Slow

Introduction

It came orange, bright and gaudy like an over-ripe fruit of the same name. The crockery insert, which was not removable, was a rich brown but later would become pale fawn from overuse.

That was my mother's original crock pot, circa the 1970s, Its arrival came with great excitement, as the era of the electric self-help kitchen appliances was in full swing and anything that could possibly save you time cooking for the family - even back then - was welcomed with glee, It still lives, some 25 years later, though in my brother's home now

a testament to an exceptional piece of kitchenware, And while the recipes are a little more jazzy and the smells wafting through the home are a little more fragrant and spicy, Mum's old - if not antique - crock pot is still saving time, though for another busy generation.

Our techno-filled world is packed with culinary advice for today's cooks on how to make a little go a long way, how to have more dash than cash, how to travel the culinary world from our suburban home kitchens and, yes, how to save time. But we, being humans, juxtapose this with, 'But I want to cook, be involved - well at least on some level - in preparing the day's meal.' And so it is that crock pots and slow cookers are making a well-deserved revival. It has to be the ultimate fast-food cooker really: just pile in the ingredients, flip on the switch and walk out the door. It doesn't get much quicker or easier to produce a healthy and delicious meal. Couple this with all the exciting prepared sauces, pastes and spice and herb blends that adorn our ever-growing supermarkets and the meat and poultry cuts that we can select from, and it's evident that crock pot cooking has never been so exciting nor convenient as it is today.

Slow has been an incredibly inspiring book to cook and write. The recipes are packed with flavour, and the many useful tips ensure successful slow cooking in our fast world.

Enjoy.

Allyson