Two things have happened since my last post about beef (my thanks to Hildy, our faithful reader/commentator and resident food expert and sea_of_green for posting and not lurking)...I've learned that everything in Valley of the Dolls is true. Your beloved hubby will join a mysterious organization and you will suddenly find yourself purchasing a slow-cooker and making his lunch. Worst of all, not only will this not bother you on any level, you will actually enjoy it, finding in lunch making an act that punctuates your busy day with a moment of meditative calm. It took a year for the Stepford effect to hit me, but here I am lobotomized in the Mid-West.
There must be an up side to loosing one's dark and cynical urban side, right? Yes, there is and it probably accounts for the suspiciously (dare I say it) happy mood: damn good food. I mean, really, the Rival has moved me to a new level. Of course, I have been relying on an excellent cook book called Making The Most Of Your Slow Cooker by Catherine Atkinson. I've made about six recipes, everything from lentil soup to Basque tuna and all have turned out beautifully. Favorites will be posted soon with adjustments for timing (her cooker is much slower than my model).
Don't kid yourself about using a slow-cooker, there's still the usual amount of prep work involved if you're making something other than Sloppy Joes, but you can walk away, leave the house or play with your child without having to watch a hot pot. Your own recipes can be converted easily for the cooker, too. So, come on, join us, everyone is doing it. Stepford is a great place to raise a family.
4 comments:
Stepford wife hmm... Well I can't vouch for the husband joining a mysterious organization, but I can't believe it's taken you THIS LONG to get a slow cooker. The slow cooker is my winter friend. I really find them incredibly helpful for days when I know I'm going to have a long (well, longer than usual!) day at work and I want to come home to something that needs minimal prep.
They're really wonderful for making soups (like the butternut squash recipe I shared) and wonderful for making tough cuts of meat (chuck roast, arm roast, beef for swissing) tender. In fact, the slow cooker is a great way to make beef stroganoff. And nothing beats making a big pot of beans in the slow cooker. I just made a nice big pot of Cuban-style black beans last week in my slow cooker and it made severa great meals (I froze half of it so we wouldn't get sick of beans, which can happen).
I haven't been as thrilled with the slow cooker in some chicken dishes, unless its dark meat.
I'm surprised more moms (or cooks in general) haven't embraced the slow cooker - they're really marvels for taking away your worries about watching a pot.
True you have to do the prep beforehand, but it's really worth it. What's nice is the new models (as opposed to the old versions from the 70s which was my "starter" slow cooker) all have timers on them, so you don't have to worry about it while you're away from home.
I find the slow cooker much easier and convenient than say the pressure cooker. While it's no doubt fast, there's a little to much active work to the pressure cooker (even modern ones).
And I don't think you're Stepford. You're much too cool. :)
Ok, Hildy, who are you really? I don't think you're in college. If you are, send us a really good recipe for Ramen.
I do have to note one thing about slow cooker timers. You are correct, unless you have a slow cooker from 1970, your cooker will have a timer. However, not all timers are the same. I advise purchasing one that lets you program by the half-hour increment, such as Rival. Also, I found that the cookers with cast iron insets, which allow you to brown on the stove, are too heavy to lift if you are not a super strong person.
In a related note, the slow cookers missed a generation (X and, believe it or not, the tail end of the Boomers) so we're just catching up. In the past week, two of my friends reported a slow-cooker purchase. It's the Stepford effect.
I can't say I'm in college (not sure if I led you to believe that) but I'll admit to having attended a college (with much of it a blur...)
Actually, I do have a recipe for ramen, but it's amazingly time consuming for the authentic stuff. It's miles better than the 10 packages for $1 stuff (and much lower in sodium) but it takes a long time to make. If you're a glutton for punishment I'll post it, but I've come to decide that some foods in life might just be best left to the professionals - like a ramen chef. Granted I haven't found a decent ramen restaurant outside of Asia (nothing like a swimming-pool sized bowl of steaming ramen for the equivalent of $5) but I haven't convinced myself it's worth the effort. Kind of like making puff pastry. I've done it, but it's just not worth the time when I can get it frozen. I don't make many fancy desserts anymore either (really any desserts period) so it's not a hardship. I'm just happy in the knowledge I CAN do that, and just as secure that I don't NEED to do it. Know what I mean? :)
Seriously, though, I can post the ramen recipe if want.
Post the ramen recipe. We are gluttons.
So now we know you've tooled around Asia or at least a Chinatown. This interests us as we tooled around many years ago and ate many a cheap bowl of noodles. But yours were not totally cheap, so you must have been in Japan or Vancouver if you were paying $5 a bowl.
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