Spinach ravioli in a red pepper "cream" sauce. I'm not cutting them in little hearts though; the red sauce will have to suffice.

Some of the stock goes in the freezer for future use. Some gets boiled down to glace and stored as little cubes in the freezer, for future use. And the meat will be shredded and mixed with onions, peppers, chili paste, etc and made into something vaguely chilaquiles-like (meaning, it will be mixed with corn chips, and cheese, and maybe beans) for dinner.

Although it took me a while to figure it out, here's a totally different cultural context. Perfect for a "snow" day.

TMB Upper Northwest is on again! It seems that DCPS is a fan of Hillvalley's short ribs. Don't worry: I'll bring enough Bailey's for the whole crew.

I would like to thank Mother Nature for giving the world (because DC is the world, right?) a few hours off in honor of my birthday There's nothing like sleeping in on a Wednesday and then sipping hot chocoloate with whipped cream in bed.

Happy Birthday cupid girl. Birthdays are the best. And if you are anything like me, your birthday is fête that is celebrated for at least 3 months after the fact.

{{GET YOUR MIND OUT OF THE GUTTER!}}
(It's been a really long day folks. Valentine Day sales -- and customers -- were way down. Although I take immense pleasure in snickering at last minute shoppers, it just wasn't happening today.Right now I'm getting my laughs wherever I can.)