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BS: Crockpot recommendations
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Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot recommendations From: Little Hawk Date: 18 Feb 06 - 01:20 AM I am happy to report that I got the ricemaker at Home Depot, as Raptor had suggested, and it works great! That was the easiest rice prep I have ever experienced in my life. On to the crockpots! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot recommendations From: Joe Offer Date: 18 Feb 06 - 03:38 AM I don't think I'd want to make pea soup or lentil soup without a crockpot. I had 4-quart pot from Hamilton Beach, but I like the new 6-quart pot I have from Rival much better. The Rival cooks just above the boiling point, and the Hamilton Beach pot didn't quite boil when it was on low - so the Rival cooks more soup, faster. My recipe for pea or lentil soup is a great way to clean out the refrigerator:
5 carrots 3-5 stalks of celery 1 medium to large onion 1 large potato 2 bay leaves 10 peppercorns diced ham, unless my wife if being vegetarian Chop everything up and throw it in the pot. Fill the pot with water, to about half an inch below the top. Cook on low 10-24 hours, mix with electric mixer before serving. I rarely use my crockpot for anything else, but it sure is good for pea or lentil soup. -Joe- |
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Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot recommendations From: Gurney Date: 18 Feb 06 - 04:11 AM I'm just repeating gossip, but... Crockpots went out of fashion here when the rumour went around that some microbes weren't killed by the lower temperatures. Nasty ones, too. Facts I can't supply, but there are microbes living in BOILING hot springs locally. Not that that matters, unless you get your water from a hot spring. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot recommendations From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 18 Feb 06 - 07:17 AM Ingesting microbes itself is not necessarily bad for the health - only those that are bad for health. Hmmm... "All life's a circle.." Now it's a music thread! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot recommendations From: Stilly River Sage Date: 18 Feb 06 - 10:02 AM Dark cold gloomy day here in Texas. Perfect crock pot weather! Putter around the house all day smelling something simmering away. What will it be? Little Hawk, do you only make plain rice in the rice maker, or can you make seasoned rice and rice with other stuff (chunks of meat, veggies, etc) in it also? I've never even looked inside one to see what they look like. How does it operate? SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot recommendations From: Clinton Hammond Date: 18 Feb 06 - 02:28 PM "some microbes weren't killed" You're covered in microbes right now... "I avoid ziplock bags" Ziplock bags ROCK! "can you make seasoned rice and rice with other stuff" We season our rice in ours all the time... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot recommendations From: Little Hawk Date: 18 Feb 06 - 03:18 PM You could cook other stuff in with the rice, Stilly. I don't see why not. Anyway, there is an upper steam tream that you can place above the pot that holds the rice. While the rice cooks in the lower pot (which is heated from underneath by an element) the steam rises through the perforated steam tray and can be used to cook vegetables, meat, whatever...you just have to time it right and not overdo them. The steam tray can be used alone, sitting on top of the empty pot, into which you put sufficient water to provide enough steam. Very easy. Here's one on Ebay, shown with the steamer tray on top of the pot. rice cooker |
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Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot recommendations From: Little Hawk Date: 18 Feb 06 - 03:40 PM There are a whole lot of microbes that we need in our systems to stay healthy. One of the problems of the modern diet is that we don't eat enough "live" food (meaning uncooked and unprocessed). Live food such as fresh fruits and vegetables has plenty of microbes on and in it. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot recommendations From: Clinton Hammond Date: 18 Feb 06 - 03:45 PM The more food I eat raw, the more food I WANT to eat raw.... Cooking kills flavour |
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Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot recommendations From: Little Hawk Date: 18 Feb 06 - 03:48 PM I agree wholeheartedly. More raw food is great. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot recommendations From: Clinton Hammond Date: 18 Feb 06 - 04:00 PM So what's that? Two things we can agree on? One more and we win a prize no? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot recommendations From: DougR Date: 18 Feb 06 - 06:07 PM I'm with Clinton on the plastic bags. I think they are great. Joe: Looks like a great recipe. I'm gonna try it. I love pea soup. One can make a pretty good gumbo in a crockpot too, as well as Clam Chowder (both flavors). DougR |
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Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot recommendations From: Jeremiah McCaw Date: 19 Feb 06 - 04:22 AM Stilly River Sage: Oddly enough, I just read today about rice cookers (newspaper cooling column). Apparently there's a temperature sensor inside. When the rice has fully absorbed the water, its temperature will start to increase above the boiling point and the the cooker switches off automatically. Ingenious. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot recommendations From: Stilly River Sage Date: 19 Feb 06 - 10:55 AM It took me a long time to figure out that if I cooked rice in a wider shallower pan (but not so shallow as a skillet) it comes out drier and less sticky than if it is cooked in a deeper narrow pan. I grew up with a mother who cooked a lot but never made really great rice. It was the Puerto Rican ex who insisted on certain standards in rice cooking that improved that grain in my household. Some of the recipes I make with rice involve many steps and complex ingredients. I just wonder to what level one can take the rice steamer? Is it such that you could add onion, herbs, or meat before or during the process? SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot recommendations From: WFDU - Ron Olesko Date: 19 Feb 06 - 11:39 AM I used my Rival Crockpot BBQ Pit yesterday to make some of the best brisket I have ever made. (Modesty aside for the moment). It came out really moist and tender, and I was very happy! I placed the brisket in a plastic ziplock bag with my secret marinade, to which I added two teaspoons of liquid smoke. I found a really good hickory liquid smoke from Wrights. It is all natural with only water and smoke - no ingredients like salt, soy and chemicals that other brands add. It was really tasty. My daughter thinks it is rather odd to have a mini-BBQ setup on the kitchen counter (It does look like a baby version of the outdoor pit), but she loved the results. Tomorrow... BBQ chicken! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot recommendations From: Little Hawk Date: 19 Feb 06 - 11:59 AM If you add stuff during the process, Stilly, you would probably have to add a little more water too to replace the lost steam. You could certainly add onions and other herbs prior to the process. Vegetables, though, would mostly get overcooked in the time it took to do the rice. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot recommendations From: gnu Date: 19 Feb 06 - 12:03 PM LH! Just in time! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot recommendations From: Stilly River Sage Date: 19 Feb 06 - 12:38 PM Nifty! Before cold-weather camping we would sometimes make a batch of split pea soup to take with us. Heated up first thing in the morning it was a marvelous start to the day. So many campgrounds come with plugs near the table that you can probably take the regular crock pot camping, though you'd want to place it in a box or some enclosure to keep it from losing too much heat out the sides while it's trying to cook. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot recommendations From: Llanfair Date: 19 Feb 06 - 03:50 PM So what's all this about the "British" taste??? We don't use crockpots as much here, because we have the Rayburn/Aga/Esse cooker. Mine heats the house, dries the washing, bakes and roasts in the top oven, and slow cooks in the bottom one. The bottom oven also dries fruit slices, herbs,whatever, and the hotplate on top does what all good hotplates do. It's warm enough to prove bread on the hotplate cover. Mind you, it has to earn it's keep, the oil(kerosene?) that runs it costs a bomb!!!! Cheers, Bron. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot recommendations From: Jeremiah McCaw Date: 19 Feb 06 - 04:29 PM Well, here I am, after all this discussion, realizing that I haven't slow cooked since I moved here (Brantford, Ontario) 7 years ago! I believe both my cookers might be in the basement in the 'storage' boxes. But damn it, I deserve a new one. I was leaning toward the Rival Smart thingie, but I've just found another product I'm probably going to try. I think it's about $20 less than the Rival. Okay, we're talking Canada here, folks. I was in a Zehrs grocery store today and found a "family size" slow cooker by Presidents Choice. Digital timer, 3 heat settings plus 'keep warm', 5.7 litre capacity (I did want a 6.5l, but . . .) $39.99 (Canadian, don't forget.) Take a look, if you wish - here . I've been impressed with the President's Choice food line; I'm willing to take a chance on their appliances (even a 'Made in China' one). Ain't buying until month's end, but I'll seek out this thread an report. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot recommendations From: Stilly River Sage Date: 19 Feb 06 - 10:02 PM Looks like a nice one, and the settings make sense. This is your research project. Please report back! SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot recommendations From: number 6 Date: 19 Feb 06 - 10:07 PM Jeremiah ... Presidient's Choice appliances do seem to be of good quality. I do believe though, they are going down hill somewhat with some of their food products. sIx |
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Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot recommendations From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 20 Feb 06 - 08:29 AM You will never be able to get the Vice President's range of lines - thay are Top Secret. |
