SAVING TIME: CROCKPOTS

Monday, July 31, 2000

Until someone starts making scrambled eggs in a squeeze tube that are SCD compliant, one concern about this diet is time. One woman who heard about the diet remarked: "The diet sounds like a good idea, I thought about trying it, but I cannot fit so much cooking into my schedule." Although cooking may be enjoyable and stress relieving*, often it is a rushed process sandwiched between other activities. In particular, after a long work day, hunger's call may become overwhelming. As you journey home it is easy to grab a slice of pizza, buy Chinese food, or rip open a box of Pop Tarts. You know you'll feel lousy. But during that moment, when everything seems so clear, so intense, a can of Pringles doesn't seem so bad. If you have found yourself in such a situation, when you're too exhausted to cook, but you are in need of a proper meal: call your mom. If that's not an option, there's another hope. Better than a Broiler, more Satisfying than a Steamer, and Mightier than a Microwave, there's the Crockpot."

Basically the crockpot, or slow-cooker, is a large ceramic bowl which cooks food over a period of 2 to 10 hours--depending on the recipe. For at least two reasons, it's great for the working person:

• You can turn it on in the morning and have hot food ready when you return
• The crockpot makes large quantities of food. You may easily make 6 to 8 servings.

Cooking with the crockpot is simple: chop up vegetables and meat, throw them into the pot, and eat a good meal hours later. I've adapted some recipes from a tattered version of Mable Hoffman's book Crockery Cookery** and placed them in the recipe section under the heading Crockpot . Use these recipes only as a guide as and try your own combinations.

* Some may find solace in the steady chopping of vegetables. However, if you note that someone derives TOO much pleasure from this activity, you may want to stay clear.

** Since the book was printed before I was born, I believed it was no longer available. However, after already typing in many of the recipes, I found that Amazon still sells the book. Since I'm bordering on copyright infringement by posting slightly modified recipes, I recommend looking at the Crockery Cookery book (it's less than $6). Most of the recipes contain non-SCD ingredients, however, it is not hard to modify the recipes, leaving out illegal ingredients.