Eggs and Internet

It seems amazing that a week has already gone by since I woke up to find Dan parked in front of the TV watching the storm surge crashing over the Galveston seawall. Even though we were without power until Wednesday afternoon, we were incredibly fortunate to have cool weather and the resources of the university at our disposal. Things could have been much worse for us.

Our only two dilemmas now are lack of internet service at home and the state of the city in general. Dan tried to go run errands the other evening and came back saying it was still too crazy out there. From my co-workers I hear of long gas lines, long grocery lines, debris, detours, and traffic lights out everywhere.

This leaves us dependent on our existing food storage at home. It's not a really huge problem for me since I'm content to eat pretty much the same thing day in and day out. But I like to provide Dan with variety and it's starting to become problematic. Or rather, the lack of eggs is becoming problematic. I'm running low on cheese and butter, too, but without eggs I'm having to get creative to avoid serving some variation of rice and beans every day.

I should've stored powdered eggs and that's all there is to it. I used to have some but they tended to clump and were tricky to work with. I feel kind of stupid now for not keeping some on hand anyway. It's an important lesson learned. I also want to find out how to make yogurt without a starter. I think I can do this with acidophillus tablets but I'll have to do a little research first. Yogurt would be great to have as a substitute for sour cream, buttermilk, and cheese. I know how to make yogurt and I have powdered milk. Just nothing to use as a starter. Another lesson learned.

This is not a real crisis, though. We have other food. We have restaurants right here on campus. We can go to the store if we're willing to put in the time and deal with the hassle. But I'm using this experience to understand where my planning gaps are, and eggs and yogurt are big ones.

Last night I made a loaf of honey-wheat bread for sandwiches (we've got plenty of peanut butter) and a focaccia pizza using a focaccia mix I bought several months ago, and Bag Lady's wonderful pizza sauce. I topped it with the last of my mozzarella and some rehydrated onions, tomatoes, zucchini and spinach leaves. It was completely delicious and there's a lot left over. I also found a recipe for empanadas in one of my cookbooks, so I plan to give that a try using minced rehydrated jerky and onions, and with a side of rehydrated refried beans.

So no, we're not starving by any stretch of the imagination. But I never realized until now how much I really needed eggs! Or the internet. I miss being able to read blogs and news at home. I have to rush through things here at the office because I'm supposed to be working.

Like right now.

Damn.

New Preparedness Product!

With hurricane season upon us, some of you may be interested in the WaterB.O.B.. It's a water bladder, similar to the kind one would find in a Camelback. You put it in your tub and fill it in advance of a hurricane or other impending situation where you could find yourself without clean water for a time. It will hold up to 100 gallons of water! It comes with its own convenient pump for getting the water out once it's in. And when you no longer need it, just poke some holes in it, let the water go down the drain and throw the WaterB.O.B. away.

I'm not very familiar with the types of disasters people have in other parts of the country, but here on the Gulf Coast, where we know when we're about to get hit and we know we must store water, this looks like a must-have!