Sunday, October 2, 2011

Not a Crock of YouKnowWhat......Here's a Different Crock Altogether

Well, dear souls.....face it.....when you get  to be an octogenarian your options for amusing yourself narrow a bit..... The way it works is, first you try to pick something that doesn't hurt, does not require you to cover much ground  and doesn't compel you crawl around a lot on your hands and knees.

That is why I got so excited a  few weeks ago when I discovered the world of stock options........it allows you to sit at your computer for 24 hours without getting up, especially if you take your laptop into the bathroom and get one of those soft toilet seats to sit on all day.   (Incidentally, that new hobby is working out well.....I am learning a lot and am only down about $47.....and by tomorrow I may even be in the black.  A blog about that will surely follow soon)   However, the markets do close early in our time zone and are not open on the weekends and just how many candlestick charts can a person examine for bullish or bearish flag formations before screaming obscenities and rushing into the street to be run over by a car?......so I really needed another reason to get out of  bed in the mornings.  Happily a cousin of mine is getting married and I was browsing Bridal Registries for a gift when I was reminded that I had always wanted, of all things, a Crock Pot Slow Cooker thingy and had never treated myself to one...........until now.  A real life-changer, I'll tell you.

Hoopty=doo.......I have a new toy for practically no money   (I found a great sale  bargain) and I have a new reason to spend time in the kitchen assembling fabulous dinners.  (I hope).  With my very first effort I have learned an important lesson which I could have figured out by myself had I not been so excited.  Do not expect the same results from a crock pot that you get with a saute pan.  However, if you follow the recipe and put in extra wine the results can be delicious.  Hence I had a fabulous bowl of Chicken Marsala for dinner last night and could not stop licking the spoon and the bowl.    The sauce, replete with basil, oregano, garlic, cream cheese (?) and lots of marsala, was so good I would have gladly eaten my shoe (or even someone else's  shoe)  if it were cooked in that sauce.   As for the chicken......well, it sure as hell was tender!   I can see why these pots are superb for making barbecued pulled pork and beef.  Now that I have that lesson learned I am working on a soup  which should definitely  benefit from long slow cooking.....French Onion Soup with some dry Vermouth and perhaps a slug of Brandy in the 3rd hour.  I have my baguettes all ready to top with Parmesan cheese to float on top and will put the little crocks of soup under the broiler before serving/devouring.  What a good thing I didn't give all of those French Onion Soup crocks to the Goodwill  a few years back.

That whole story just exacerbates one of my problems though..........after spending the last 18 months  convincing myself that most of the contents of my kitchen cabinets and drawers will never  be used again and might as well be disposed of, here I come up with a use for those damned oven-proof soup crocks which have been taking up a whole shelf in my cupboard for 40 years.   Now I undoubtedly will never be able to dispose of anything again.  Sigh.

(I do realize that those slow cookers were really invented for the poor unfortunate souls who have to rush off to work in the mornings and needed a way to find dinner all ready for them when they came home.  The fact that I am home all of the time doesn't matter one whit.......it is a new skill and I intend to acquire it and enjoy it.)

Now, you will have to excuse me.....I have a few more candlestick charts and 50 day Moving Averages to examine before I prepare my strategy for tomorrow's market opening.  Tenks Gott this new hobby has not bankrupted me yet nor has my head  exploded spraying the countryside with numbers and strange symbols and abbreviations, but please............ don't stop praying for me.

14 comments:

  1. Try a really nice stew recipe...guaranteed ladle-licking good! :)

    Especially nice in the colder months ahead! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Well, I don't follow the markets but I DO have a slow cooker and I can vouch for the fact that a slug of brandy definitely adds a certain something to the flavour of French Onion soup!

    ReplyDelete
  3. LOVE Crock Pot meals!!! When is dinner???

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hmm, maybe I should try that. My mom always loved hers, but here I am at age 68 never having used one! And I do like one-dish meals.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh Lo. You never cease to amaze and amuse me. Ever.

    ReplyDelete
  6. G'day Lo. I have no idea about the Stock Market, so more power to you. I do however have a slow cooker and I just love it. It does the best silverside/corned beef that I have ever had. Hubby bought the cooker for me some years ago and it's one of the best gifts he has given me.Take care. Liz...

    ReplyDelete
  7. Never do stop praying for you.

    Enjoy the crock pot -- i love mine, it makes it so easy to feed my crew.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Remarkable! Glad you're on board with slow cooking. Lo, crockpots are not for the working family. Cooking a cheaper cut of meat on slow heat for an extended period can give tender results. Here's a quick one I'll share:
    Quickly brown a tri tip in a skillet. I use olive oil. Place chopped onion in the bottom of the crock pot. I use 2 large onions because you can never have too much onion. Put the meat on the onion bed. Smother the meat with your favorite salsa. Cook in the crockpot 4-10 hours depending on when you need it. When you're ready, take a couple of forks and shred the beast. Scoop up the goodness and serve in warm tortilla, buns, or whatever you like.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Is the stock market anything to do with the stock in the crock and did you go to the market for the stock and the crock or am I mixing it all up together and will it then if slow cooked become a delicious meal for the potter.....am I with you...please tell me I am!!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Pork roast is wonderful in the crockpot no matter what you cook it with.

    ReplyDelete
  11. The main reason I like cooking in a crock pot, is that it is more practical than having all those beef stew flavored room fresheners hanging from the ceiling.

    It's cold here this morning.

    I hope your head doesn't explode. xoxoxo

    ReplyDelete
  12. If you follow the recipe and put in extra wine the results can be delicious.

    Lo, I think we may be related.

    Love,

    SB

    ReplyDelete
  13. The stew sounds delicious Lo...what time is supper????

    You do realize that when Al Capone was invited to invest in the stock market he laughed and said: "That's the biggest scam going". So be careful out there.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hot d--n! You're just a hop and a skip away from solar cooking, now! Try my new soup (it can be done in a crock pot, too!) And, then, back to the boards... Come visit when you can.

    ReplyDelete