What about my Crisis Cooker?

This past 4th of July weekend was a whirlwind of activity. Between family get-togethers, cooking out, hosting company, and trying to get my work cleared off my desk before the holiday weekend, I was in a trot from about Thursday until I collapsed on my couch, company gone, Monday night.

My poor mother-in-law, bless her heart, had been in a trot for over a week. Now don't misunderstand me--the woman can outwork most folks (even at 86 and with two artificial hips), but she's no spring chicken. Trying to feed two families for several days and then the whole lot of us for the Fourth was a daunting task for anyone, even if I was bringing the meat and potato salad for the shindig.

I had tried to convince her to have the whole thing catered, but to no avail. What was the Fourth without her baked beans, my potato salad, the absolutely divine peach cobbler she makes (with homemade ice cream, no less), and fighting heat exhaustion over the grill in 100 degree heat with the relative humidity somewhere around a wet towel wrapped about your face?

Yep, catering would just take all the fun out of it...

And then the unthinkable happened.

Her range quit, gave up the ghost ... just laid down and died...

This was a disaster. It was too late to call the caterer, and there wasn't a store open that could deliver a new range within the hour (4th of July or not).

I had the potato salad and meat covered, but what about the baked beans and peach cobbler? No, going to the grocery store and buying canned "baked" beans was NOT an option. And neither was a store-bought dessert. (I did mention my mother-in-law is 86, right? She's also slightly set in her ways... and stubborn to boot!)

It was also a little too late to move things to another house..

And entering stage right...?

I looked at the gas grill sitting on my porch, the one with the side burner, and thought that we could try to wrestle that into my SUV and take it with us, but the more I thought about it, the more I decided that was a bad idea. I really didn't want that grill rolling around my clean interior. And the propane cooker that we use to cook massive quantities of fish during our annual fish fry was at the hunting camp.

And then it hit me...

What about my Crisis Cooker?

It was compact, it had its own carrying case, and it would cook with bottled gas, charcoal, or wood--whatever we could find to crank that baby up! We could have baked beans and peach cobbler ready in no time!

I ran to the storage room and grabbed my Crisis Cooker, throwing it into the truck. I snagged a portable propane tank en route, and was on my way to my mother-in-law's house, ready to save the 4th from cranky stoves.

Let me tell you, it worked out fabulously! Those baked beans simmering over the fire in a cast iron skillet never tasted better! And the cast iron Dutch oven full of my mother-in-law's famous peach cobbler was to die for. It was just one of the many ways that my Crisis Cooker has been on hand to avert a disaster at the last minute in multiple situations.

Do you have a backup in your arsenal?

The Crisis Cooker is simply the most amazing and affordable way to cook when your power is off, when your range has quit working, or just to take on a camping trip. This highly efficient charcoal, wood, or propane cooker (Yes! You can use multiple fuels...), allows you to boil, fry, grill, or bake with just a fraction of the fuel that other systems will use. Twenty-five pounds of charcoal will cook two meals a day for up to 3 weeks!

The patented design can be compared to a wood-powered microwave. All the parts work together as a system, so it's safe, economical, and so easy to use. By using any of the fuel choices that can be employed in this cooker, you can be on your way to cooking in less time than it takes to preheat your oven.

Not only is the Crisis Cooker economical, it's extremely portable (weighing in at only 26 pounds), and comes with its own carrying case. Yet this extremely versatile heavy-duty cooker is made from powder-coated 18-gauge steel and carries a 5-year warranty against manufacturing defects. You just won't find a better quality product made.