# How are you going to cook all those beans?



## NMPRN (Dec 25, 2020)

It's probably a rhetorical question for a lot of folks but for people living in urban areas or, like me, in a suburban area with very little firewood available it's a real issue.

Like all good preppers I've got buckets and buckets of beans and rice. Back in the obama days I started working out just how much fuel it would take to cook all of those beans doing it a pot at a time. It turns out I wasn't in good shape when it comes to fuel. My property backs up to open desert with plenty of scrub Mesquite brush but I'm going to be fighting 100,000 other folks for it if the grid goes down long term.

Since then I've stocked up on dried refried beans and lots of canned beans. As much as possible, I try to focus on food that doesn't take a lot of fuel or water to prepare.

...just food for thought. I had been prepping for many years before I discovered that ***** in my armor.


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## One Shot (Oct 25, 2021)

I'm in a better position, I have a orchard surrounded by other orchards so plenty of wood. Wood needs to season so in the meantime i would rely on Generator and when fuel runs out I'll go to my dual fuel stove top and when all my propane/fuel is gone then BBQ with Charcoal or wood, I also have a 250 gallon propane tank I could run a camp stove off the regulator plus if all else fails might have to rig up a solar oven.


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## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

We live rurally, and there's plenty of timber around, including on our own property.
However, the majority of it is southern yellow pine and I'm not real sure about how much heat that puts off.
We do have a few oaks, and swamp maple.
We have put back bags of charcoal briquets that can be used in a grill, or even better, a hibachi. The hibachi would use less charcoal, I've got to get another one.


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## paraquack (Mar 1, 2013)

Also a dessert dweller, with no supply of trees for cooking, I went with dual fuel camp stoves. Able to use lead-free gasolene, I figured it was my best bet. I also have a lot of propane in 20 pound tanks and 1 pound tanks for use indoors.


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## inceptor (Nov 19, 2012)

Microwave?


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## OregonDreams (26 d ago)

Intermittent woodstove heat, solar oven in summer. I could also run a crock pot off the solar setup. Hopefully I won't be in a hurry for the beans to cook! But this is a good discussion to have, perhaps I could consider something like freeze drying or cooking then dehydrating. Obviously I won't be doing that with buckets and buckets of beans, but even a little could eliminate some stress or hunger when it comes time to use them.


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## inceptor (Nov 19, 2012)

OregonDreams said:


> Intermittent woodstove heat, solar oven in summer. I could also run a crock pot off the solar setup. Hopefully I won't be in a hurry for the beans to cook! But this is a good discussion to have, perhaps I could consider something like freeze drying or cooking then dehydrating. Obviously I won't be doing that with buckets and buckets of beans, but even a little could eliminate some stress or hunger when it comes time to use them.


I have friends that have dehydrated beans after cooking them. I haven't tried it myself, but they say the start to finish time is greatly reduced, and the taste doesn't change.


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## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

My wife within the last few weeks cooked up a mess of dry beans and then canned them. 
That’s one way to do it.


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## OregonDreams (26 d ago)

inceptor said:


> I have friends that have dehydrated beans after cooking them. I haven't tried it myself, but they say the start to finish time is greatly reduced, and the taste doesn't change.


It eliminates the need to soak the beans in a sketchy scenario too. Much, much faster. Having to cook them twice is kind of inefficient, but I may be glad I did it one day.


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## OregonDreams (26 d ago)

rice paddy daddy said:


> My wife within the last few weeks cooked up a mess of dry beans and then canned them.
> That’s one way to do it.


I've thought about doing this too. I just cant quite bring myself to do it. I do a lot of canning and both jars and shelf space for all the crap (largely jams) that I can are at a premium. With the cost of jars, I have been reconsidering what all gets put in jars and prioritizing what gets used most.


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## NMPRN (Dec 25, 2020)

I try to pick up a 3lb bag of instant refried beans every time I go to Sam's Club. They're kind of pricey but, in a pinch, you can just mix them with cold water and they turn into cold refried beans. I don't know what their true shelf life is but we go through enough to keep them rotated.

I have access to a friends freeze dryer, I may freeze dry and vacuum bag a few trays of proper homemade beans and see how they come out.


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## OrneryOldBat (Feb 10, 2017)

Not a problem where I am now, but back when I lived in the city, I had 50 lbs of charcoal sealed up in a metal trash can lined with a contractors bag. Also had a solar oven, propane camp stove, and an insulated box that let you cook from retained thermal heat once you brought the contents up to boiling and tucked it inside.


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## marineimaging (Jun 1, 2013)

NMPRN said:


> It's probably a rhetorical question for a lot of folks but for people living in urban areas or, like me, in a suburban area with very little firewood available it's a real issue.
> 
> Like all good preppers I've got buckets and buckets of beans and rice. Back in the obama days I started working out just how much fuel it would take to cook all of those beans doing it a pot at a time. It turns out I wasn't in good shape when it comes to fuel. My property backs up to open desert with plenty of scrub Mesquite brush but I'm going to be fighting 100,000 other folks for it if the grid goes down long term.
> 
> ...


Sun Focused Lens and reflectors


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## AndyFrank (Jul 20, 2018)

paraquack said:


> Also a dessert dweller, with no supply of trees for cooking, I went with dual fuel camp stoves. Able to use lead-free gasolene, I figured it was my best bet. I also have a lot of propane in 20 pound tanks and 1 pound tanks for use indoors.


Tularosa has no available wood....that isnt ridiculous. We got duel fuel and propane.
The thing that is better about diesel is you can make it easiest - how long supply disruption is ? Duda diesel is a regional one stop for by the barrel supplies.

But the person who thinks "All fuel" is best off. Wasting fuel on lights at all is tragic when the basic solar set up and a few marine batteries will do all the lights and tv/net/computer and phones. 

Methane is another one that would serve for heat or cooking and spare the higher value stuff.


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## ItsJustMe (Dec 12, 2020)

When I first started stocking food, it was dried beans, rice and pasta. It didn't take long to realize the error in that. Requires lots of water and fuel to cook. In addition, I am alone and to cook a large batch would mean finding a way to keep it from spoiling. I switched to almost all canned everything. It needs no cooking and can be eaten straight out of the can. No fuel, no solar, all I need is a way to open the can. No cooking smells to alert others. KISS. 

Someone once told me that if you are poor, people leave you alone since you have nothing others want. Something to think about. Call it an extension of the gray man. Move along, nothing here to see.


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## Echo47 (Aug 11, 2021)

NMPRN said:


> It's probably a rhetorical question for a lot of folks but for people living in urban areas or, like me, in a suburban area with very little firewood available it's a real issue.
> 
> Like all good preppers I've got buckets and buckets of beans and rice. Back in the obama days I started working out just how much fuel it would take to cook all of those beans doing it a pot at a time. It turns out I wasn't in good shape when it comes to fuel. My property backs up to open desert with plenty of scrub Mesquite brush but I'm going to be fighting 100,000 other folks for it if the grid goes down long term.
> 
> ...


I approached food prep in the 2 is 1 approach. I need more than 1 fuel source, and more than 1 way to heat/cook my food. 

What I found, based on my location, is that propane & charcoal are easy to get my hands on, but barring that, it's consistently sunny enough to get a solar oven/heating system. There are many to choose from, but I'm currently eyeing one with a reflective disk, to heat pots, as you mentioned.

I'm blessed enough to be in a sunny place though. Of your urban area has consistent sun, it might be worth looking into.


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## NMPRN (Dec 25, 2020)

Solar ovens are definitely the way to go in my neck of the woods. I've looked into buying one but when you find one that's worth having you're paying way too much for what you get. 

I've drawn up a couple of ideas for a practical homemade oven, I just need to get off my butt and build one.


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## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

I have multiple stoves that utilize various fuels and I am slowly stockpiling those fuels. I do have a solar oven, but the upper midwest isn't the best for it. I purchased it mostly to pasteurize water.


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## OregonDreams (26 d ago)

In the summer I can use the inside of my car to cook things. It might take a couple days to cook beans, but with some determination and patience I have little doubt it could be done.


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## Spenser (5 mo ago)

NMPRN said:


> t's probably a rhetorical question for a lot of folks but for people living in urban areas or, like me, in a suburban area with very little firewood available it's a real issue.
> 
> Like all good preppers I've got buckets and buckets of beans and rice.


The answer has already been given to you based on where you reside.

Solar Oven

With regard to buying one, there is no need to fork over cash.

all you need is a Dutch oven, or any cast iron pot w/lid
Either sheet metal or thick aluminum foil
heat resistant transparent plastic like they use in Crockpot liners
There are numerous diagram setups for how to put this together, the best ones would have multiple reflectors, and you could even use a wide magnifying glass

In your neck of the woods surely at certain portions of the day you have enough sunlight to cook all of your rice and beans for a weeks' worth of food.


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## inceptor (Nov 19, 2012)

OregonDreams said:


> In the summer I can use the inside of my car to cook things. It might take a couple days to cook beans, but with some determination and patience I have little doubt it could be done.


Sounds like Texas. 😄


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## NMPRN (Dec 25, 2020)

Spenser said:


> In your neck of the woods surely at certain portions of the day you have enough sunlight to cook all of your rice and beans for a weeks' worth of food.


Yep, I'm in the same boat as OregonDreams. I think I could put a dutch oven on the sidewalk and cook beans. I'll build a solar oven but first I've got to find a way to remove this big La-Z-Boy chair that's stuck to my butt.


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## jacob7 (3 mo ago)

ItsJustMe said:


> When I first started stocking food, it was dried beans, rice and pasta. It didn't take long to realize the error in that. Requires lots of water and fuel to cook. In addition, I am alone and to cook a large batch would mean finding a way to keep it from spoiling. I switched to almost all canned everything. It needs no cooking and can be eaten straight out of the can. No fuel, no solar, all I need is a way to open the can. No cooking smells to alert others. KISS.
> 
> Someone once told me that if you are poor, people leave you alone since you have nothing others want. Something to think about. Call it an extension of the gray man. Move along, nothing here to see.


I cannot believe the time has come where I'm stocking up on binge food, This is ridiculous.


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