Mexican Quinoa with Black Beans

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Here’s another recipe from The Great Vegan Bean Book that comes out June 1. This recipe may look familiar because it started out on this blog. It’s been slightly tweaked, a stove-top cooking method has been added in addition to the original slow cooker one and there’s nutritional information!

This Book is not an all slow cooker book like The Vegan Slow Cooker, but I added in some slow cooker variations whenever there was space. A few got cut in editing, but I’m planning to adding them here on the blog so you’ll be able to slow cook more of the recipes. I know you guys love slow cookers as much as I do!

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Super Simple Mexican Quinoa with Black Beans

soy-free, gluten-free, oil-free

1 1/2 cup (225 g) bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups (375 ml) water
1 1/2 cups diced tomatoes (or a 14.5 ounce can – do not drain)
1 1/2 cups cooked black beans or 1 can (15 oz/420 g), rinsed and drained
1 cube vegetable bouillon
1 to 2 teaspoons chili powder, to taste
1/2 teaspoon cumin
3/4 cup (127.5 g) quinoa, rinsed well
salt and pepper to taste, if needed

Stove-top Instructions:
Add all ingredients except for the salt and pepper into a medium sauce pot with a lid. Bring to boil then turn heat to low and cook for 15 minutes or until the quinoa is done.
Season with salt and pepper. Taste and add more chili powder or cumin if needed. (Remember as your spices age the flavor is not as strong.)

Slow Cooker Instructions:
Increase the amount of water to 2 1/2 cups.
The night before: Prepare the veggies and rinse the beans if you are using canned and keep in fridge overnight.

In the morning: Add everything listed in the ingredient list above the quinoa to an oiled slow cooker. Cook on low for 6 to 10 hours. (You will add quinoa later.)
1 to 2 hours before serving: Turn the slow cooker to high and add in the quinoa. Cook until you see the quinoa’s little white tails. That’s the signal that they’re ready to eat. Taste and add salt, more cumin, extra chili powder – what ever you need to do to make this taste the way you like it!

Yield: 4 servings
Per 1 ½ cup serving: 254.3 calories; 2.6 g total fat; .1 g saturated fat; 11.6 g protein; 46.5 g carbohydrate; 9.3 g dietary fiber; 0 mg cholesterol.
Total Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Cooking Time: 20 minutes

 

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Be sure to let me know if you have any questions about  The Great Vegan Bean Book or Vegan Slow Cooking for Two or Just You which comes out this September and uses all 1 1/2 to 2 quart slow cookers in all the recipes.

If you pre-order now you will get the lowest price between now and when the book releases!

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Bean Queso From The Great Vegan Bean Book

White Bean Cashew Queso from The Great Vegan Bean Book, photo ©Renée Comet Photography

My favorite last minute meal is a few baked tortilla chips served up with a cup of queso from my newest book, The Great Vegan Bean Book. The base recipe is mild, but you can spice it up to suit your taste. It’s perfect for a lazy spring lunch! [Read more...]

Cherry Coconut Almond Cakelets With Cherry Sauce

Happy weekend everyone!  These little single-serving cakes are perfect for a dinner party or could be a special brunch treat. Full of sweet and tart cherries the almonds and coconut add great texture too. The cherry Amaretto sauce makes them an even more decadent treat. [Read more...]

Easy Black-eyed Pea Pecan Pate


Happy New Year everyone! I have a feeling this is going to be a great year for positive changes!  Today I have  a spread recipe that can use up your leftover black-eyed peas  and is healthy enough to fit right in with your resolutions! [Read more...]

Vaquero Bean Tempeh Chili Recipe From The Great Vegan Bean Book

Vaquero Bean Tempeh Chili taken by Renée CometVaquero Bean Tempeh Chili is one of the recipes in my upcoming book. This chili and the new book are both packed full of heirloom beans. In this recipe the heirloom star is vaquero beans. They are black and white and a relative to the anasazi bean and they are very tasty.

The lovely photo above was taken by my friend, and incredibly talented photographer, Renée Comet. Make sure to head over to her website and look at some of her other beautiful photos. I’m so lucky that she took all the photos for this book, and I had a blast doing the food styling for her!
[Read more...]

Autumn Apple Walnut Bars (with Apple Brandy)

Whole grain apple walnut bars with a little apple brandy to help you celebrate fall! So grab an apple bar, a sweater and sit on the deck awhile. You can even bring out a hot spiked tea in case you get chilly while you watch the leaves fall. [Read more...]

Summer Squash Pilaf: A Rice Cooker Recipe

Still picking zucchini and summer squash out of your garden? Here’s one more way to serve it up and it’s super easy!

The best part – it cooks in your rice cooker so you can sit on your deck and enjoy fall while it’s cooking!

Go to my post over at The Back Burner to get this super easy recipe!

Pre-order my second book, The Great Vegan Bean Book, at Amazon. There are tons of gluten and soy free recipes!

You Can Now Pre-Order The Great Vegan Bean Book on Amazon!

You’d think the second cookbook would be easier than the first. But now that I’ve started on my third book, I think that each one has its unique challenges and rewards.

The Great Vegan Bean Book has a variety of recipes for every time of the day plus desserts. There is even a recipe for vegan breakfast sausage and a vegan chorizo that are gluten and soy free – plus contain no nuts! (I’ve really tried to get some of your requests in.)

This is not an all slow cooker book, but I have worked in quite a few slow cooker directions in addition to all of the stove top and oven ones. So if you have a slow cooker or not the recipes will work for you!

It was so cool to work with so many different kinds of heirloom beans, but don’t worry –  I have cheap bean alternatives for each recipe too. That plus the staples chapter should help with your budget. Just wait until you taste the Black Bean Double Chocolate Devil’s Food Cookies – they are a tester favorite.

I’ll be letting out more info as time goes on. This book comes out June 1, 2013, but you can pre-order the book now. Or you can just go to Amazon and click like on that page to make my day!

It’s always awesome to see your book “magically” appear on Amazon. Plus it makes me even more excited for the photo shoot next week with Renee Comet.

I’m doing all the cooking for the shoot. so I’m hoping my little red Echo will hold everything I’m bringing to DC. Do you think I should bring 4 or 6 slow cookers? A girl can never have too many on hand…

One more thing – don’t forget to head over to the VegCookBook Club this month and cook from The Vegan Slow Cooker all of September with them!

 

Vegan Summer Slow Cooker – Desserts

One of the best parts of summer is cooling down with creamy desserts, but brownies and cakes are certainly nice too. Here are a few you may not think about making in your slow cooker, but trust me it’s the best way to make them in the summer! to the recipes →

Vegan Summer Slow Cooker – Pasta Sauces

Today we’ll look at making some yummy pasta sauces from scratch. Yes, even in the summer your slow cooker still comes through in a big way. I love the way you can take your csa or farmers market jewels and turn them into sauces for a great pasta dish.

They even freeze well for last-minute meals now or when tomato season is just a vague memory. These sauces are amazing with bread sticks and can even be the base of a grilled pizza!