I speak as one of the true survivors of Wesleyan Blackout 2011, having stayed on campus for the duration of the power outage and slept in my ice-cold house all four nights. “Snoctober,” as I shall forever affectionately call it, wreaked havoc on Connecticut Light and Power and provided Wesleyan students with the second four-day weekend in a row.

The power outage created a unique challenge: What do you eat when none of your appliances work? However, it also provided an opportunity to become creative with meals. I am here to recount for you a happy tale of Blackout ’11 as told from the culinary perspective.

Night 1: The power went out in the middle of our Halloween party, so of course it was exciting. We cheered for a solid ten minutes, lit some candles (don’t tell PSafe), sang ’90s pop songs, played in the snow, and drank more beer.

Day 1: My housemates and I scavenged what we could from the fridge before everything started going bad. The rest of our perishables we placed in the snow outside the house. This first picnic consisted of mainly an assortment of cheese (thanks, Cheese co-op!), apples and pears, and crackers eaten in our sun room, which was the only warm room in the house.

By the afternoon, the campus received a memo about free boxed lunches from Usdan. By the time I walked over, the line had already stretched to PAC. Bon Appétit staff had been working for hours packaging sandwiches and preparing lunch. My turkey and American cheese sandwich was the first of many Blackout sandwiches.We also found out that classes for Monday were canceled. Yippee!

For dinner, a friend had a brilliant idea of unearthing their grill from beneath several feet of snow. Vegetables salvaged from our fridges were marinated and grilled as we huddled around the heat of the coals. A friendly Public Safety officer came to check in on our fire, and after our desperate pleas that this was our only means of survival, allowed us to continue grilling. We offered him a roasted pepper, but he declined.

Day 2 (Halloween): After sleeping through the Usdan continental breakfast, we munched on dry cereal and huddled under our blankets. We grabbed another boxed lunch and headed to a Starbucks in a nearby town to check our email and attempt to do homework. Starbucks was packed and lines at gas stations stretched for blocks.

I thought to ask if Outhouse had extra camp stoves that we could use to heat soup with, but apparently they had been given out to needier people, including one girl who had to give hot water to her pet baby hedgehog. Thus, I reverted to eating leftover sandwiches and granola bars.

Classes were canceled for Tuesday and the campus population was reduced to the die-hards. Halloween was canceled by the mayor, so we ate candy bars we had bought for trick-or-treaters. We formed groups of solidarity around bonfires and kegs. The evening concluded with marshmallows and the return of power to central campus.

Day 3: Usdan brunch! The first brunch I had been to all year, and some of the best cheesy eggs I have ever had, mainly because I hadn’t eaten anything hot in three days. My day vaguely recalled freshman year as I went to Usdan for three meals that day.

Day 4: When I woke up at 7:30 a.m. for class, it was 27 degrees outside. I could barely feel my fingers or nose. I got ready in five minutes and ran to Usdan to warm up. Class was painful during the day because I really wanted to still be sleeping, but professors were understanding and most of them were still without power as well. Usdan was packed for lunch…and for dinner, and I longed for the days when I could use my stove.

Finally, while studying for an exam, I got news that power had returned to my house! I did a happy dance, and immediately ran to Weshop to buy milk. And thus, life returned to normal and I shall begin cooking again and imparting my recipes to you, my dear food section readers.