Tag Archives: The Vegan Slow Cooker

Camping Fare

12 Comments

Camping Fare ~ From Vegetate, Vegan Cooking & Food Blog

“Some national parks have long waiting lists for camping reservations. When you have to wait a year to sleep next to a tree, something is wrong.” — George Carlin

Keith and I recently got out of town for a couple of fantastic nights of cabin camping on the coast. We always like to prepare our food in advance before we go camping so it’s easier to relax and enjoy ourselves while we are there. Then we just have to fire up the old camping stove, heat, and eat! :) This was our menu this time around…

Breakfast: Some sweet-tart Cran-Apple Muffins from 1,000 Vegan Recipes page 410, served with fresh fruit, tea and espresso.
Lunch: Smoky Mac and Cheese from The Vegan Slow Cooker, page 115. This is our go-to macaroni and cheese recipe. It is so cheesy and melty you wouldn’t believe it. We added some roasted broccoli & red peppers for good measure.
Dinner: Thick and savory Seitan Beef Stew from Cookin’ Crunk, page 78. This stew is amazing and was just what we needed on those chilly evenings by the fire.
Dessert: Chocolate Banana Walnut Brownies with Holy Chocolate Icing from ExtraVeganZa, page 228. Yum, yum, yum! And for second desserts, some toasted vegan Dandies Marshmallows.

Camping Facts: Camping has been a recreational sport for over 140 years. However, the roots of camping go back hundreds of years. It can be traced back to Native Americans, the first settlers of the United States.

Chick’n Normandy w/Apples & Brandy Sauce

2 Comments

Chick'n Normandy w/Apples & Brandy Sauce ~ From Vegetate, Vegan Cooking & Food Blog

“The sailor said Brandy you’re a fine girl, what a good wife you would be, but my life, my lover, my lady is the sea (dooda-dit-dooda), (dit-dooda-dit-dooda-dit).” — Brandy (You’re A Fine Girl) lyrics by Elliot Lurie, circa 1972

Apples, brandy, and seitan all in one place — savory, boozy, sweet and absolutely delicious! We’ve actually made this dish a few times already because it is that good. It’s also one of those easy-to-prepare recipes from The Vegan Slow Cooker, page 128. Served here with roasted sweet potatoes and toasted bread.

Blueberry-Balsamic Meatball Sandwiches w/Mashers, Mushroom Gravy & Pumpkin Pie

4 Comments

Blueberry-Balsamic Meatball Sandwiches w/Mashers, Mushroom Gravy & Pumpkin Pie ~ From Vegetate, Vegan Cooking & Food Blog

“From a man who’s eaten his fair share? I think it’s all about the… Jesus, what’s the secret to a good meatball? I have no idea. I like a lumpy ball, personally.” —Daniel Holzman, Meatball Chef

When we saw the recipe for Blueberry-Balsamic Meatball Sauce with Rosemary in The Vegan Slow Cooker cookbook, page 170, we just had to try it! This is like a slow-cooked, blueberry and red wine sweet-and-sour sauce. What could be better?

We made sandwiches from Nate’s Meatless Meatballs sauteed in the sauce and served on toasted ciabatta with a side of garlic mashed potatoes absolutely drowning in Mushroom Gravy, from The Real Food Daily Cookbook, page 69.

We also had a ton of fresh pumpkin left over after making Fall Harvest Fruit Butter, so we filled a store-bought graham cracker crust with the yummy Pumpkin Pie filling recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking, page 104, and we baked ourselves a pie.

Fall Harvest Fruit Butter

4 Comments

Fall Harvest Fruit Butter ~ From Vegetate, Vegan Cooking & Food Blog

“I won all the blue ribbons for canning at the state fair.” –Loretta Lynn

This is a festive fall treat made from seasonal organic pears, apples, home roasted pumpkin, agave nectar, and warming spices. Another great recipe from The Vegan Slow Cooker, page 33.

This scrumptious fruit butter contains all of the flavors that you associate with autumn. It is the perfect accompaniment to crumpets, English muffins, toast, or even a humble pb&j.

The recipe also says that this can be frozen for future enjoyment, but we decided to go old-school and can this in jars to preserve it. Canning is so easy, fun, and rewarding!

Tofu Bouillabaisse

3 Comments

Tofu Bouillabaisse ~ From Vegetate, Vegan Cooking & Food Blog

“…..all the charming and beautiful things, from the Song of Songs, to bouillabaisse, and from the nine Beethoven symphonies to the Martini cocktail, have been given to humanity by men who, when the hour came, turned from tap water to something with color in it, and more in it than mere oxygen and hydrogen.” – H.L. Mencken

Just in time for autumn… hot & hearty Tofu Bouillabaisse! From one of our most-used cookbooks, The Vegan Slow Cooker, p70. This flavorful recipe eschews the fish ingredients in traditional bouillabaisses (Scorpionfish, Sea Robin, European Conger, Sea Urchins, Octopus, Mussels and Crabs) and instead uses fish-and-sea-friendly tofu, with onions, garlic, fennel, celery, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, bay leaves, saffron, and lime juice. This is so easy to prepare. All you need to do is chop up all of the ingredients and toss them into your slow cooker, turn your slow cooker on, and 6 hours later you will have a piping hot, luscious, fennel-and-saffron-scented pot of deliciousness.

Soy Chorizo Black Bean Stew

3 Comments

Soy Chorizo Black Bean Stew ~ From Vegetate, Vegan Cooking & Food Blog

This is bar none the best chili recipe that we have ever made, even though according to the the cookbook it is officially a stew. ;) This is what you dream a can of Hormel chili would be like if it was vegan, organic, and homemade. From The Vegan Slow Cooker, page 62. We soaked our own dry black beans because they are fresher, tastier, and less expensive than canned beans, and by cooking our own beans we avoided exposure to the endocrine disrupting BPA linings they are putting in cans these days, which is always a plus. This stew was perfect with warm tortillas topped with dairy-free butter. We will be slow-cooking this yummy recipe many more times, I am sure!

Let’s Go to India! ~ Chana Saag & Spelt Chapatis

1 Comment

Chana Saag & Spelt Chapatis ~ From Vegetate, Vegan Cooking & Food Blog

Mmmm, spicy, warming Indian food! There are few things that I enjoy more than fresh chapatis (Indian flat bread) with dairy-free butter and a savory chickpea & greens stew over rice. Chana saag recipe from The Vegan Slow Cooker, page 80. Wheat-free spelt chapatis from ExtraVeganZa, page 137.

Let’s Go to Spain! ~ Paella

1 Comment

Paella ~ From Vegetate, Vegan Cooking & Food Blog

This paella recipe from Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker (page 122) was absolutely deelish! We used Field Roast Chipotle sausage links, which added a nice spiciness to this dish. For those who eschew seitan, you could definitely substitute your favorite mushrooms. We also added 2 teaspoons of saffron instead of 1/4 teaspoon as called for in the recipe because I’m just mad about saffron. We couldn’t find converted rice to use, so we used regular rice and it turned out just fine. This paella also had artichoke hearts, green beans, peas, and all sorts of other goodies in it.

Chick’n & Olives w/Sauteed Green Beans & Mushrooms

3 Comments

Chick'n & Olives w/Sauteed Green Beans & Mushrooms - from Vegetate, Vegan Cooking and Food Blog

This was tangy, tender, and tantalizing! Chick’n & Olives recipe from The Vegan Slow Cooker page 125, with Vegan with a Vengeance Sautéed Green Beans & Mushrooms, page 123. We used Gardein faux chicken patties. The slow cooker makes everything taste even better! We also substituted shiitakes for button mushrooms in the side dish because they are much tastier and better for you. Parma sprinkled on top. :)