I'm going to lose my mind any minute now

[magical thyme]

Somebody posted somewhere last week about how they slow cook barbeque southern style ribs, with pics. It looked so fabulous and I had just bought some ribs on sale. So mine are in the crockpot now. They smell so good I'm dying to eat them. But I got a late start today, so I have 3 more hours to go. this is so unfair.

[taterguy]

1. You can borrow mine

I'm not using it right now.

[magical thyme]

2. I can borrow your what? You have barbeque ribs for loan?

[taterguy]

3. My mind

If I had ribs they'd be destined for my belly.

[magical thyme]

4. oh, I get it. Thank you.

I'll let you know if I need it. Which I may any time now. Dayum those ribs smell goooood.

[fizzgig]

5. the slow torture of crock pot cooking

just keep in mind how awesome it will be when you finally get to eat.

[monmouth3]

6. That was me last week. A three pound fryer chicken with carrots, onions and celery and

chicken broth topped with salt, pepper and basil. It was torture but well worth the wait...

[magical thyme]

7. my mind is officially lost

I actually tried to quell the hunger pangs with 3 haddock fishsticks drenched in ketchup. Or catsup. Or whatever.

It didn't work. I'm now shoveling in a sweet potato from my garden, dripping in butter.

It's not working.

[csziggy]

8. A worse thing to do - slow cook a pork roast over night

I buy pork butt roasts when on sale, slow cook them and make pulled pork. The other day I got one and forgot to start it in the morning. I remembered at about 8 PM so started it anyway.

I dreamed of food all night. Woke up at 4 AM and had to eat something. Woke again at 7 AM and wanted to eat again!

I turned it off at 7, let it cool until I could handle it, then took the chunks of meat that had fallen off the bone, shredded it and put in containers. Five containers, froze four and the other one made dinner for my husband and I for several days.

I may cook the next one at night too - aside from the delicious smell making me hungry all nice, it was easier to prepare for storage in the morning than late at night.

[magical thyme]

9. I already suffer from insomnia, so that make sleep impossible!

But I like the idea of prepping the storage in the morning. I had to stay up late last night waiting for the stuff to cool enough to put in the freezer. And I didn't want to deal with the pot, so now I have a pot full of hard lard.

[csziggy]

11. Another insomniac here

But since I'm retired I use that time to get things done. It was easier when my husband worked nights - I just flipped my schedule to fit his. Now I can't do things at night that would wake him up, but I get a lot done while he's sleeping!

Sometimes when I've cooked things in the slow cooker during the day, I let it cool down some, then stick it in the refrigerator. But I have to plan ahead so there is room. When I'm using the slow cooker to make large quantities, I use the large crock - I have a Hamilton Beach that has three different size crocks so I can fit whatever amount I'm cooking. That large crock takes a lot of space so I have empty out a big section in the fridge. Then everything is cold and I can just lift the solidified fat off the top.

That reminds me - my next crock pot session needs to be stew - but I haven't seen beef on sale recently. Maybe next time I go to Costco or the food co-op I will look for grass fed beef and try it. It's expensive, but with stew, I stretch it a very long way.

[magical thyme]

12. I'm not normally an insomniac...it's my work schedule

2nd shift makes it harder for me to fall asleep, especially the boring/frustrating call center job.

And full moons. I use my sunroom as my bedroom, which is wonderful to wake up in surrounded by trees and birds. But full moons this time of year make it kind of bright in there!

I can't wait to retire and sleep/wake/work/play with my body's and nature's schedule instead of the imposed, unnatural, unhealthy schedule!

[csziggy]

13. When I was running my farm, I could control my schedule some

But I'm not sure I could have worked a regular job, especially shift work like you do.

While running the farm, I had to get up early to feed the horses and in the summer would clean the stalls right after that. Hot summers were a good excuse for afternoon naps, plus that left me energy to deal with clients in the evenings - we had a boarding farm so clients would come out after work to ride and see their horses.

Spring was my favorite time - I'd go out and check the pregnant mares several times in the middle of the night and that gave me an excuse to be a zombie during the day. That's the part I miss the most, wandering around at night, listening to the owls and bats, looking at the stars and seeing meteors and other objects go by, and talking with my mares.

Right now my husband is working late mornings/early afternoons to closing. That works nicely - we both sleep late and get going around noon. I sleep best from 4AM to noon so it's wonderful for me. The only problem is when I have morning activities - the equine dentist was here Thursday at 8AM, then Saturday I taught a class on shading in embroidery. Trying to be functional in the middle of my sleep schedule is a horrid. I can't imagine how you do it for work!

[magical thyme]

14. chronic clinical depression plus a constant sense of exhaustion

I'm so jealous of you having gotten to spend time running a farm. I'm hoping to maybe breed al khamsa arabians when I retire. A preservation strain, Davenport or Davenport-plus. I have my eye right now on a couple of weanlings. It's not a good time for me to bring in a baby, but Dahli is lonely and the breeder is in financial trouble so must sell at half price. We'll see. They are so few and far between, this may be my only chance...

[avebury]

10. A coworker was warming up the most delicous

smelling lunch the other day. I asked him what it was and he indicated chicken cooked in a slow cooker with a jar of salsa and a can of ranch beans. I am going to have to try it sometime.