Looking at the Crock Pot

I was talking to Sparky about using the crockpot more often and quizzing him on meals he would like to have next week. I make a weekly menu to assist in using foods efficiently and making grocery shopping less random. Lord have mercy! I think my computer and phone are spying on me. Soon after the conversation ended a bunch of crockpot videos appeared in my Facebook feed along with ads for a multitude of instant pot/crock pot combination appliances! That in itself is disconcerting. But what pushed me over the edge were the recipes for the crockpot. How lazy can you get to make crockpot sloppy Joes. It takes only 10 minutes to brown the hamburger and add the seasonings to make a decent sloppy Joe. Why would I need to spend 20 minutes loading everything into a crockpot to cook for 8 hours (not to mention the clean up time)!?!? Another one was crockpot macaroni and cheese. Really. It boggles the mind. And then the latest issue of one of the many random magazines that just appear in my mailbox featured – you guessed it, crockpot recipes! The recipes were interesting but not ones I’ll probably ever make. There was “Big Vegetable Stew” which was made with whole plum tomatoes, cannellini beans, Italian green beans, lots of onion and spices usually found in spaghetti sauce. I didn’t get the “Big” vegetables part. The “Beef and Carrot Tagine” sounded good but Sparky would never eat it because in addition to the carrots and beef in a tomato-based broth there are raisins. Then there was the “Brothy Sichuan Chicken” which looked like a fancy Ramen noodle dish. Why would you need to make that in a crockpot? (shakes head in disbelief)

In response to this I’ve penned this haiku:
We long for slow food
A fast food revolution
Makes slow cookers fast