The Easy Way to Make Some Old Favorites
When you were a child, did you enjoy the food that Granny cooked? Many of us have wholesome memories of the special dishes that only Granny knew how to make. When we grew up, we would have loved to be able to make the same kinds of foods for our own children and grandchildren. Sadly, though, the demands of modern life appear to have made this almost impossible.
Granny, in her day, dedicated her life to her home. While her husband was at work, Granny stayed at home and looked after the children. She changed and washed diapers and made sure that the house was clean. And a main part of the warm and loving home life that she produced was delicious meals.
Today’s mothers lead very different lives. Most women in the western world go out to work. Many homes are run by single moms, and with all of the responsibilities that this involves, there is little time to make elaborate, delicious meals like Granny. But this seems to be a shame. So how can you provide food just like Granny did to your children while you are on the run?
The answer is the crock pot. This useful kitchen utensil allows you to prepare food quickly and easily, just throwing it into the pot and letting it cook, rather than making loads of saucepans and baking trays dirty. There’s little preparation involved – but the food tastes just as great!
And don’t worry crock pot recipes can provide all of the traditional tastes of classical meals. For example, one of the most time honored of these recipes is cholent – a meal traditionally eaten by European Jews on the Sabbath day. (Oriental Jews have a similar recipe, known as chamin.) The idea was to put a pot of chicken, potatoes, onions, beans and carrots on the flame before the Sabbath, a time when cooking is prohibited, and then it could be eaten the next day after it cooked slowly.
This recipe is easily adapted to the crock pot, and it tastes as delicious as ever! And you don’t have to be Jewish to enjoy it! Similarly, if you are of Irish ancestry, how about making an Irish stew just like Granny did? All you would need to put inside the pot is: lamb, salt, pepper, water, a bay leaf, carrots, onions, potatoes, and peas (which should be added during the last hour) and let it cook for hours. The end result is so good that you will think that you are back in County Donegal with Granny (even if you were never there and all your “memories” were really hers!)
And if you are looking for a Chinese meal, how about traditional sweet and sour chicken? All you need to throw into the pot are carrots, pieces of chicken, crushed red pepper flakes, sweet and sour sauce, a can of pineapple chunks, and stir fry vegetables (both of these last items should be added an hour before the end). Once this is done, serve with rice.
Whether you are Jewish, Asian or Irish, a crock pot allows you to enjoy some traditional magic without any of the hard work that Granny had to do!
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