Slow Is The New Fast

Guest Article

Note: The author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of RetoxMagazine.com

Time is a precious commodity and it can pass in the blink of an eye. With the pressures of modern life eating into what little free time we have available, any tips that can help free up a little time to spend relaxing and indulging oneself are usually very welcome.

When it comes to cooking however, fast was not always the best option; microwave meals may be quick to cook and provide basic sustenance, but they are hardly the most nutritious or tasty foods available.

Help is at hand however, and from the unlikeliest of sources; for as paradoxical as it may sound, a slow cooker may just be the ticket to producing delicious, hearty and tasty family meals quickly, without having to spend hours in the kitchen.

The key to using a slow cooker to help cut the amount of time spent cooking in the kitchen is preparation and planning. Careful planning and meticulous preparation will go a long way towards making your life in the kitchen much simpler. The first consideration for any person thinking about using their slow cooker to expand their culinary horizons, is to select which types of delicious slow cooker recipes will be most appreciated by their family.

There are plenty of outstanding dishes to choose from which are ideally suited to the slow cooking technique. Whether it is creating the delicious sauce for a hearty family based spaghetti Bolognese, adding a little spice to your life by slow cooking a rich, spicy chilli con carne there is a wide range of different meals you can cook that are quick to create, simple to make yet delicious to taste.

Of course, your culinary journey need not stop with creating the beautiful base sauces that are the cornerstone of many popular home dishes. There are some exciting slow cooker recipes for more complex dishes, such as hot pot, stew, various flavour-filled curries and even exotic dishes from around the globe, such as lasagne or moussaka.

Once you have selected the dish of your choice, then it is simply a case of doing the necessary preparation. Ideally this can be done the night before or during the morning and you can prepare your ingredients carefully to place in your slow cooker. Once completed, you can then set the timer on your appliance and head off to work, safe in the knowledge that when it comes to dinner, your dish will be cooked to perfection and ready for you to serve at the ideal time.

If your dish is being served with rice, potatoes, vegetables or pasta, these items can be quickly prepared while you are putting the final touches to your main dish. This allows you to provide your family with a hearty, slow-cooked meal that is packed with goodness, flavour and taste, yet which has taken the minimum amount of time to prepare and cook.

With more pressure on our time than ever before, it is important that we allow technology to speed up the day-to-day tasks that are unavoidable. Well-prepared meals and delicious slow cooked recipes however, turn what was a teatime chore, into a simple culinary delight.