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| The soup aisle pre-Hurricane Sandy of our local grocery -- empty! |
We
are hunkering down for Hurricane Sandy!
I love saying that:
hunkering down. You hunker
down when there is impending doom, but before a weather-related doom arrives, you gather food
and drink, and get organized. It is Sunday night, Hurricane Sandy is approaching our way
and we have no idea what the clash of three weather systems is going to do in
our neck of the woods, but we are stocked and as ready as we’re going to
be.
So,
in preparation for Sandy, we are charging all electronic devices, have
batteries and candles, and anything else that needs to be done to ensure our
safety is done. And food. Let’s not forget about food! Whenever I’ve had to hunker down in my
life, there are some staples I simply cannot do without. So,
what’s really important food-wise before destruction strikes? Here are my thoughts and recommendations:
Go to the Store. If you don’t do this, you
will miss out on the mass panic that ensues as soon as TV weather people start
showing maps of swirling clouds.
Everyone is at the grocery store grabbing what cannot be lived without or
whatever is left. People aren’t
choosy because they just want to freaking survive. I’m staying choosy but that’s just me. BTW: I noticed the horrible scented candles
at our local grocery were gone. That
is the level of panic we’re dealing with.
Think Long Term. We live in a neighborhood that is constantly losing power and with a spectacle like Sandy, we must have meal plans that extend beyond the next day. Tonight I’m whipping up huge batches of chili, chicken curry, lentil soup, and spicy Thai noodles, and freezing everything except the noodles. We have a gas stove so we’ll be able to heat food if the power is out and – most important of all – not bother with cooking for the rest of the week. As they say on Wall Street: net net. Or in consulting. Can’t remember.
Don’t Settle for Bad Booze. It is imperative that you do not get crap wine or
subpar vodka. Remember after 9/11
when there were alerts and panics that drove people to buy loads of milk and
duct tape? I bought six bottles of
Pol Roger, my favorite champagne.
If we were going to be Under Attack and Possibly Die, why the hell would
I drink milk? For Hurricane Sandy, we stocked up on red wine (mostly Spanish),
vodka, two kinds of gin (dirty martinis are my new favorite drink), and single
malt Scotch (The Glenrothes Select Reserve). For the kids, their favorite orange juice and San
Pellegrino. Yeah, my kids are fancy
with their water.
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Coffee and Other Warm
Beverages. Sitting down with a warm
beverage is comforting ritual for me. So getting caught in the Path of Destruction without my favorite warm beverage would really, really suck. Really. My comforting warm beverage is green tea and I have loads of it. My husband drinks coffee and I got an
extra pound of his favorite (French Roast) and a French press. We're not taking any chances with this crazy-ass storm.
Protection. I’m talking about condiments silly! So, I bring this up because as I
mentioned, my new favorite drink is the dirty martini. The dirtier the better. Can you imagine if everything was
closed, we have no power, and the kids are clawing at my heels and there is no
OLIVE JUICE to put in my martini?!
THE HORROR!! Someone at
some point in history said “it’s the little things” – this is what that brilliant person was talking about.
So,
let’s review: Be safe. Have
the nourishment of food and drink at the ready. Hunker down everyone!
