Skip to main content

Goodbye to an old friend

Today we finally had to say goodbye to an appliance that has been with us for our whole marriage, so far: the crock pot. Michael's Grandma Eleanor gave it to us soon after we were married, along with some recipes (including Crock pot beef, which had ketchup as the main seasoning).

One of Michael's cousins gave us a fondue pot because "every married couple needs a fondue pot". I think he envisioned us using it more than we have so far---and for a long time the crock pot sat above our refrigerator along with the fondue pot. However, when we moved the crock pot moved down to a more accessible location, and we have used it at least once a week on average for about 3 years.

Today when the kids and I got home, we were ready for some stew. Eleanor had her usual complaining performance before the meal, we were all set to feed Luke some meat for the first time, so I dished out the stew (1 piece of meat for Eleanor, a medium bowl for Amanda, and a good sized piece of meat for Luke, torn into tiny pieces). As I was dishing out, I noticed that the potatoes were a bit hard. Then I noticed that the beef wasn't its usual color, although I hadn't had time to saute it this morning. Then (after the girls had their plates and I had started feeding my ravenous boy) I tried the meat, and it tasted, well, off. Yuck! Eleanor was the only one who was pleased; she got to have a cheese sandwich for dinner.

We had known that the crock pot was dying for some time: on low, it didn't keep its temperature steady (although high still seems to work...). Today brought home the fact that since I actually use the crock pot, I need one that actually works. So we are saying goodbye to our crock pot of years or so and hello to a fancy new one which has a timer and can keep things warm when they are done and has more bells and whistles.

I feel a bit sad, getting rid of our faithful crock pot that has followed us to 4 houses, especially since Michael's Grandma gave it to us (although we still have the pillows and the silverware she gave to us =). At the same time, it's time to move on. I will really feel sad when the popcorn popper (from Nagy Janos), or, heaven forbid, the fondue pot, give up the ghost.


A recipe for y'all, in memory of our crock pot:
Basic Crockpot Beef Stew


1.5 lb stew meat
1/3 c flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
1 c broth (beef or vegetable)
1 c water
1/2 onion, cut into wedges
1.5 cups baby peeled carrots
5 potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 stalk celery, cut into 4 inch pieces
1 tsp each of (choose 2: dried sage, thyme, marjoram, rosemary)
salt and pepper to taste (about 1/4 tsp or less)

Put the flour in a large ziploc bag with the salt and pepper, add the stew meat and shake to coat the meat. Heat olive oil in a large skillet, add meat and cook until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. When the meat is done cooking, put it in the slow cooker and add the broth and water to the frying pan to scrape up the browned bits.

Put onion, potato, carrots and celery in slow cooker, mix with meat (make sure the potatoes are mostly on the bottom). Add spices, salt and pepper. Pour broth and water over the mix.

Cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 4 hours. I have found that it works well to cook on high for 1 hour, then turn it down to low for 6-7 hours.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

My hero, Helen Parr

Otherwise known as Elastigirl , a.k.a Mrs. Incredible. She is a stay at home mom ( SAHM ), she clearly feels that what she is doing is important and is willing to give up a lot to do it (remember her comment in the intro: "I'm at the top of my game! Leave saving the world to the guys? I don't think so.") But she is finding fulfillment in leading her family from day to day, in doing a hard job well. She also knows that she is very talented, and that knowledge helps her see beyond the repetitive drudgery of staying home. My favorite scene is from the deleted introduction, where she talks with a "career woman" who is of the opinion that staying home is fine for people who can't do anything else. She responds that taking care of her kid is at least as hard as saving the world, and is valuable contribution to society. The point for me is that someone has to do the job that I'm doing, and it's not something that you could pay someone to do. I see...

Kindergarten Fashions

I was informed the other day that Eleanor wants to get a new thermos. She lost the o-ring from her purple Tinkerbell thermos, and I have so far resisted buying another one for her, on the theory that you shouldn't just replace things that are broken since it doesn't encourage being careful with one's things. I have been sending her with the sippee cups that she has been using since she was a year old, which she has resisted giving up to the point of becoming partly dehydrated when I don't let her use them at home. Here's how the conversation went. Eleanor: Anna and Jane said today at lunch, " Kindergartners don't drink from sippee cups!" Me: That's very interesting. Eleanor: They are supposed to drink from thermoses. Me: Eleanor, would you like a new thermos? Eleanor: Yes! Get the purple one, please. If there is a crayon one, that's the one I want.... Who knew that peer pressure started in kindergarten? The sippee cups are perfectly f...

Girl toys

A friend just had a post about her son's desire to have a pink bejewled play phone (she and the people who comment have great things to say: here it is so you can read it). Thinking about her post made me very glad that for girls 5 and under (which is all I have experienced lately) there is no toy that is off limits as far as I can tell. Amanda's favorite toys are trains (although she doesn't play with them the way some of her boy friends do. I think Chanson's kids would play well with her version of trains). Her favorite movie is Cars. Her favorite TV show is Bob the Builder. No one in her life (relatives, friends, teachers) tells her that she can't enjoy all of these things. On the other hand, she likes to play with all these things while she is dressed as a princess... In Eleanor's class, everyone's favorite thing to do is woodworking, both girls and boys. The only mathematicians she knows are women, so she expects to do well in math as well...