The Crock Pot In Summer

Should you employ cold weather cooking methods and techniques during the dogs days of summer?In most instances the answer would be no. However there is the crock pot. It actually is a blessing during these steamy days.

I discovered this over the weekend when I  used mine to make homemade sauce. I don't create elaborate sauces when the temps rise. Salsa crudo, made with fresh tomatoes, garlic and basil is more apt for a summer meal of spaghetti or penne. Yet it does make sense to use a crock pot during the hottest times of the year. There's no standing by a hot stove , stirring sauce in an even hotter pot. It's just adding the ingredients and adjusting the temps for a long or short cook. it was perfect. it was just check every hour with a quick stir and taste and then go on to other things. The sauce was perfect and a nice treat after  jarred sauces on pasta. Can you make other summer time recipes in a crock pot or even an Insta Pot? Yes ! The one recipe I'd love to try is ratatouille. This can be made either on a stove top or even baked in an oven. I've had both and they're both delicious. A crock pot version. Now , that's intriguing. It's all about the layering, as it is with the oven kind.There are the same ingredients except with the puzzling addition of sugar. I would just add honey, as I do with the sauce and chili.

Of course you really can't make hot dogs and burgers in a  crock pot but you can make a chili sauce that would work well with both. It's taking tomato sauce and brown sugar and slow cooking it with vinegar and allspice. There's also the addition of ground beef ( you can make a vegan version for soy dogs. Just use Gardein's soy crumbles) and cayenne to spike it.Remember crock pots are great for making soups. Think a summer one when barbecue becomes tiresome. Add the  bounty of the season such as zucchini, fresh corn,along with fresh tomatoes and bell peppers, onions and eggplant. The base is vegetable stock which can be home made or from those Ox Eye bouillon cubes. Your crock pot can also help with all those tomatoes your garden has been yielding up. Use it to make home made sauce for the fall and winter dinners ahead. Vary it with some fresh picked basil. Also use the tomatoes for fresh made tomato soup. The crock pot is ideal for it. You'll have a perfectly cooked soup while you sit in the sun with a cool drink.

Use your crock pot during these hot days. It provides hot meals while letting you enjoy a few laps in the pool or an afternoon sunning. This is the way summer cooking should be  no sweat literally.