Slow cooker AKA crock pot

[Guest guest]

Debbie

 

Thank you for your helpful response re the slow cooker.

 

Would you mind suggesting how I adapt the following to a slow cooker. I

am not happy at leaving it not cooking for 4 hours because it will

oxidise and/ or loose nutrients.

 

My lunch consists of:

 

50g Sliced carrots

50g parsnips,

80g broccoli,

80g spinach,

18g celery,

40 asparagus,

80g frozen peas

3tbsp crushed tomatoes

1.5 tsp tumeric

1 slice onion

2 tbsp quinoa

1 tbsp brown rice

1tsp oregano

1tsp fresh basil

 

The quinoa and rice is cooked gently for a couple of hours over a food

warmer (tea light)

carrots, parsnips, broccoli, celery: 20 min steam

Peas 12min steam

Spinach 5min steam

 

Onion heated in water in a wok

The rest thrown in and cooked until less wet.

Some stuffed into pita bread, balance eaten from bowl.

 

Robin

[Guest guest]

Robin,

 

I don't have any experience actually working with the shorter cooking

times, but if I were going to try I'd probably pick a day to try it out

when I could just eat whenever it was ready (on a weekend, or some

other day I didn't have much scheduled) so I could test it out. Have a

light breakfast in case it's done early and have a snack ready in case

it takes longer.

 

For the longer-cooking veggies (carrots and parsnips, etc) I'd cut them

a bit smaller than the faster cooking ones to even out the cooking

times. The quinoa could probably just be put in uncooked but the brown

rice most likely needs be cooked or partially cooked as you have been

doing. I'd save the spinach for the end and just mix it in with the

hot veggies and let it cook for a few minutes more. I'd think the peas

could go in with the rest, but if it turns out they get a bit

overcooked they'd probably do fine going in with the spinach, too.

 

Just put 'em in the cooker and turn it on. Try it on low first and

check it after 3 or 4 hours and go from there. My guess is it'll be

done then, but if it doesn't get cooked in the time you've allotted

wait until another free day and try it again on high. Or maybe a

combination of an hour or two on high then switching to low might

work. It might turn out wetter than you're used to -- slow cookers

tend to keep in moisture rather than let it cook off.

 

Your meal sounds really good to me, I might try it myself -- I work

second shift so my main meal is during the day, also. Or it should be,

I tend to eat out far more often than I should. My problem will be

getting out of bed early enough to put it together -- the timer route

might be best for me.

 

I don't usually cook by weight so I'm having some trouble envisioning

how much food this recipe makes -- in terms of volume how much is

this? (Metric is fine, or just "huge serving bowlbig soup bowl"

etc).

 

Let us know how it turns out, and I'll let you know if I try it.

 

Debbie

 

ddb5pan2 wrote:

 

 

Debbie

 

Thank you for your helpful response re the slow cooker.

 

Would you mind suggesting how I adapt the following to a slow cooker. I

am not happy at leaving it not cooking for 4 hours because it will

oxidise and/ or loose nutrients.

 

My lunch consists of:

 

50g Sliced carrots

50g parsnips,

80g broccoli,

80g spinach,

18g celery,

40 asparagus,

80g frozen peas

3tbsp crushed tomatoes

1.5 tsp tumeric

1 slice onion

2 tbsp quinoa

1 tbsp brown rice

1tsp oregano

1tsp fresh basil

 

The quinoa and rice is cooked gently for a couple of hours over a food

warmer (tea light)

carrots, parsnips, broccoli, celery: 20 min steam

Peas 12min steam

Spinach 5min steam

 

Onion heated in water in a wok

The rest thrown in and cooked until less wet.

Some stuffed into pita bread, balance eaten from bowl.

 

Robin

[Guest guest]

Debbie

 

Thank you for you comments.

 

For vegans what is the advantage of the slow cooker for vegetables

over steaming? In terms of preparation time. It takes about 15mins to

prepare the vegetables for steaming, 20 mins for steaming and 5 mins in

the wok to dry it out and soften the onions. I use the water from the

steamer in the wok. So I am not saving much time going for a slow

cooker. In effect it is 20 mins, but probably less. I am hoping for a

different eating experience. From what you say I may not get that.

 

I have just done a rough estimate of how much of the bowl is filled and

I reckon it is .7L.

 

It is a bulky meal. I have found it is important not to put it into a

food processor (rotary cutter). It makes everything bland and the

structure is not inviting.

 

I forgot to tell you I add in cut up soaked shiitake mushrooms (dried)

usually 2 and two diced fresh white mushrooms. It gives it some added

body. White mushrooms are medically active. If you want the article let

me know. At the end of the steaming I add in some crushed garlic.

 

I like the meal, when I get it right. It tastes like a good old

fashioned ministrone soup. Incidentally I put all my food in a diet

analysis program. That way I have had no side effects of the switch to

full vegan. The analysis has shown me that certain nutrients are

missing from my diet. In particular adequate amounts of B vits, Vit D

and vit C are not there, so I supplement with them but I would have

prefered not to because food has unknown micro nutrients that are not

in supplements. OTOH I am convinced that we need amounts of those

vitamins that can not be obtained from a normal diet.

 

Let me know if you cook it. I think you will find my quantities are too

much for you but then I am monitoring it for nutritional content.

 

Robin

 

The above comments are in response to Debbie's email of 22/06/09 18:10

as quoted below:

 

 

Robin,

 

I don't have any experience actually working with the shorter cooking

times, but if I were going to try I'd probably pick a day to try it out

when I could just eat whenever it was ready (on a weekend, or some

other day I didn't have much scheduled) so I could test it out. Have a

light breakfast in case it's done early and have a snack ready in case

it takes longer.

 

For the longer-cooking veggies (carrots and parsnips, etc) I'd cut them

a bit smaller than the faster cooking ones to even out the cooking

times. The quinoa could probably just be put in uncooked but the brown

rice most likely needs be cooked or partially cooked as you have been

doing. I'd save the spinach for the end and just mix it in with the

hot veggies and let it cook for a few minutes more. I'd think the peas

could go in with the rest, but if it turns out they get a bit

overcooked they'd probably do fine going in with the spinach, too.

 

Just put 'em in the cooker and turn it on. Try it on low first and

check it after 3 or 4 hours and go from there. My guess is it'll be

done then, but if it doesn't get cooked in the time you've allotted

wait until another free day and try it again on high. Or maybe a

combination of an hour or two on high then switching to low might

work. It might turn out wetter than you're used to -- slow cookers

tend to keep in moisture rather than let it cook off.

 

Your meal sounds really good to me, I might try it myself -- I work

second shift so my main meal is during the day, also. Or it should be,

I tend to eat out far more often than I should. My problem will be

getting out of bed early enough to put it together -- the timer route

might be best for me.

 

I don't usually cook by weight so I'm having some trouble envisioning

how much food this recipe makes -- in terms of volume how much is

this? (Metric is fine, or just "huge serving bowlbig soup bowl"

etc).

 

Let us know how it turns out, and I'll let you know if I try it.

 

Debbie

 

ddb5pan2 (AT) googlemail (DOT) com

wrote:

 

 

 

Debbie

 

Thank you for your helpful response re the slow cooker.

 

Would you mind suggesting how I adapt the following to a slow cooker. I

am not happy at leaving it not cooking for 4 hours because it will

oxidise and/ or loose nutrients.

 

My lunch consists of:

 

50g Sliced carrots

50g parsnips,

80g broccoli,

80g spinach,

18g celery,

40 asparagus,

80g frozen peas

3tbsp crushed tomatoes

1.5 tsp tumeric

1 slice onion

2 tbsp quinoa

1 tbsp brown rice

1tsp oregano

1tsp fresh basil

 

The quinoa and rice is cooked gently for a couple of hours over a food

warmer (tea light)

carrots, parsnips, broccoli, celery: 20 min steam

Peas 12min steam

Spinach 5min steam

 

Onion heated in water in a wok

The rest thrown in and cooked until less wet.

Some stuffed into pita bread, balance eaten from bowl.

 

Robin

[Guest guest]

It doesn't sound like you'll save all that much time, you're right.

But you won't have to stand around and wait for the steaming, you can

go off and do something else while it's cooking. There may be some

energy savings, but I'm not sure about that for these cooking times. I

do cook overnight and/or while at work, so that's a pretty big deal for

me, probably not so much for you -- most of your time is spent with the

prep work, so the time savings will not be great. On the other hand,

it's like a billion degrees at 100% humidity here where I live (slight

exaggeration, but not much) so any time spent away from hot cooking

appliances right now is a huge plus.

 

I can handle a generously sized meal -- in fact, I would probably eat

more grains than you use in this recipe -- if I get too hungry I tend

to lose control and eat stuff I shouldn't. (I follow the McDougall

plan, so starches are my friend.)

 

I'm just guessing, but I'd imagine nutritionally steaming and slow

cooking (especially for these relatively short times) are pretty

close. Whatever is destroyed by heat will be affected by either

cooking method. You may lose a bit of nutrients in your steaming

liquid if you don't consume that. Others with more authoritative

knowledge might be able to tell us about that.

 

Every now and then I run what I eat for a day or two through the CRON-o-meter and it generally

looks fine so I don't worry about too much about the nutrients. I get

my vitamin D from the sun and do eat a lot of broccoli, greens (a ton),

potatoes, tomatoes, etc, along with the occasional citrus fruit and

strawberries when I can get them fresh and organic, so I don't worry

much about vitamin C (or calcium), either. I am, obviously, not as

precise about this as you are.

 

Mushrooms and garlic make almost any meal better.

 

Debbie

 

ddb5pan2 wrote:

 

 

For vegans what is the advantage

of the slow cooker for vegetables

over steaming? In terms of preparation time. It takes about 15mins to

prepare the vegetables for steaming, 20 mins for steaming and 5 mins in

the wok to dry it out and soften the onions. I use the water from the

steamer in the wok. So I am not saving much time going for a slow

cooker. In effect it is 20 mins, but probably less. I am hoping for a

different eating experience. From what you say I may not get that.

 

[snip]

 

I think you will find my quantities are too

much for you but then I am monitoring it for nutritional content.

[Guest guest]

I have been using the steaming

liquid in the wok instead of oil.

 

I can't see a great deal of benefit to me of the slow cooker.

 

I would be very interested in your input into this recipe. Please let

me know what improvements you think it needs, once you have tried it.

 

Robin

 

The above comments are in response to Debbie's email of 22/06/09 19:41

as quoted below:

 

 

It doesn't sound like you'll save all that much time, you're

right.

But you won't have to stand around and wait for the steaming, you can

go off and do something else while it's cooking. There may be some

energy savings, but I'm not sure about that for these cooking times. I

do cook overnight and/or while at work, so that's a pretty big deal for

me, probably not so much for you -- most of your time is spent with the

prep work, so the time savings will not be great. On the other hand,

it's like a billion degrees at 100% humidity here where I live (slight

exaggeration, but not much) so any time spent away from hot cooking

appliances right now is a huge plus.

 

I can handle a generously sized meal -- in fact, I would probably eat

more grains than you use in this recipe -- if I get too hungry I tend

to lose control and eat stuff I shouldn't. (I follow the McDougall

plan, so starches are my friend.)

 

I'm just guessing, but I'd imagine nutritionally steaming and slow

cooking (especially for these relatively short times) are pretty

close. Whatever is destroyed by heat will be affected by either

cooking method. You may lose a bit of nutrients in your steaming

liquid if you don't consume that. Others with more authoritative

knowledge might be able to tell us about that.

 

Every now and then I run what I eat for a day or two through the CRON-o-meter

and it generally

looks fine so I don't worry about too much about the nutrients. I get

my vitamin D from the sun and do eat a lot of broccoli, greens (a ton),

potatoes, tomatoes, etc, along with the occasional citrus fruit and

strawberries when I can get them fresh and organic, so I don't worry

much about vitamin C (or calcium), either. I am, obviously, not as

precise about this as you are.

 

Mushrooms and garlic make almost any meal better.

 

Debbie

 

ddb5pan2 (AT) googlemail (DOT) com

wrote:

 

 

 

For vegans what is the advantage

of the slow cooker for vegetables

over steaming? In terms of preparation time. It takes about 15mins to

prepare the vegetables for steaming, 20 mins for steaming and 5 mins in

the wok to dry it out and soften the onions. I use the water from the

steamer in the wok. So I am not saving much time going for a slow

cooker. In effect it is 20 mins, but probably less. I am hoping for a

different eating experience. From what you say I may not get that.

 

[snip]

 

I think you will find my quantities are too

much for you but then I am monitoring it for nutritional content.

[Guest guest]

For this one meal you're undoubtedly right, it probably won't be of

much benefit. I use mine for beans, soup, stew, chili, baked potatoes,

oatmeal, etc., so I get a lot of use out of mine. It's maybe not life

changing, but it was $25 or so well spent several years ago.

 

I'll give your recipe a try this weekend, if not earlier, and let you

know.

 

Debbie

 

ddb5pan2 wrote:

 

 

I can't see a great deal of

benefit to me of the slow cooker.

 

I would be very interested in your input into this recipe. Please let

me know what improvements you think it needs, once you have tried it.

 

Robin

[Guest guest]

Debbie,

 

I look forward to your reaction to the meal.

 

I didn't know it was possible to bake potatoes in the slow cooker. I

have just done a search and come up with these instructions.

 

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/01/crockpot-baked-potatoes_28.html

 

Excerpt from

the article:

 

"The Verdict

 

I

like the neat factor of this a lot. It might be more practical to cook

them in the oven and then transfer to the crockpot for keeping warm.

The potatoes taste amazing; they cook in their own juice and taste more

potato-y than normal baked potatoes--but the colour isn't the pure

white color that you would expect---more of a beigey yellow."

 

So I think I will buy one and see if I can have a use for it.

 

I notice you use Cron-O-metre. The linux installation instructions are

not clear to me so I have asked for help in the Ubuntu conference. Can

you tell me if the program allows you to drill down on a nutrient. For

example if it says you have eaten 700mg of calcium, can you drill down

to see what foods have contributed to the total and how much they have

each provided?

 

Robin

 

 

 

 

 

 

The above comments are in response to Debbie's email of 22/06/09 22:21

as quoted below:

 

 

For this one meal you're undoubtedly right, it probably won't be

of

much benefit. I use mine for beans, soup, stew, chili, baked potatoes,

oatmeal, etc., so I get a lot of use out of mine. It's maybe not life

changing, but it was $25 or so well spent several years ago.

 

I'll give your recipe a try this weekend, if not earlier, and let you

know.

 

Debbie

 

ddb5pan2 (AT) googlemail (DOT) com

wrote:

 

 

 

I can't see a great deal of

benefit to me of the slow cooker.

 

I would be very interested in your input into this recipe. Please let

me know what improvements you think it needs, once you have tried it.

 

Robin

[Guest guest]

i love baked potatoes in the slow cooker.--- On Mon, 6/22/09, ddb5pan2 <ddb5pan2 wrote:ddb5pan2 <ddb5pan2Re: Slow cooker AKA crock pot Date: Monday, June 22, 2009, 6:10 PM

 

 

Debbie,

 

I look forward to your reaction to the meal.

 

I didn't know it was possible to bake potatoes in the slow cooker. I

have just done a search and come up with these instructions.

 

http://crockpot365. blogspot. com/2008/ 01/crockpot- baked-potatoes_ 28.html

 

Excerpt from

the article:

 

"The Verdict

 

I

like the neat factor of this a lot. It might be more practical to cook

them in the oven and then transfer to the crockpot for keeping warm.

The potatoes taste amazing; they cook in their own juice and taste more

potato-y than normal baked potatoes--but the colour isn't the pure

white color that you would expect---more of a beigey yellow."

 

So I think I will buy one and see if I can have a use for it.

 

I notice you use Cron-O-metre. The linux installation instructions are

not clear to me so I have asked for help in the Ubuntu conference. Can

you tell me if the program allows you to drill down on a nutrient. For

example if it says you have eaten 700mg of calcium, can you drill down

to see what foods have contributed to the total and how much they have

each provided?

 

Robin

 

 

 

 

 

 

The above comments are in response to Debbie's email of 22/06/09 22:21

as quoted below:

 

 

For this one meal you're undoubtedly right, it probably won't be

of

much benefit. I use mine for beans, soup, stew, chili, baked potatoes,

oatmeal, etc., so I get a lot of use out of mine. It's maybe not life

changing, but it was $25 or so well spent several years ago.

 

I'll give your recipe a try this weekend, if not earlier, and let you

know.

 

Debbie

 

ddb5pan2@googlemail .com

wrote:

 

 

 

I can't see a great deal of

benefit to me of the slow cooker.

 

I would be very interested in your input into this recipe. Please let

me know what improvements you think it needs, once you have tried it.

 

Robin

[Guest guest]

Robin,

 

You might want to cook everything off a bit ahead of crock time, then let it

cook on high. I love my crock! It's simply the easiest way to make soups, chili,

curries, you name it.

 

Janel

 

 

, ddb5pan2 wrote:

>

> I am looking for some guidance to slow cooker cooking.

>

> Currently I steam my food, but it would be change to occasionally bake.

> If I buy a slow cooker it will have just two settings High and low. Can

> a slow cooker be used to bake vegetables in 3 hours? The literature I

> have seen refers to a cooking time of 8 hours. I eat my main meal at

> mid-day and so only have 3 to 4 hours cooking time.

>

> Robin

>

[Guest guest]

Dear Debbie

 

Did you try the recipe?

 

Robin

 

The above comments are in response to Debbie's email of 22/06/09 22:21

as quoted below:

 

 

For this one meal you're undoubtedly right, it probably won't be

of

much benefit. I use mine for beans, soup, stew, chili, baked potatoes,

oatmeal, etc., so I get a lot of use out of mine. It's maybe not life

changing, but it was $25 or so well spent several years ago.

 

I'll give your recipe a try this weekend, if not earlier, and let you

know.

 

Debbie

 

ddb5pan2 (AT) googlemail (DOT) com

wrote:

 

 

 

I can't see a great deal of

benefit to me of the slow cooker.

 

I would be very interested in your input into this recipe. Please let

me know what improvements you think it needs, once you have tried it.

 

Robin

[Guest guest]

No, sorry Robin, I didn't get a chance I wasn't feeling well this

weekend and didn't eat much at all. The heat didn't help. I will try

it, though, eventually.

 

Debbie

 

ddb5pan2 wrote:

 

 

Dear Debbie

 

Did you try the recipe?

 

Robin

[Guest guest]

Debbie

 

I wish you a speedy recovery.

 

Robin

 

The above comments are in response to Debbie's email of 30/06/09 18:43

as quoted below:

 

 

No, sorry Robin, I didn't get a chance I wasn't feeling well this

weekend and didn't eat much at all. The heat didn't help. I will try

it, though, eventually.

 

Debbie

 

ddb5pan2 (AT) googlemail (DOT) com

wrote:

 

 

 

Dear Debbie

 

Did you try the recipe?

 

Robin

[Guest guest]

Debbie

 

I am trying out my new very cheap slow cooker. Today is the first time

I have used it. Put it on high for 1 hour and now it is on low.

 

Except for the soft part of the swiss chard leaves everything in my

daily recipe was dumped into the pot with some water. I will add the

chard a few minutes before I turn off the cooker.

As it does not seem to give off much steam I am thinking I will have to

render it down at the end. Perhaps I will lift the lid slightly to

allow for some evaporation.

 

I am wondering how much water I should have used so that at the end of

the cooking I do not get a soup, but something close to little or no

water. I added about 1/3 of the ingredients as water.

 

Robin

[Guest guest]

I had intended to try this out this morning but overslept.

 

I would guess very little water is needed, maybe a couple of

tablespoons or so to help keep the temperature of the crock itself even

at first, as the vegetables will release their own liquid as they

cook. There is very little evaporation with slow cooking. If you do

have excess liquid you could pour it off and use it as a soup or sauce

base if you don't want to cook it down.

 

I hope it turns out well! I know you are concerned about leaving the

uncooked vegetables exposed to air, but I am thinking that setting this

up the night before would be a good habit for me to get into, as I am

very, well, unorganized in the morning. Slightly reduced nutrition is

a good trade off, I think, for actually getting me to eat vegetables

for lunch.

 

Debbie

 

'robin' wrote:

 

 

Debbie

 

I am trying out my new very cheap slow cooker. Today is the first time

I have used it. Put it on high for 1 hour and now it is on low.

 

Except for the soft part of the swiss chard leaves everything in my

daily recipe was dumped into the pot with some water. I will add the

chard a few minutes before I turn off the cooker.

As it does not seem to give off much steam I am thinking I will have to

render it down at the end. Perhaps I will lift the lid slightly to

allow for some evaporation.

 

I am wondering how much water I should have used so that at the end of

the cooking I do not get a soup, but something close to little or no

water. I added about 1/3 of the ingredients as water.

 

Robin

[Guest guest]

Debbie

 

It was not a success. It turned into a meat stew without the meat. I of

course ate it but I prefer the steamer with that recipe. Well now I

know and fortunately the slow cooker was very cheap. Maybe I will come

across a more suitable recipe.

 

Maybe it went wrong because I used too much water, but it was not

swimming in it. I didn't turn it into a soup.

 

Robin

 

The above comments are in response to Debbie's email of 01/07/09 19:43

as quoted below:

 

 

I had intended to try this out this morning but overslept.

 

I would guess very little water is needed, maybe a couple of

tablespoons or so to help keep the temperature of the crock itself even

at first, as the vegetables will release their own liquid as they

cook. There is very little evaporation with slow cooking. If you do

have excess liquid you could pour it off and use it as a soup or sauce

base if you don't want to cook it down.

 

I hope it turns out well! I know you are concerned about leaving the

uncooked vegetables exposed to air, but I am thinking that setting this

up the night before would be a good habit for me to get into, as I am

very, well, unorganized in the morning. Slightly reduced nutrition is

a good trade off, I think, for actually getting me to eat vegetables

for lunch.

 

Debbie

 

'robin' wrote:

 

 

 

Debbie

 

I am trying out my new very cheap slow cooker. Today is the first time

I have used it. Put it on high for 1 hour and now it is on low.

 

Except for the soft part of the swiss chard leaves everything in my

daily recipe was dumped into the pot with some water. I will add the

chard a few minutes before I turn off the cooker.

As it does not seem to give off much steam I am thinking I will have to

render it down at the end. Perhaps I will lift the lid slightly to

allow for some evaporation.

 

I am wondering how much water I should have used so that at the end of

the cooking I do not get a soup, but something close to little or no

water. I added about 1/3 of the ingredients as water.

 

Robin

[Guest guest]

> It was not a success. It turned into a meat stew without the meat. I

of course ate it but I prefer the steamer with that recipe.

 

Crockpots *need* all that liquid to cook over long periods of time,

which is why they're best used for things like soups and stews. I know,

people have made baked potatoes and even cakes in a slow cooker, but not

over an 8 to 10 hour period. If you prefer a meal without the " gravy "

then a crockpot isn't for you.

 

 

 

Sue in NJ

[Guest guest]

I did finally try this this morning and I was surprised at how well it

worked for me. Before going to bed I chopped the veggies and filled my

1.5 quart crock and put it in the refrigerator. When my dog woke me at

7:30 AM I put the crock in the base and turned it on low, and, when the

dog finished, I went back to bed. (I work second shift, I sleep

late.) The only liquid was what was clinging to the freshly washed

veggies and some ice crystals from some frozen corn. When I was ready

to eat at 11:30 AM all of the veggies were nicely cooked, not stewed,

and there was no extra liquid in the pot.

 

The veggies I used:

1 stalk celery

1 large carrot

1/2 of a large sweet potato (I should have just used the whole thing, I

don't know what I was thinking)

a few stalks of broccoli with the florets put in separately and the

stalks sliced

a few asparagus stalks

some corn that I found in the freezer when I was searching for peas (a

cup or so?)

and, a few minutes before eating, a handful of baby kale

 

I forgot to buy a tomato and didn't want to open a can for this, but

that would have added a bit more liquid. (Maybe it worked better

without?)

 

I put the celery, carrot and sweet potato through my onion chopper (see

below) so the pieces would be of uniform size (about 1/2-inch dice) and

because it was 2:00 AM and I didn't feel like doing all that chopping.

 

 

As an experiment I put in a few grains of short brown rice just to see

what would happen and, no surprise, it wasn't fully cooked (not enough

time and not enough liquid, probably). Next time I'll just serve it

with cooked rice, since I almost always have some in the refrigerator.

I bet "instant" brown rice would cook in that time, though.

 

All in all I think it worked pretty well. Nothing spectacular, just a

lot of nicely cooked vegetables without much fuss. I will definitely

do this again, as my CSA veggies are piling up already. (And as soon

as I find my extra timer, since the dog doesn't usually wake up that

early either.)

 

Debbie

 

Vidalia

Chop Wizard. It was a gift. It works, I use it more than I

thought it would. I probably wouldn't pay $20 for it, though. I've

seen it for sale in CVS but didn't check the price.

 

Robin and Sue in NJ wrote:

 

 

It was not a success. It turned into a meat stew without the meat.

 

 

Crockpots *need* all that liquid to cook over long periods of time,

[Guest guest]

Debbie

 

Thanks for the feedback on the stockpot and the recipe. I will think

about what you have done. I am surprised nothing burned and yet it

cooked with virtually no water. With the amount of water I used the

broccoli wasn't really cooked properly even though the liquid was

boiling in the pot. I didn't understand why it was still hardish

because steaming will properly cook broccoli in 20mins. I cooked mine

for about 4 hours is the crockpot.

 

Robin

 

The above comments are in response to Debbie's email of 02/07/09 18:37

as quoted below:

 

 

I did finally try this this morning and I was surprised at how

well it

worked for me. Before going to bed I chopped the veggies and filled my

1.5 quart crock and put it in the refrigerator. When my dog woke me at

7:30 AM I put the crock in the base and turned it on low, and, when the

dog finished, I went back to bed. (I work second shift, I sleep

late.) The only liquid was what was clinging to the freshly washed

veggies and some ice crystals from some frozen corn. When I was ready

to eat at 11:30 AM all of the veggies were nicely cooked, not stewed,

and there was no extra liquid in the pot.

 

The veggies I used:

1 stalk celery

1 large carrot

1/2 of a large sweet potato (I should have just used the whole thing, I

don't know what I was thinking)

a few stalks of broccoli with the florets put in separately and the

stalks sliced

a few asparagus stalks

some corn that I found in the freezer when I was searching for peas (a

cup or so?)

and, a few minutes before eating, a handful of baby kale

 

I forgot to buy a tomato and didn't want to open a can for this, but

that would have added a bit more liquid. (Maybe it worked better

without?)

 

I put the celery, carrot and sweet potato through my onion chopper (see

below) so the pieces would be of uniform size (about 1/2-inch dice) and

because it was 2:00 AM and I didn't feel like doing all that chopping.

 

 

As an experiment I put in a few grains of short brown rice just to see

what would happen and, no surprise, it wasn't fully cooked (not enough

time and not enough liquid, probably). Next time I'll just serve it

with cooked rice, since I almost always have some in the refrigerator.

I bet "instant" brown rice would cook in that time, though.

 

All in all I think it worked pretty well. Nothing spectacular, just a

lot of nicely cooked vegetables without much fuss. I will definitely

do this again, as my CSA veggies are piling up already. (And as soon

as I find my extra timer, since the dog doesn't usually wake up that

early either.)

 

Debbie

 

Vidalia

Chop Wizard. It was a gift. It works, I use it more than I

thought it would. I probably wouldn't pay $20 for it, though. I've

seen it for sale in CVS but didn't check the price.

 

Robin and Sue in NJ wrote:

 

 

 

It was not a success. It turned into a meat stew without the meat.

 

 

Crockpots *need* all that liquid to cook over long periods of time,