On Mon, 28 Jul 2008 11:44:44 -0700 (PDT), Leila
> wrote:

>On Jul 28, 10:11*am, Lou Decruss > wrote:
>> We get the hard copy of Water Garden News and there's an article on
>> outdoor kitchens that (obviously) caught my eye. *The online story is
>> shorter but there's a few links if you follow through them with some
>> wonderful outdoor kitchens and I want one of each. *I've got grills,
>> (gas and charcoal) *a smoker, and two fryers. *But an outdoor kitchen
>> would make me a very happy cooker.
>>
>> http://tinyurl.com/646qp7
>>
>> Lou
>
>I'm a less-is-more kinda gal. My outdoor kitchen is a home-made solar
>box cooker. (google for plans). If the earthquake demolishes our house
>then I'll progress to outdoor grill - some rocks and a steel grate,
>over which we could boil water, fry up flatbread in a skillet, and of
>course grill meat. If we can get meat after the Big One hits. With our
>pantry it's going to look more like heating up water for bulghur
>pilaf. The solar box cooker can do beans, rice, anything that would do
>well in a slow-cooker. We do have a camp stove but I just don't like
>storing propane cannisters. Makes me nervous. Our bedroom is over the
>garage. What about fumes, explosions, etc?
>
>In the meantime, my outdoor cooking equipment budget is going toward a
>55 gallon potable water barrel with siphon. More Big One preparation.
>We've got a stream in the back yard but it's a trickle in the summer,
>and anyway, you don't want to drink from an urban stream, even if
>you're only five blocks from its source. It's been through dozens of
>backyards and under houses by the time it gets to us.
>
>Leila in Oakland, CA

What you're describing sounds more like camping. I did that when I
was a kid and when our kids were young. We had friends who wanted us
to try camping again a few years ago so we got a tent and some gear.
It rained the weekend we set it up to make sure everything was ok with
the new tent. It took days for the damn thing to dry out. I folded
it up and put it away. I decided my days of "roughing it" were over.
We bought a 3 bedroom 2 1/2 bath cottage out in the boonies. That's
about as "less-is-more" as I'm willing to get. Our tent was only set
up for that trial run and was never slept in. It's 11x18 with a
screen room attached. We're saving it for the grandchildren we don't
have yet.

Lou