Cooking the Old Fashioned Way

So, rembember last year when the electric company threatened that we would have no power for 20 days during the day? and then we had it anyway? Well, they've done it again! Only this time it was a promise, and they followed through. 

The crazy thing is that they are doing this work during rainy season when we lose power frequently anyway due to storms and rainy conditions. So, we are not only losing power when a storm hits, or when there isn't enough power to go around. Now, we lose it three days a week. I did a guest post yesterday about one of the blessings we can draw from this experience. Go ahead and read it if you didn't get a chance yet. 

A brazier

Things got a bit worse though last week when we ran out of gas for our stove. Add to this that the bakery that supplies our bread is dependent on the same power source as we are. We were faced with rationing the bread in case we couldn't get some for a while.

Our solar ovens also haven't worked well during the rains. We'll be glad to get back to using them in a few months, but for now they're packed away.

The evening we ran out of gas I decided on a nice, one-pot lentil dish for dinner. When your 'stove' is a pile of coals in a flimsy metal dish, you want to limit your pots.

I prepped all the ingredients in the kitchen before carrying them out to the porch on a tray. I felt all fancy as I laid out my mise en place. (And, yes I had to Google how to spell that.)

Waiting for the coals to be just right is probably the hardest part because putting a large pot on top too soon could put out the fire and stop the heat. The holes in the side of the brazier do help to keep oxygen flowing somewhat. Once I put the pot on top I just had to keep stirring from time to time to prevent burning. If the coals seemed to be cooling, I would remove the pot and taking the brazier by its handle I would swing it from side to side like an altar boy with incense--only harder and faster--to shake off the ashes and add oxygen to the fire.

Then we spent the evening waiting and relaxing. I didn't get any pictures of the finished product because it was quite late and dark before we ate. And, as delicious as the lentils (with rice) were, they weren't exactly photogenic. 

God has been good to us during this time of energy (all types) shortages. He's been giving me a clear mind during working hours so I'm actually getting a fair amount of work done. Thanks for all the prayers and kind words you've been sending my way. You make me smile!

Exactly Two Years Ago: You Just Never Know --if you ever struggle with your bank read this.