As you know, I’m trying not to buy new plastic. But so many people have recommended crockpot cooking as a timesaving way to prepare healthy meals, that I finally decided to take the plunge. Still, I didn’t buy new plastic. I found a used crockpot for $10 on Craigslist ^[1]! The seller lived within walking distance, so I picked it up this morning on my way to work.

Did you know you can subscribe to Craigslist Searches? You can. It makes finding what you’re looking for a lot easier. Here’s how:

1) Type your search terms into the Craiglist search box and bring up a page of items. For example, here’s a search page for a crockpot:

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/search/sss?query=crockpot ^[2]

2) Scroll down to the bottom right corner of the search page and find the RSS symbol that looks like this: Right clicking on the RSS box allows you to copy the feed URL, which you can use to subscribe to the search updates. I set up email alerts for mine.

3) How did I set up the alert? I use Yahoo Alerts ^[3]. It’s just one way to receive Feed updates. You may have another way. I copy the Feed URL into the Yahoo Alerts page ^[3] and specify how I want the alert delivered and how often. That’s it. Now, any time someone adds a crockpot to Craigslist, the feed is updated, and I receive an alert in my email box.

Geeky enough for you? Well, now it’s your turn to help me. Do you use a crockpot? Do you enjoy it? What are your favorite recipes? I’m looking for recipes using plastic-free ingredients (whole veggies, grains from the bulk bins, meat from the butcher that I buy using my own container, etc.) that I can throw into the pot and forget about for a few hours.

Do you use your crockpot for anything unusual? Let me know. I really want this thing to get some use and not just sit on the counter and look pretty.