In The Dark Again or How To Make Toast Without A Toaster Or a Grill

Yesterday the power did go again. About 8.30. Left our neighbour standing in the dark in her powerless shower... all nicely covered in soap...
The Old Man have got wise to that trick and did not trust the power supply for some reason. (Well the wind doth blow mightily again.) And so did not step into the shower until he could see what's what. Which was Poof! Powercut. Of course we do have that traditional stove top kettle what we bought last time the power went. So we do manage our washing and breakfast.
Now I am a toast addict. But we use an electric toaster or the electric grill. What to do? The Old Man suggests a kind of dry frying on a pan. So I do get the pan out... put it on the gas ring and do press down a slice of bread onto its surface... turn the slice over... and it do kind of work.
We have tea and we have toast. What more do you want?... Hey don't open the fridge... you'll let the cold out!

Sourdough - The Ideal Bread For Powercut Baking

That other day when the power went off for nearly 24 hours... I discovered something else good about baking your own sourdough bread. We have an electric oven and I have already started some bread dough to rise when... the power goes "Phut".
Do not panic, say I to meself. You can make sourdough into a really "slow food". I did whack the bowl of dough in the still cold but non-functioning fridge and....
Next day, when the power came back, I did stab the little rascal back down a bit, waited for it to get back to room temperature... shaped it, proved it... and baked it.
No problem.
The virtues of sourdough.

In The Dark...

Ooh-er, there we be this weekend... watching the ultimate phase of the excellently dark, sweary and blood-spattered "In Bruges" on the old DVD player... when the brilliant Brendon Gleeson makes an explosive point and POOF the lights go out!
Darkness  and powerlessness abounds. Followed by an early night, after listening to the transistor radio for an hour or so, then sprinting to catch the fading heat of the electric blanket.
We break out  next morning into the fully-powered nearest town to purchase a kettle! (Heating water in saucepans be a pain we do find.) Thanks be for the gas hob.
In all there be nearly 24 hours of powerlessness. Lots of torches and candles. But power is restored in time for this week's episodes of BBC4's latest subtitled thriller "Salamander". In fact Belgian-themed crime thrillers are sustained after a slight interruption.
How are you getting on with "Salamander"? I like it fine... another outsider/conspiracy fest. What a lot of bird song in the background. You noticed? And The Old Man be coping with it.... except when he thinks it is set in Denmark. He be very pleased it is in 45 minute episodes. But then he has to wriggle a lot.