I've always loved a good slow-cook, but this...this right here...feels different.
Digital Updates
But before we hop into slow cooking a quick update. I've been whittling down my virtual existence, again. I had to go cold-turkey on some things. For instance, I have deactivated most accounts. My exit from Instagram has been consistent for about two weeks. I will activate my account (if I remember the password) when I'm ready to engage. Then I will deactivate it when I'm not - much like my FB account. Facebook has been deactivated weekly for quite some time now. I log on many Sundays for church and to participate in groups that I'm in.
As far as the phone, I have at least four hours (most days) that I cut it off. There are no rules nor expectations here, though, I'm just trying to get quiet enough to hear and submit to that gentle whisper.*
Cooking Slowly & Sweet Memories
That said, clearing my mind, schedule, and using less energy has also spilled into my cooking routine. I've always been a fan of the slow cooker as my way to slowly:
cook delicious food
keep me disciplined to eat at home
make cooking easier
reduce pans and pots
lessen water use (cleaning)
increase the flavor profile of a food
use less electricity than an oven
fool-proof recipes
decrease time spent cooking.
But here lately, the slow cooker, cooking over an open fire and the smoker, have also been a way to give my Mister the dinner-reigns. Recently Mike went with my father to purchase a smoker/grill situation. Slow cooking allows for Mike to spend ten minutes to season, allow marination to happen, and then place our food over the fire and sit outside and allow it to take its time. He is able to work and create, he's not restricted to timelines or strict rules.
To see him in his apron, seasoning his smoker-goodness is heart-warming (to say the least). Having him plan the meal based on his market-finds leaves me so much brain space. I'm potentially witnessing a new-found passion that we can share.
Hearing Mike gush about food has been reinvigorating. And let's not even talk about the smiles that span from ear to ear when my boys engage in the planning, the shopping, and the bragging with daddy at dinner time.
And then there is the smell... oh the smell that wafts through our home.
It's the kind of aroma that lives beyond the moment. I've walked into scents and been carried right back to a place, a person, a lovely memory. That's what the slow-cooker, smoker, open fire, and slow bakes are doing for me in this season. They feel like "memory-creators" - and I feel beyond blessed to be mindful enough to take them in through the eyes of my heart.*
Polepole, Friends.
Shelby
PS For Shelby's Slow Cooked Chilli recipe, click here (2011)
Meditative & Affirmative Scriptures:
*gentle whisper - " After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper." -1 Kings 19:12
*eyes of my heart - Open the eyes of their hearts, and let the light of Your truth flood in. Shine Your light on the hope You are calling them to embrace. Reveal to them the glorious riches You are preparing as their inheritance. - Ephesians 1:18
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