Slow cooker fresh corn with chili and lime.

Can you do magic with a slow cooker?

After a recent day of slow cooking, I spent the evening watching Buffy: The Vampire Slayer with the fiance. It must have been a Willow-heavy episode, because I dreamed that I was using my crock-pot to do spells. I was adding a bit of this and a dash of that –salt, pepper, eye of newt– as if it were a magical cauldron. (Maybe Rival should market an electric cauldron…? Tap into that Wicca market.)

While I may not actually do spells with my slow cooker, some of the things you can make with one seem a little bit like magic. For example, cooking potatoes in foil without adding a drop of water, just like baking them in an oven, but without the risk of drying out.

I’ve seen some other uses that are nothing short of amazing, from making homemade yogurt to steaming hot towels for a spa night. Even the crock-pot recipes that are tried-and-true still surprise me every time. I lift the lid at the end of cooking time and find tender, juicy beans where I deposited a pile of dried ones.

Must be magic, or at least some kind of voodoo.

The latest bit of slow cooker alchemy to enchant me is the transformation of everyday ears of corn into hot, sweet perfection without using a single drop of water. Like the crock-pot baked potatoes, the fresh corn has enough moisture on its own to stay nice and juicy once it’s sealed into the pot.

Seasoned with chili powder and lime juice and dripping with butter, this is corn at its absolute best. It will be all you can do to keep from saying “Ta-daaa” when you lift the lid.

A side dish that steals the show.

Slow Cooker Corn on the Cob with Chili and Lime Recipe

Ingredients:

4-6 ears of fresh corn, husked (or as many as you can fit in the crock)
1/4 stick of butter or margarine
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp chili powder
Salt
1 fresh lime, cut into wedges

Directions: Place each piece of corn on a piece of aluminum foil. Slather each ear of corn with the butter and cilantro (the butter will make the cilantro adhere to the corn). Sprinkle with chili powder and salt. Squeeze about 1 wedge of lime juice all over each ear. Wrap each ear of corn in foil and place in the crock of your slow cooker.

Say “Alakazam.” Cook on high for 2 hours. Do not add water. Unwrap and enjoy.

You can serve the corn with additional lime wedges as a garnish. Eye of newt optional.