Stock Up, Cook Ahead, Hunker Down

Snowzilla is headed our way, my friends. Time to run to the store and stock up on survival essentials. Yes, if we believe the reports, the area will soon look like a Currier and Ives Christmas card. Schools and offices will close and store shelves will be emptied by panic-stricken shoppers. Snow plows will come out of mothballs and swarm the roadways, putting down gunk that will stay in our wheel wells till spring. 

Snowstorms of Yesteryear

We all recall the snowstorms of our youth. They were much worse than today’s—as memory would have it.  We ate whatever was in the freezer or languishing in the back of the fridge. We played board games and talked to each other. And since we walked to school, having a foot of snow meant the trip was all the merrier. 

If you must run out and join the snow shoppers, go quickly, the park lots are filling and the shelves emptying. If you enjoy the social aspects of racing from aisle to aisle or snatching the last marble rye from some old lady (a la Seinfeld), this is your time of year.

Let Me Help

While you’re out there, here’s a few things to put on your list:

• candles and batteries (never know)
• bananas (good subsistence food)
• Easter eggs (in the event snow lingers longer than expected)
• one carrot (for nose on snowman)
• anything covered with chocolate (soothing)
• lemons and limes (to prevent scurvy during long confinement)

A Pre-Storm Dinner

Robin, having made a jumbo pot of venison stew and a couple of loaves of sourdough bread, invited me and a few others for dinner last night. We finished off the meal with a chocolate vodka cake. The venison stew is from a recipe that Tom got from the chef at Blackberry Farms and it has become a family favorite. It can be made with either beef or venison, though I prefer the venison.

It’s meals like this that make you wish it snowed more often. 

 

Handy Shopping Guide