Link the Loot!

So once again I am a year older. Time to celebrate and ponder on the year past, the year to come. More accurately though, time to have drinks and good food with family and friends and be amazed at how people will ignore your requests to not buy presents and present (haha) you with such insightful gifts you can't help but love them more.

Some of the pressies I'll be playing with in earnest soon are my new coffee grinder, a head-to-head battle between my old wine aerator spout and new decanter, and in May, a review of Kinect Star Wars (oh yes - besties are called such for a reason!).

Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be clearing counter and cupboard space for the new additions.

Nice and slow

There is one appliance, I have decided, that I will never be without in my kitchen - ever! My lovely, trusty, sometimes dusty slow cooker. Seriously people, this little contraption has changed the way I approach winter cooking (who am I kidding, summer cooking too).

I've always been a fan of casseroles and stews but couldn't be bothered to get them done on the stovetop because I would invariably burn them. Why not use the oven you ask? Well apart from my single deep oven tray (that's mainly used for oven baked chips) I have no oven friendly crockpots. Enter the slow cooker (cue fanfare).

There really is nothing quite like waking up in the morning to an apartment smelling of delicious stew. It really is an Olympian feat of self control to stop oneself digging in for breakfast. Or if you're somewhat less of a masochist, you fill it up in the morning and come home from work to an apartment smelling of delicious stew. Pure bliss.

As lazy a cook as I am when I'm by myself, this has been an absolute pleasure to work with these past two years. Throw everything into the pot, top up with stock and forget for the next 4-8 hours. It doesn't get easier than that. So far I've used it for the ubiquitous stews and casseroles, samp and beans, and to expedite the preparation my most absolute favourite dish in world - dhal gosht!

I'm no expert (yet) at the finer nuances of slow cooker seasoning. There have been some horrible experiences with peppery stews, tannin heavy and herb laced casseroles. The one thing I have learned from the past two years, is that less is more. Slow cooking requires a delicate touch and subtlety when it comes to mixing flavours and spices. A heavy hand can ruin hours of anticipation.

There is more I have to experience with my slow cooker - pot roasts and pseudo-tagines for example. But as the mornings start getting colder and the leaves start falling, I think I'll stick to the tried and tested. Soups up!