While searching on [Coleman Oven] I ran across this site: Disaster Preparations at Home, reporting on one Minnesota family's normal readiness status. They've experienced infrastructure outages, ice storms, blizzards, the deep freeze -- for them Y2K is just another challenge, probably more widespread and maybe of longer duration.

BTW I'm still looking for the Coleman Oven.

-- Tom Carey (tomcarey@mindspring.com), January 20, 1999

Answers

Excellent article you located, Tom. I'd recommend that all download it. Read it, learn it, do what it says.

Campmor in NJ has the Coleman folding oven, last I looked in their catalog. 1-800-226-7667

Good luck.

-- Why2K? (who@knows.com), January 20, 1999.

Tom,

When you get you Coleman oven be sure to practice with it.

It takes a little practice to control the temps accurately.

We routinely bake biscuits and bread and an ocassional cake in ours just to keep in practice. Works great.

Best to use it out of the wind since the walls are thin (of necessity) and the wind can vary the temp by 40-50 degress.

Greybear

- Got Coleman fuel?

-- Greybear (greybear@home.com), January 20, 1999.

Tom, this article can save lives, maybe mine and we're already 85% PREPARED. This is kind of stuff that makes this NG golden. Thanks.

-- BigDog (BigDog@duffer.com), January 20, 1999.

Why2K? --- Thanks! The latest Campmor catalog just arrived yesterday. Been so focused on the internet that I didn't think to look in it. Got to remember the old ways are still with us...

Greybear -- good advice. I've still got time to learn how to handle it. Figured since I got the stove (Coleman 2-burner), the propane, the handpowered mill (Millennium from Stortite) I'm committed to the grain--flour--baking mode. Ergo -- gotta get an oven.

BigDog -- thank the guy who wrote it. I just recognized it. I grew up in St. Paul, more than once walked 4 blocks to school at -30 deg., never knew grass was ever green in March till the Army parked me in Arkansas for a bit.

I sent the link to my brother, who lives on a lake in northern Ontario -- he says, sure -- we do a lot of that here too.

-- Tom Carey (tomcarey@mindspring.com), January 20, 1999.

Re ovens: please look at the Bakepacker too, found at adventurefoods.com. You can bake a lot of dishes on top of an open flame or barbecue with this thing. (That means you can use it to bake indoors.) I forget what I paid for mine, about $16, I think. The only fly in the ointment is you need to have a stash of food-grade plastic or roasting bags to bake in. Adventure Foods also puts out a Bakepacker gourmet cookbook, around $11-12. This book is an invaluable resource for those cooking with any dried foods (the recipes are easily convertible to Dutch oven or pan-cooking). The appendices contain great info re nutritional value and reconsitution of dried foods, as well as other stuff you need to know. Sorry I can't be more specific; this book is with a lot of our things in a storage room until (unless) we can sell our house and move. AdFoods is also the place to find dehydrated eggs, sour cream, butter, cheese (yes, cheese!), and other goodies to tempt your palate when you get tired of rice and beans. Very friendly people to deal with; their business is supplying backpackers in the NC mountains--as well as Everest expeditions.

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), January 21, 1999.