I purchased a Crock-Pot

For quite some months now, I've frequently experienced wanting another large pot. There are many times when the one large pot that we had was already in use for something like soup. And then I'd want to cook some pasta, but none of the other pots we have are quite large enough. I recall one time, as a last-resort, getting out our wok and boiling some pasta in it.

Recently, too, I've frequently made stews and chilis for Sabbath lunch, but the problem is that I can't just leave the pot on the burner and keep it going while we're at church. So it has to be placed in the refrigerator, meaning a huge amount has to be reheated later; or I just leave the pot sitting out and hope that there aren't too many bacteria multiplying during church.

I've been eyeing a Crock-Pot slow-cooker for a number of weeks now as a pretty good solution to the two big dilemmas I've been facing. I finally broke down today and brought one home. It's a nice, big 6-qt. unit. We don't really want yet another counter top appliance, but I think this one will get quite a bit of use.

I tried it out this evening to make some yam and carrot cream soup. I didn't really measure anything, so measurements below are approximate.

Yam and Carrot Cream Soup

Ingredients

1. 1 small onion, roughly chopped
2. 1 large yam (about 1 to 1-1/2 lb.), peeled and 1" diced
3. 1/2 to 1 lb. carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
4. 2 average sized russet potatoes, peeled and 1" diced
5. 2 cups vegetable stock
6. 1 tsp. salt, plus more to taste
7. 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
8. 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
9. 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
10. Hot water as needed
11. 1/2 cup whipping cream

Directions

• Combine ingredients from onions down to nutmeg (nos. 1 through 9) in a slow cooker. Cook until vegetables are soft (about 4 hours on high, 7 hours on low).
• Using an immersion blender, puree the vegetables.
• If the mixture seems too thick, add hot water until consistency is to your liking. Add the cream. Stir to combine well. Continue to cook for another 10 to 15 minutes.