Let me paint the picture. The power’s out. Not just for a couple hours, but for real. No microwave hum, no fridge buzz, no soft glow of the stove clock. Just silence, save for the gentle clatter of Jackson rummaging through a bin of beef jerky he definitely didn’t ask permission to touch. Trish gives him that look. Stephanie and Alexandria have already lit candles like it’s a séance. And me? I’m grinning, because this is exactly what we prepared for.

The No-Grid Kitchen isn’t about gourmet soufflés or five-course tasting menus. It’s about feeding your people when the lights are gone, the fridge is warm, and takeout isn’t an option. It’s about knowing how to boil water without a kettle, cook a meal with zero electricity, and still hear your family say, “Dang, this is good.”

I’ve spent years digging into off-grid cooking, from rocket stoves to Dutch ovens, solar ovens to simple fire pits. My buddy Kyle Harrison—yep, the one who runs The Preparedness Post—he and I have swapped more off-grid recipes and cooking disasters than I can count. He once tried to make pancakes over an alcohol stove during a windstorm. Ask him how that went. Spoiler: it did not go well.

But this book? This is your shortcut. You don’t need to trial-and-error your way through burnt bannock or half-cooked squirrel stew. I’ve done that for you. Not the squirrel part—Jackson volunteered for that mission and I haven’t seen the local wildlife the same since.

Getting set up off the grid starts with mindset. You’re not helpless. You’re not hopeless. You’re resourceful, smart, and a little bit scrappy. You learn to use what you’ve got. You plan ahead. You stock the right stuff. You keep things simple and repeatable, so when things go sideways, you’re steady.

This first section is going to help you understand the backbone of every off-grid kitchen: fuel, fire, and flavor. Because if you can make fire, control it, and cook over it without burning your eyebrows off, you’re halfway to dinner.

We’re diving into the kinds of stoves that actually work off-grid, the best fuels to store and scavenge, and how to build a fire that won’t have your neighbors calling the volunteer fire department. You’ll also get the lowdown on cooking spaces, basic ventilation [because carbon monoxide is not a flavor], and where to stash your setup so it’s ready when you need it.

This isn’t fancy, but it is real. And it’s tested, not just by me, but by Trish, who has vetoed anything that smokes out the kitchen, and by my girls, who won’t touch anything with too much mystery meat. If it passes the Johnson house, it’ll work in yours too.

So grab your matches, your cast iron skillet, and let’s get cooking—no grid required.