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Hope all the readers in the path of Hurricane Irene are OK!  It's fortunate it wasn't the worst East Coast hurricane on record, but it seems to have done its share of damage, especially from flooding and falling trees.  If you were affected I hope everything is back to normal for you soon!

Here in Annapolis, Maryland we had a perfectly nasty storm.  My power has been out for 36 hours but fortunately our much loved generator is keeping my frig and freezer going.  Yesterday I fed 25 people, having sent out a all points bulletin to my mostly electric cooking neighbors offering breakfast.  I am glad glad glad I had made and frozen lots of chorizo.  Breakfast tacos stretch eggs and taste great.  Last night I filled my broiler pan with a double batch of baked mac and cheese served with one neighbor's donated broccoli.  I amazed them with the perfection of peeled broccoli quickly boiled just to crisp tender, and served with spiced ghee.  They also brought wine!  I settled their full stomached kids in front of a working TV and we sat outdside in last night's perfect weather and enjoyed the food, grateful company, and the joy of cooking well.  Life is better with good food and without a howling gale.

Bravo!  I had the suspicion that EYB members are a resourceful lot, but you certainly demonstrated that in spades! Gourmet cooking with no power!  That's really excellent!

 Pooling the neighborhood food is a great idea and helps use it up before it goes bad.  Glad to hear you all made it through the storm OK -- hope your power is back on quickly!  

Up here in Massachusetts we escaped the worst of it, though there were lots of downed trees and power losses (ours wasn't too bad at 8 hours).  The weather cleared enough that I cooked dinner outside on the grill, and then the power came back.  But up in Wilmington, Vermont, where we have our vacation house, there has been terrible damage caused by flooding.  All the stores and restauarants in the town centre have been badly damaged.

You did a great thing Thredbende, feeding all your neighbors in need.

Hope folks are getting their power back!  A friend in Somerville (suburban Boston) has been without power for at least 30 hours, which is a lot! Lots of downed trees and powerlines in his area.  I hope everyone in upstate New York, Vermont and eastern Quebec is OK -- the rain and flooding have just been horrific!  I'm afraid people there were less prepared, since they weren't originally thought to be in the path of the storm.  Please let us know how you're doing when you get a chance!

My friend in Somerville says the power came back on mid-afternoon.  I hope that everyone else has power again, too, and that you'll be able to recover quickly from any Irene-related problems!  As a former resident of New Orleans who went through Hurricane Betsy there I know they're not to be ignored or minimized, and that they can do damage that may take years to repair!  But hopefully that won't be the case with the damage from Irene.