playing with my toys......

Cold day yesterday, some threats of rain and (oh, boy) even snow not far away.  The perfect day to play with my "toys", the slow cooker and all of its accessories.  Today, I'm recreating a mulligatawny from my favorite nearby take-out.  An invention of the British, I'm told, mulligatawny is traditionally made with chicken and "curry powder", another British invention....and depending upon who's making it, it can be delicious.  This one's a veggie version and I'm impressed with the way it is turning out.  Very, very good...such that the neighbors are lining up at the door with bowls in their hands in eager anticipation.

Tenzo kyokun: instructions for the cook

Just watched "How to Cook Your Life", the documentary on Ed Brown, Zen priest and cook, who first gained notoriety for his role as cook at the Tassajara Zen Mountain Center in Big Sur.  Interesting.   According to Japanese Zen tradition, the head cook at a monastic community is known as the "tenzo", and his is considered to be one of six key positions in the community responsible for the spiritual awakening of the community members.  The following are some words of wisdom imparted to the cook:

"Strengthen your resolve and work whole-heartedly to surpass the monks of old and be even more thorough than those who have come before you. Do this by trying to make as fine a soup for a few cents as the ancients could make a coarse broth for the same amount."




Good advice, and timely in today's economy. Fine soup for a few cents, eh?   Let's see what I can cook up that fits the bill!  

My new favorite slow cooker

So....with the Gourmet Vegetarian Slow Cooker "put to bed" and due in the stores in March or April, I've turned my attention to another slow cooker book.  I'm trying to create recipes from simple ingredients with a minimum of prep time, but that still qualify as being something special and that don't involve the use of canned cream of mushroom soup.  And I've found new, favorite "tool":  the All Clad slow cooker with an anodized aluminum insert.  Anyone who has read my previous slow cooker books knows that I've always been a big fan of using inexpensive slow cookers that can be found at places like Home Depot, Walmart, Target and their ilk, but I'm changing my tune.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I should mention that Melissa Palmer at All Clad sent me the "latest model" in which to test my recipes, but I didn't expect to fall in love!  One of the perks of the All Clad is that the anodized aluminum insert is designed for use on the stovetop as well as in the slow cooker.  This cuts short the complaints I hear from people about having to use too many pots.  I've taken to browning onions and garlic, for instance, right on the top of the stove, then moving the insert into its casing and finishing the dish in the slow cooker.  Very convenient, but with an added and unexpected perk:  the cleanup is amazing.  The insert is probably the easiest piece of cookware I've ever cleaned.  I have to work a little harder at the stainless steel casing because, well, it is after all, stainless steel.

If you can afford to splurge and you do a lot of slow cooking, I'd spring for this one!  And if not, I'd still be happy with the inexpensive slow cookers from one of those big stores because they do the job....just not with quite the same panache as the shiny, slick new All Clad.

holiday treats

S'nearly Christmas and I awoke this morning with a new resolve:  next year I'm going to throw a party featuring some stuff that is actually healthy.  Stuff that will feel like a treat, but that won't leave you groaning on overload and lumbering home like a cow.  Come to think of it, I went to a press reception at the Grand Del Mar the other night and they had exactly the kind of stuff I'm talking about, stationed at intervals around their beautiful spa.  Small station with freshly made hummus and raw veggies.  Now that's healthy, right?  'Nother station with beautifully fresh sushi.  'Nother station with nuts and artisan cheeses.  (The way I figure, artisan cheeses don't count as calories, right?)  'Nother station with drinks and sparkling water (hellooo...this should be an automatic at every party...good water....not everyone wants to slosh around in the sauce).  And oops....a station with the real "goods"....mango mousse, raspberry laced panna cotta, and good ol' chocolate chippers.   I'll add some kind of soup from the slow cooker, perhaps my new favorite, Asian Black Bean.  Yessir, next year'll be different.

and now on amazon.com.....

Finally figured out how to connect my gourmetslowcooker.blogspot.com to my amazon.com author page.  Although past posts will only be reflected on my blogspot and not on amazon, everything from here on in will be on amazon!  Just in time to promote the latest of my slowcooker books:  The Gourmet Vegetarian Slow Cooker, due in the bookstores in March.