True Confessions

I ordered another crockpot. It's already shipped.

Why is that a true confession? Because I already have three. And four pressure cookers. And a rice cooker. And money is extremely tight.

I'm working through the cookbook Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Recipes for Two. She recommends a 1.5 qt cooker for some things. (She suggests an oval, but I couldn't find one.)

I recognized that sometimes I don't eat well just because everything seems like a big deal. I wait too long, then it's too late to start. I'm working on a food plan -- no, it's really more of an approach, a philosophy -- along the lines of "small is more."

I think when most people think about cutting down effort in the kitchen we think of cooking big: once a month cooking, or make three/freeze two, or making a huge batch and freezing individual meals. That approach got me through grad school, but it's not working for me now, and I suspect I'm not the only one.

I happen to be sick and tired, but there are others who are simply busy, engaged in life.

Cooking big means buying big, prepping big, cleaning up big. I just don't have the energy. It also means having to eat a lot of whatever you make. Cooking small, however... I can peel one carrot, saute one onion, wash one pan. Then I can pop the crock in the dishwasher, eat leftovers for a day and start over.

I'm hoping that the smaller crock will be less of a mental obstacle, that instead of being put off by the thought of "dragging out the crockpot" I'll instead see it more along the lines of pulling a dish out of the cupboard.

So, I'm working towards a plan involving components from several schemes developed by others.

And the other tools I mentioned? I use all of my pressure cookers except the one that was my grandmother's. I keep that for sentimental reasons, but I use the second generation ones. I use my rice cooker, but the parts don't go in the dishwasher. I use my largest crockpot whenever I cook beans from scratch. I plan to experiment with the broth from scratch that I currently make in my largest pressure cooker. That gives me ingredients, though. I haven't been using the crockpots to put a healthy meal on the table.