A can and a plan: Keep your pantry stocked to eat well in emergency

The challenge of preparing for emergencies is that they're so — unpredictable.

It could be a power outage, like the one in 2003 that left 70,000 Utahns without electricity. Or a truckers' strike that keeps food from getting to the grocery stores. It could be that earthquake geologists are predicting. Or a job loss that leaves you short on grocery money. Or a snowstorm that keeps you from driving to the supermarket.

There's not a one-size-fits-all solution — if the power is out for a night, you'll want to be able to make a meal without a heat source. If it's a shortage of money, you'll want to pull out that wheat supply and bake bread. If you need to evacuate, portable items are best. But, in every case, nourishing food is important.

"If you have food on hand, it kind of empowers your mental state," said Laura Robins, author of "Pantry Cooking" (Gibbs Smith, $9.95). "And your mental state is important, because it can make or break any survival situation."

Robins' book, which came out in September, boasts "quick and easy food storage recipes."

She learned the value of a well-stocked pantry while living in Chicago in 1967, when the city's snowstorm of the century hit. "Grocery stores were emptied in a week," she said. "People panicked and became violent. My husband was working at a grocery store, and a guy punched him in the mouth, grabbed a case of milk and ran off with it."

She was also snowed in for two weeks while living in Jackson Hole, Wyo. "And again, the stores soon emptied. Since then, we've had Hurricane Katrina, and there are so many things that could happen with gas prices and economic changes. The concept of the book is to make a convenience store in your own kitchen, so that you have what you need. It also saves money in the long run because you can buy things on sale and use them later."

But she also learned the pitfalls of storing food that doesn't get eaten. "I had a two-year supply of food and slowly had to throw it away. It was sad to waste all that time and money. Now I'm storing food that I will actually use. If you store wheat, get a grain mill and use it; don't just let it sit."

Robins said many of the recipes in the book can be made within a half hour. But most require a heat source for cooking. Robins said many people have camping stoves in case of a power outage, but you can also use a Dutch oven in your fireplace, or even use a can of Sterno to warm up a can of soup or chili. She lives in Phoenix, where solar ovens are commonly used.