Crock Pot Saves Crackpots!

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Last night we started a brand new booky ritual in our house. Crock pot and Library night. Oh my. The words make me shudder with delight just LOOKING at them. When I was a little girl, the Crock pot featured quite heavily in our dining rituals. Did you have one? Think clinky, clunky glass lid beaded with condensation. Think garish orange outer with pointy LOW/HIGH knob. Think burning desire to constantly lift lid and see if anything is happening in there. Think delicious and you’d be right on track.

For those of you mouthing ‘Crock pot’ in a bewildered manner, let me explain…

Yesterday, at 2.30pm – I packed the Crock pot with all sorts of delicious things (okay, vegetarians, there was meat in there – but pretend it says chick peas….). Like a culinary suitcase full of casseroley promise, I diced and layered for the trip ahead. I know it’s only five minutes to the Library… but we’re easily over-stimulated at our house. We need fortifying constantly, I swear, just to keep our wits about us.

So, with that in mind, I tumbled in some carrots and peas. Some potatoes and onion. Lovely purple garlic and diced lamb pieces. Tomatoes and grain mustard and herbs from the garden. Homemade tomato relish and Worcestershire sauce. Stock and sea salt and ground pepper for extra flavour. I turned the dial to HIGH and that was that. I walked away and got on with some work and the school run and things like that.

Crock pot bubbled quietly, as we headed to the Library just after 6pm. I think I might have smiled at her.

I borrowed:
‘A Spoonful of Country’ by Catherine Bragg and
‘Swatches’ by Dorsey Sitley Adler and Robert Adler

Max borrowed:
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Guitar Heroes
Degrassi Jnr High (season 3) (DVD)

Ari borrowed:
The Art of the VideoGame
Bad Buster
Winning The World Cup
Sausage and the Spooks
Dinosaur (DVD)
Springtime Fun (DVD)
The Chronicles of Narnia (DVD)

Cam borrowed:
$10 from me

Then, at around about 7pm – we left. It was just starting to spit huge bloops of rain. So we dashed back inside, asked for a plastic bag to protect the books (Gee… I forgot the Library Bags!), and headed back onto Brunswick Street. We stopped at the Asian Grocer (the one with the dancing Bok Choy on the sign) and bought some Turkish bread (go figure!) and some soft drink. We noticed the men reclining on the footpath waiting for the food van. We spotted the new window display in the mysterious new shop near the laundromat. Then we headed home. Noticing and spotting and stopping and borrowing was hungry work.

The fragrance de Crock hit as soon as we walked, (jetlagged), through the door. It was casserole-Nirvana, really. I’m not exaggerating. A small investment in lamb and vegie tumbling had resulted in the ultimate lazy-girl meal. Fantastic. Plates were rustled up, glasses distributed, lamb was served, bread was broken. Dinner was cooked to perfection and we all had two bowls full, wiping up the last morsels with the Asian-Grocer-Turkish bread. As the wind howled outside, we talked about the rain and the fires and the library and walking and things like that. We did the dishes together and headed upstairs with notebooks and DVDS and mugs of Jasmine Tea and library books. (Except for Cam. He watched Doctor Who instead.)

So I’m on my soapbox about Crock pot and Library night. It’s cheap and cheery and delicious and wholesome too. Perfect for these frugal times. Maybe you might like Crock pot and Library Night too? Why don’t you have a crack? You can do chickpeas, I swear!

xx Pip