Read Thy Book - Sam's Blog
  • Home
  • Blog
  • About
  • Contact
  • Pics
  • Home
  • Blog
  • About
  • Contact
  • Pics

Picture

December 11th, 2020

12/11/2020

1 Comment

 
Picture
Behold!  The mighty crockpot.  Saver of time, provider of yummy foods and hogger of counter space!  

I love my crockpot.  It's a little battered by now but it still works just fine.  It was a wedding present.  In one week Tim and I will be celebrating our 27th anniversary and that means so will our crockpot.  It occurs to me that not many things are built with that sort of longevity anymore.  I speak of the crockpot but also our marriage :)

Back to just speaking of the crockpot now.  When we first got it I didn't use it.  I never had before and didn't really understand how awesome it was.  But then too, when we first got married we lived in an itty bitty apartment that had almost no counter space at all.  Just a wee bit of room between the sink and the stove.  It was just enough space to make a sandwich, as long as you only needed to set one ingredient at a time out.    So if the crockpot was on the "counter', and I use the term loosely, there was no sandwich making for the duration.  

But shortly after the wedding (thank goodness) we moved into an actual house that had actual real countertops.  Once we got settled in, I re-opened the box that held the crockpot and was relieved to see that it had an instruction manual AND a few sample recipes. Thank Goodness!  I read them through several times and commenced crock potting with a bit of trepidation.  I think the first time I do anything I am always dubious.   Is the food I make in this thing going to be any good?  Is it really a time saver? Is a Crockpot really all that it's cracked up to be?

Then answers, in no particular order, were yes, yes and YES!

I loved how I could throw a bunch of ingredients in the pot before work and come home to a yummy hot meal ready to go.  I will confess however to being a little nervous about having an appliance on in the house all day long with no one around but the cats. And I was pretty sure that the kitties could not only not dial 911 in an emergency, I was equally doubtful of there ability to use a fire extinguisher.

But there was never an issue and it always worked and I was delighted with my new toy.

I didn't really use it as much as a lot of people do though.  Pretty much it's beef stew, chilli, short ribs and gumbo.  Anything that benefits from a long slow cook.  And those are the sorts of things that I only make now and again.  It's not an everyday appliance.  And that's probably unfortunate.  I am well aware that I am under-utilizing a really terrific tool.

I keep saying to myself that, 'one of these days, I'm going to do some research and find more crockpot recipes'.  And then I don't.  Shame on me.  At one time my sister generously gave me several of her recipes.  I even made a few of them a several times. But in the move to Colorado from Connecticut (one move ago) one of my recipe boxes got lost.  Naturally it was in that particular recipe box.  Dang.

But that's ok.  While I didn't use it every day, when the occasion or the menu called for it, I was so very happy to have my trust crockpot ready to go. But then Colorado is a place with Snow, and cold and icey winter days.  So was Connecticut.  Brrrrr.  Brisk weather, frigid temperatures and long winters require hearty, hot meals.  Things at which a crockpot excels.

Here in Florida, long-slow cooking things are mostly heavier than we want to eat most of the time.  I do not use the crock pot at all from July to October.  But now, in December with night temps dipping into the 40's and 50's, with the windows wide open all over the house and a little chill in the air, on a day when I'm wearing a cardigan sweater and drinking hot water to keep shivers at bay, yeah, today I'm using the crockpot.

There is a lovely beef stew simmering away on the countertop today.  And it will go about it's work with no interference from me, getting more and more tender and savory and the flavours will become deeper and richer as the hours pass by.  Meanwhile I will go about all of the other things that I need to do without giving it even a passing thought.  Then just before dinner is served, I'll knock out a batch of biscuits so go with and it will be a good meal.  The leftovers tomorrow will be even better.

Tim has offered to buy me a new crockpot multiple times.  Newer, schmancier, bigger  but I am perfectly content with the one I have. What's that old saying,  "If it ain't broke, don't fix it'.  Well, this ain't broke. 

I do need to come up with more recipes though so if anyone has a favourite, please share!
Picture
1 Comment
Kay
12/12/2020 03:55:36 am

Us old school love our crockpots and fav receipts of yester year!🥔🥕🌽🍅🥩🍖🍗

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Yup, this is me. Some people said, "Sam, you should write a Blog".   "Well, there's a thought", I thought to myself. And so here it is.

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly