The Crock-Pot: A College Necessity

My roommate and I have quite a few things in common--our love of running, our obsession with Enrique Iglesias, our major and even our name. Where these two Sarahs differ is in the kitchen. While I live for trying out new recipes, she avoids food that requires more than a zap in the microwave. And when I reach for a sweet pint of chocolate ice cream to snack on, she grabs herself a bowl of savory steamed rice.

Clearly, our tastes differ. Despite her lack of enthusiasm for cooking, and for sugary treats, she does seem to find her way to the kitchen while I am making dinner. She asks questions—a lot of questions—about what I am doing, and how I do it. I enjoy teaching her, but I ran out of patience when she asked if we could decorate my tray of homemade brownies with glitter.

Glitter?

We were baking, not bedazzling a pair of jeans. Needless to say, I had to come up with a few rules for her being in the kitchen while I am cooking. Our number one condition? Don’t touch anything.

Although we have different ideas of acceptable kitchen behavior, she can whip up some really tasty stuff on her own. Her secret to cooking dinner without having to actually cook, and without driving me crazy, is a Crock-Pot.

A Crock-Pot is the “hot damn” of cooking utensils. Coming home to a Crock-Pot meal that your roommate prepared is like finding a 5-dollar bill in your pocket—an unexpected thrill that goes a long way. Designed to cook food over a long period of time, Crock-Pots can be left alone while you are away at class for the day. Simply toss your ingredients inside, cover, and set to the desired temperature. Be careful not to set the temp too high because it can boil over and cause a mess. Our Crock-pot seems to heat up hotter than what is required for certain recipes, so we use a lower temperature for some dishes. Soups are a great Crock-Pot item, and it is something that you can pair up with a sandwich or salad a few days later as a great leftover.

So me and my roommate don’t always eat or cook the same way. To each his own, right? Besides, the pork and sauerkraut that she and her Crock-Pot cook up is good enough to make me forget that she doesn’t like chocolate. I’m keeping an open mind. And watching out for glitter.