Wrangling Cheeky Monkeys and Other Noble Pursuits: Make It Fast

Monday, November 8, 2010

I have an unnatural attachment. . . .

. . . to my crock pot.
Oh, I love it so.

The crock pot has changed my life. When Little arrived, I had NO IDEA how I was ever going to feed my family EVER AGAIN. I relied on the kindness of friends to feed us for two months, but then I realized that I needed to get back in the game. And my ace in the hole? The tool that would see me through?

YE OLD CROCK POT. OR TWO.

Tandem crock pots. Bliss!

I have a good friend, we'll call him Mr. Pleased as Punch, who derides crock pot cooking. He even has a crock pot vocabulary---beef in the crock pot is BARF. Chicken---CHARF. He is certainly NOT Pleased as Punch when he is served food from these vessels of joy, claiming it all tastes the same. I am here to proclaim. . . . NOT SO! NOT SO!! This is not your mother's crock pot cooking!

This changed everything.

This book, and Stephanie's fabulous blog, allowed me to get dinner on the table again. And, due to the variety, spices, and inventive ingredients, not a

CHARF

BARF

has been had.

Come to my house sometime! I will make you something hot, delicious, and slow-cooked, baby.

The Wrangler's Reading List

Your One Year Old (two year old, three year old, etc.) series. (There is a book for each age. Has helped me understand my children better as they grow).
When a Crocodile Eats the Sun: A Memoir of Africa by Peter Godwin (The best memoir I have read in a VERY long time. And I read a lot of memoir).
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. (I've read this at five distinct points in my life and have learned something new EVERY SINGLE TIME.)
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin (This little gem was a timely recommendation from a very good friend. I have put a lot of its tenets into practice, and will confess that it has improved my overall happiness).
The Discipline Book by Dr. William Sears
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austin
Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child. Thanks, Julia, for teaching me how to bake french bread. My family thanks you as well.
Make It Fast, Cook It Slow by Stephanie O'Dea
Anne Lamott. ANYTHING she writes. I love how she is reverently irreverant.
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
1,2,3 Magic by the man, whose name I have forgotten, who wrote about how to put this very intuitive and yet magical parenting technique into practice. Wish I had thought of that. I also wish I had invented those Silly Bandz that turn children into rabid Silly Bandz-collecting dogs. Ah, well.