It’s the season of the slow cooker, and this being Squamish, we get an extra long season of simmer. I regularly hear from people who express interest in using their slow cookers (also known as crock pots) but don’t seem to get around to it. The machines are bulky, no doubt, but if it doesn’t drive you crazy to keep it out on your counter through the fall and winter months it can be a good reminder to toss something in for dinner before you leave for work in the morning. Or evening.
I spent Sunday making a double batch of spaghetti sauce (half for us, half for our friends who have a new baby girl – welcome little V and congrats R and M). As it’s in the final stages of a six-hour simmer, our house smells like Italy and ski season. The kids are excited because they got to throw in the last of our backyard tomatoes, which took me five years to figure out how to produce, (thanks to a very shady backyard) which means they think they made the sauce and are less likely to shove it away in toddler disdain come dinner time.
The beauty of slow cooking is in the rich flavour that time brings out of a medley of vegetables and meats, even if they’re not of the best quality. If you are working with a less expensive cut of meat, the slow cooking process will tenderize it. If you are using up the scraps in your crisper drawer, the finished product won’t speak a word about a few wrinkly odds and ends. It also won’t tell if you don’t have every ingredient on the recipe list. It’s a very good kitchen friend.
Some of my slow cooker favourites, which require very little prep work, include spaghetti sauce, (vegetarian or not, depending on my level of organization), which I encourage you to modify with the ingredients you have on hand, but if possible, toss in the rind of a good, hard parmesan for the last 30 minutes for that little oomph that makes the meal sing (a trick I learned from www.thepioneerwoman.com). Pulled pork is another easy and delicious meal, which when paired with flaky buns and a quick slaw will send you to bed feeling like a holiday elf – slightly pudgy and full of good cheer. Soups are a no-brainer in a slow cooker, softening the veggies in broth in the crock make it easy to quickly hand blend for a smooth, delicious bowl of goodness, which is easy to cream up with a cup of coconut or regular milk before serving. My word count doesn’t allow for recipes, so I encourage you to be brave, seek crock pot recipes in old cookbooks or online, and follow their guidelines loosely – it’s really hard to mess up and if you do, there’s always wine.
