As A Soccer Mum Embarking On A New Season I've Been Checking Out Slow Cookers

I've decided I need a slow cooker.

This is how it went last year.

Tuesday, prepare dinner for B2, G1, G2 and dad during day. Pick up G1 & G2 from school at 2:45. Get home 3:00. B1 arrives home from school at 3:30. Prepare three after school snacks. B2 arrives home from school at 4:30. Get him fed. Depart for soccer training for B1 at 4:45. B2, G1 & G2 watch TV until dad arrives home at 6:00. Arrive home from soccer training with B1 at 9:00 after dinner at McDonalds. You know, a slow cooker would be good to have.

Wednesday, pick up G1 & G2 from school at 2:45. Dash home for quick snack then take them to piano lessons at 3:30. Go home and prepare dinner as well as afternoon snack for B2 who makes his own way to piano lessons. Pack his soccer training gear and toasted sandwich and head out to pick the three of them up at 5:00. Instruct B2 to eat sandwich quickly and get changed in car en route to soccer training at 5:30. Take G1 & G2 home, finish getting dinner ready then return to park to pick up B2 at 7:00. I wish I had a slow cooker.

Thursday, replay Tuesday.

Friday, pick up G1 & G2 from dance class at 4:00pm. Go home get them fed and changed for soccer training at 5:00pm. Dash home to start dinner with instructions for B1 & B2. Return to park to pick up G1 & G2 at 6:00.

Weekend, wall to wall soccer games for four kids plus getting B1 to refereeing duties.

This year I am going to get myself a slow cooker. So, what will I get. I've never had one before. And I love making soups and curries and stews and casseroles and pot roasts and all those delectable well-flavoured rich gravy type of meals.

So I've been looking around and I came across the Cuisinart. They seem to do the job really well. The features that are important in a slow cooker for me are firstly the size. It has to be big enough to feed our family of six plus extra. Extra for leftovers. Extra for when we have visitors. Extra for when I want to do something large like lamb shanks.

It has to be programmable. I need to be able to put it on in the morning and it will be ready that night.

And it needs to have a good keep warm setting. Not a keep on cooking setting. Sometimes we don't all eat at the same time. There may be a one to two hour gap between when the first and last people eat.

Here are some of the slow cookers I looked at.

Really Good Coffee At Home

Today was all about waiting. Waiting almost an hour to get a pathology test done. Waiting to see what the weather might do before committing to hanging the washing out. Waiting for phone messages to be returned. Putting my name down on a list while we wait to see if there is enough interest to run a night class. Waiting with my son to see the doctor. Waiting for my daughter's dance class to finish. The waiting might have been easier during some of these activities if I had a good cup of coffee. Sadly, our local and arguably best for miles around, coffee shop had to close its doors a few months back as the building which housed it was to be demolished for a highway widening project. This leaves a gaping hole in the available coffee facilities in the area. There is another but there are a number of reasons why it is far less appealing than the one which we have lost.


So a decision must be made. Do we forgo coffee completely? After all, it is not just the really good coffee which is missed but the company which usually could be found there as well. As school mums we would often drop in and invariably find a companion to take coffee and chat with. It seems that with the demise of our favourite coffee place has also gone an important social outlet. This is something that we will need to work out over time but in the meantime is the important coffee question. For myself, I have been settling for tea. I do have in my kitchen cupboard, an assortment of coffee making paraphernalia. Until recently, I had a dripolator or filter coffee maker but eventually decided that it took up way too much space in my cupboard for an object which was never used because of the less than satisfactory output. I passed this on to my sister-in-law. I do still have my plunger and my caffetiere. The plunger is a 4 cup job so I don't use it when it is just for me. It really only gets used when I have people over. The caffetiere I have never mastered and am always disappointed with the end result. So I make myself a good strong tea.


Not so long ago I came across a wonderful new product which seems to answer all my wishes. It is called the AeroPress and it is quite an amazing item. It processes the coffee using steam and pressure and the coffee that results is rich and not at all bitter. To add to this is the price. This is an incredibly well priced device. This handy little appliance takes up very little space in my cupboard and I am not restricted in the choice of coffee I can use. What a great find!

 

Coffee Utensils From Amazon