Crack Pot, etc.

During a recent trip to Target, I caved and bought a $20 CrockPot (It was even of the CrockPot brand!). 

As I am diving into various food cultures through restaurant trips, and as CrockPots make cooking as easy as can be, I figured it was time to try a recipe totally out of my comfort zone. Thusly, I chose a Moroccan Lamb recipe from the vast landscape known as the internet. The list of ingredients alone is intriguing - garbanzo beans, olives, cinnamon sticks, and where on earth am I going to find a lamb shank? I ended up spending a good five minutes looking around the lamb meat section at Market Basket until I finally spotted the shanks (not long after I spotted the turkey necks...ew!). All of the ingredients cost approximately $15 to $20, and the recipe served far more than two servings, as I have had to freeze part of the leftovers to be eaten when I'm no longer tired of the taste.

While we're at it, let me update you on a few more cooking adventures! With pictures!

1. BFF cooking

Mel (and Barry) and I made some excellent doughy cookies with frosting, while using a Falzone original recipe card! As Halloween was just a few days before, we watched the Simpsons and Bob's Burgers Halloween specials, both of which were fantastic.



My roommate's cat, Barry, always has to be the center of attention. And purposely sits on whatever you're looking at.








2. Thanksgivingkkah cooking

For the Living Root Dragon Boat Team Thanksgivingkkah, I made artichoke mushroom dip (was going to follow my go-to recipe, as pictured in this blog entry, but I forgot to grab spinach. The mushrooms served as a sufficient replacement, and the casserole dish was cleaned out of dip at the party!









I also attempted sour dough, a challenge that has been sitting on my list of "Things to cook" for quite some time. I made the sourdough starter (consisting of water, yeast, and flour) several days before making the bread. Each recipe I found for sourdough bread called for a "starter", which was a separate recipe entirely. On the day of the party, I made a double batch of sourdough, with another cup of starter left over for a final batch, which I will make in a few days. Inspired by the sourdough creations seen during last years dragon boating trip to San Francisco, I sculpted a sourdough dragon. The dragon and separate large loaf came out too bread-y and too salty. I'll be sure to adjust the recipe accordingly for the final batch.