Skills guide

Cooking without power in an apartment.

Gas stove with an electric igniter, electric microwave, no yard, no fireplace. Here is how you eat.

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The apartment outage problem is simple: the stove needs power to light, the microwave is dead, and there is no yard for a grill. Most of the answer is food that never needed cooking. The rest is one small stove used the way its label says, with a window open and a carbon monoxide alarm on the wall.

1
No-cook food is the plan
- Crackers, nut butter, tuna, beans, fruit cups, shelf milk
- Three days of what you already eat
- Everything else on this page is a bonus
2
Eat the fridge first
- Day one: cheese, deli, leftovers, yogurt
- Door shut between grabs; four hours is the limit open
- Then the freezer, then the pantry
3
Light the gas stove by hand
- Most gas burners light with a match when the igniter is dead
- Turn the knob to low, light, then adjust
- Ovens are different; many will not run without power, leave them
4
The one stove allowed indoors
- A portable butane stove whose label says indoor use
- Window open, nothing within a foot of it, never unattended
- If the label says outdoor only, it is outdoor only
5
Never charcoal, never propane, inside
- Grills, camp stoves and patio heaters stay outside
- Not the balcony with the door open either
- Carbon monoxide has no smell and kills in an hour
6
A carbon monoxide alarm on the wall
- Battery model, near the sleeping area
- Required in California homes with gas appliances; test yours
- If it sounds, outside first, then call
7
One-pot meals
- Soup, pasta, rice, oatmeal: one burner, one pot
- Less fuel, less water, less to wash
- A lid cuts the cooking time
8
Water for cooking counts
- Pasta and rice drink a lot of water
- Choose foods that need little: couscous, oats, instant potatoes
- Washing water from the tub, not the drinking jugs
9
Fuel: a few cans, stored right
- Four to six butane cans cover a few days of meals
- Cool, dry, away from the stove and the sun
- Never in a hot car
10
The balcony or the courtyard
- If you have outdoor space, a camp stove goes there
- Away from railings, walls and anything that burns
- Ask the building what it allows before the day
11
Coffee and morale
- Instant coffee needs only hot water
- A cold brew bag works with no heat at all
- Kids: a hot chocolate packet is a small win
12
Dishes without a sink
- Scrape, wipe with a paper towel, then a small basin wash
- Paper plates for the first days
- Trash bagged and out of the kitchen