Disclosure: I received these items to review. The opinions shared here are 100% mine.  The post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through the links, it will help support self-sponsored giveaways like this one.

Have you heard of the Wonderbag Portable Slow Cooker?

If not, you will!

The slow cooker has been a friend in my kitchen since the early days of my marriage.  Since my husband and I both worked long hours and had a slim budget in those early years, we depended upon our slow cooker to provide us with a hot meal when we finally got home.  When my children were born, we relied on the slow cooker even more!  When I first read about the Wonderbag, I was really curious about it.  According to the article I read, women in Africa used the Wonderbag to cook in areas where they had no electricity.  Could it really work?  I was interested in finding out!

The Wonderbag is a slow cooker that uses your own pot/pan as the insert.  There is no electricity required.  In fact, there are no plugs!  You simply bring your ingredients to a boil (that’s the key!!), cover the pot, and set it securely into the Wonderbag.  See below!

Since I rarely get rice or other grains quite right on the stovetop, that was my first endeavor.  I used a simple grain mix and brought it to a boil in a 1-quart stainless steel pot.  Next, I covered the pot.  I opened the Wonderbag and placed a folded kitchen towel on the bottom (to protect against spills).  I carefully set the covered pot inside the Wonderbag, topped the pot with the Wonderbag pillow, and cinched the drawstring.  We were off to run errands that morning, so I put the Wonderbag on the countertop and left the house for about four hours.  When we returned, this was waiting for me — a steaming hot pan of goodness!

I think this little invention is super genius. For one thing, it’s the perfect tool to have on hand when you don’t want to heat up the house in the summer.  You can leave the pot unattended while you run errands, drop off the kids at practice, or pick someone up from their lessons.  No need to worry about electrical fires caused by leaving the oven on!  This would also be great to take along for camping trips.  If you’re using all the burners at a holiday gathering, the Wonderbag will politely sit to the side and simmer your food while you putter around the kitchen.   By purchasing a Wonderbag, you’re also doing something wonderful.  For every Wonderbag purchased in the US, one will be donated to a family in need in Africa.  My package arrived with a handy little recipe book with several dishes I’d like to sample.  The Wonderbag is a simple way to go green, since it reduces the carbon footprint left behind by unnecessary electrical use.  Summer kitchens need this tool! Does this sound like something you’d want to try?

Now, if you’re a cook at heart, you’ve got to read While Love Stirs by Lorna Seilstad.
This book takes us to the early 1900’s as women are fighting for equality. This book had so much going on that it made me a little dizzy to keep up with it all. The main character, Charlotte, was a gifted cook who used her food to show her love for people. At the end of the book, there was a sweet little author’s note that detailed the historic references from the book. That made everything a bit more real for me. Be warned that you’ll be hungry when you read this book. Visions of cake, baked chicken, and lemonade danced in my head as I read While Love Stirs.

The story really emphasized the struggle women had to fight to gain independence from men’s grasps. Although there were women who had accepted professions such as teaching or nursing, the idea of a woman in a high-class restaurant’s kitchen was preposterous. Never before did I realize how difficult this would have been for a talented, independent woman! Another thing I enjoyed about While Love Stirs was the uncertainty of its ending. I just didn’t know how the story would wrap up. Although this was the second in the Gregory Sisters series, it works as a stand-alone novel just fine.

Now, all this talk about food has my tummy in a rumble. I think I’ll go make a sandwich!