The Vegan Slow Cooker: Simply Set It and Go with 150 Recipes for Intensely Flavorful, Fuss-Free Fare Everyone (Vegan or Not!) Will Devour
by Kathy Hester.
by Kathy Hester.
My love affair with Slow Cookers started with 'The Indian Slow Cooker" book by Anupy Singla. After cooking through her entire book, I thought I should probably look at some other slow cooker materials, in the event that I might actually have company that does not like Indian Food. Okay, actually, the people that are actually allowed into our animal sanctuary must love Indian Food-so I don't see that as a future issue. But I still wanted Kathy's book! I held out for as long as possible, as my shelves are actually rupturing from the sheer volume of recipe books I have accumulated.
So many of the recipes in Kathy's book looked great. While it would be a great buy for nearly anyone, it seems like it is screaming "vegan comfort food" to me! While lots of the recipes don't require any extra tempeh, soy, gluten ingredients-there are a fair share of "home cookin'" eats. I settled on the scalloped potato recipe because my man loves his taters & I tend to have the basics on hand.
The Nutritional Yeast. This is "old school" vegan cheese. I used to go through this stuff like there was no tomorrow, making spicy, tomato based mac & cheeze sauces. Now brands like Daiya & Follow your Heart have the corner on the "Vegan Cheese" market. However, Nutritional Yeast (which does not have true yeast in it), is packed with B12 and a myriad of other nutrients. Great on popcorn, salad toppings, old school cheeze dishes, and even as a raw cracker or raw kale chip ingredient.
So this is the cashew, yeast based cheeze.
Always buy organic Potatoes. They soak up everything from the earth, and you don't want that to be pesticides.
Yes, I have a "salad shooter". It is great for soft stuff, however, it blows sometimes when dealing with harder root veggies. Potatoes do well. You could also use food processor or mandoline (pay attention so you retain your fingers through process).
Layering the potatoes & cheeze sauce. And press "Go".
Final Product. Hubby liked a lot. And I liked that there wasn't any s--t in it.
Sprinkled some Daiya on top to further entice hubby...........and raw broccoli.
This book is full of soups, casseroles, pasta & grain dishes, meatless mains, sandwich & taco fillings, breads, snacks, breakfasts, & desserts. If you are feeding a mainstream audience, I have a feeling this may appeal to you. Lots of comfort foods & a fair amount of "meat" subs. Some recipes include Sweet & Sour Smoked Tofu (Gluten Free), Cheezy Broccoli Rice (GF), Hearty Faux Steak & Gravy, Wholesome Chocolate Chip Banana Bread, Spinach Artichoke Dip, Cheesy Chorizo Dip, Be My Valentine Chocolate Oatmeal, and Pimento Cheese Fondue. Thinking some of those appetizers would be great to bring to real "mainstream" events, where even brown bread or kale would freak people out! While there are lots of recipes that call for packaged cheeses or meat substitutes, there are also just as many that are made from old school vegan eats. She does not use dry beans in most of the recipes (that call for legumes). So you would make the beans first, or just buy them canned. The only problem with canned, is that Eden is the only brand I know of that does not use BPAs & is organic, and it's pricey to do that a lot. I am very partial to at the very least, using soaked beans in the slow cooker. But I believe that nearly every slow cooker book has you make the beans and then use them in a different recipe. I think it would be worth soaking them & adapting some of the recipes to make it a truly 1 step recipe.
And the dogs.....
Pj petting Horton (brindle) and Fallon (blonde dog). Fallon is the mother of Shiloh (on the right)
East St. Louis
Mr. Tux (black & white) and Friend. Their friends have been rescued.
East St. Louis, Illinois.
Shy Rebel standing in the middle of the street. There is a sewer hole with no barricade around it. So many streets are plagued with major potholes or have sewer holes that are open & not truly protected. People steal the lids to them and sell for the metal. This is a particularly deep one. Pj has rescued several dogs that have fallen in similar holes.
East St. Louis
That looks good! I was fortunate enough to be a recipe tester for Kathy's book before it was published. We have enjoyed many of her recipes. Love that you use a salad shooter! Wouldn't have pegged you as a gadget gal. :-)
ReplyDeleteYeah, hubby loved it! What are your faves from the book?
DeleteGreat post! I have a lot of catching up to do on your blog. Your posts haven't been updating in my reader again. :(
ReplyDeleteFound your blog via Yelp. That's a shame about the sewer holes and the dogs. D:
ReplyDeleteThe recipe looks cool! I wish I could become a vegan because I'd love to lose more weight but I don't think I could ever give up meat or animal products. I totally think it's cool that other people do it and maintain it but damn, I might just gain a ton of weight eating junk foods if I became a vegan, lol. (or a vegetarian.)
I do like the idea of trying a vegan recipe every now and then, though, and I used to work at LUSH where a lot of the girls were vegan and told me to try some recipes.
It's actually really super easy being vegan. Adding in more healthy vegan foods is a great way to start!
DeleteThank you so much for sharing this! You have been an awesome supporter!
ReplyDeleteOne of the reasons I didn't use dried beans in the recipes is that confuses the canned bean people. I usually start long cooking beans the night before and then ass the rest of the recipe ingredients called for in the morning. The only difference would be you may need to add or remove some liquid from the beans first.
Yeah, my hubby would always use canned beans if I let him :) It's just that now I make him get Eden, and they are so expensive. I am going to try some other recipes, with the dried beans! The book looks great & planning on making the man some more awesome vegan comfort food!
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