This morning the roasted ribs and oxtails went from icebox to 4-qt. crockpot along with 2 quarts of hot water. It's scheduled to cook on low for many hours.
The enduring advantage of a crockpot is that you can leave it. Not that I have anywhere to go... but the crockpot once understood can help a working parent get on top of the food budget while feeding the family better food than the take-out that too easily becomes supper every night. Load up the pot before going to bed and put the whole thing into the refrigerator... set it on the counter and plug it in before leaving for work in the morning, and everybody comes home to a potful of stew, or soup, or ... well, there are thousands upon thousands of crockpot recipes on the internet.
My mother in steamy Alabama used to set the crockpot out on a protected table on the carport, to keep the heat out of the house. Years later, in a house with no hot water on the chilly margins of Lake Superior, I kept a large crockpot filled with water near the sink, on "low", and had what we needed for washing up. Newer pots have a "warm" setting which should be even better.
I keep crockpots in every size, but for everyday usefulness, I find the two-quart size is best for a small household.
1 comment:
Crockpots have another use:
Emergency humidifier for someone who has a bad cold.
Put a large crock on a protected surface - somewhere that it can't be knocked off easily. Fill it up to 1" below top with water. Cover and put on high to get water hot. Take lid off and presto - moistened air for a loved one down with a cold.
Can really make the sick person feel better until you can get to store or dig out the vaporizer you buried months ago.
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