It’s been too long since I’ve made a new breakfast recipe. The nice people of Tuscan Fields sent me some free farro to play with and I started with a slow cooker breakfast! [Read more...]
Lychee Rosewater Pina Colada
October 3, 2012 · by · 1 Comment
This has been one of those weeks when a cocktail seems like the right thing to make once I finally get home. Maybe it’s heat coming back or perhaps it’s been too long since I took my last vacation.
Since I still have book three to finish up, I can’t just get in my car and drive off to my favorite resort. So I decided to make a drink that would make me feel like I had a little escape. [Read more...]
BBQ Tofu Pepper Pineapple Topping
April 24, 2012 · by · 4 Comments
This recipe is one of the easiest of them all. You can make your own pizza dough or just use English muffins or tortillas. The filling probably takes about 15 minutes to throw together and you can make it a day or two before you want to use it.
If you are avoiding soy you could certainly use seitan or add extra veggies in place of the tofu. To make it gluten-free simply buy or make gluten-free pizza shells. to recipe →
Vegan Slow Cooker Pumpkin Chick’n Chowder
September 6, 2011 · by · 9 Comments
I’m so excited! My book, The Vegan Slow Cooker, was released early and many people who pre-ordered at Amazon will get theirs this week!
This soup was pretty much an accident. I had no intention of adding pumpkin to my new chick’n chowder. However, I freeze my puréed pumpkin in ice cubes just like I do my homemade bouillon. I do label the bags, but if you don’t actually read them bad (and good) things can happen.
Luckily this was a happy mistake – my favorite kind. Once I realized I had put pumpkin cubes in instead of bouillon ones, I changed my plan and added some more pumpkin. I didn’t notice that much difference in the flavor, but it does add more nutritional goodies.
I used a local vegan chick’n called Soy Delight, but your favorite chick’n should work just fine. If you are anti-fake-meat feel free to substitute cubes of pressed tofu, wheat gluten, or even white beans.
Also, if you avoid pre-packaged non-dairy sour cream, use pureed silken tofu or cashew cream instead. It’s your soup after all – so make it the way you like it.
Don’t forget that you can easily make your own pumpkin purée, in the slow cooker of course! Go ahead and get some of those pie pumpkins that are showing up at the farmers market. You can stock up for winter and spring!
Make sure to get in on the giveaway this week at Busy Vegan. Just go to this Busy Vegan link and add a comment to the post there. In the bag is a super cool OXO peppermill, some tasty peppercorns to fill it from My Spice Sage, and a postcard with my recipe for Slow Cooker Tempeh Braised with Figs and Port Wine. I have coupons I’ll be adding and a few other bonuses too. There will be 2 winners!
Also please like the Healthy Slow Cooking Facebook page if you haven’t already and please spread the word to your friends!
Slow Cooker Pumpkin Chick’n Chowder – serves 4
Cooking Time: 6 to 8 hours on low (or 3 to 4 on high)
- 1/2 cup pumpkin purée
- 1 medium potato, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup corn kernels (fresh or frozen)
- 1 1/2 cup vegan chick’n, cubed package (Gardein, Soy Delight, Smart Strips Chick’n, etc.)
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
- 1 bay leave
- 1 tablespoon vegan chick’n bouillon, like Better than Bouillon (or 2 tablespoons of the one from my book if you have it)
- 4 cups water
- cayenne or chipotle powder to taste
- 1/2 cup non-dairy Toffuti sour cream
- 1 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk (I used So Delicious – it’s the thickest and great for soups.)
- salt and pepper to taste (will vary greatly on the bouillon used)
The night before: Cut up the veggies and chick’n. Thaw pumpkin purée if you have it frozen. Store together in one bowl in the fridge.
In the morning: Add everything except the non-dairy milk, Toffuti sour cream, and the extra salt or pepper. Cook on low for 6 to 8 (or on high for 3 to 4 hours).
Remove bay leaf and thyme stems (if you used fresh thyme). Then add the non-dairy milk and sour cream. Make sure you thoroughly mix them in the soup. Then taste your soup, and add more salt, pepper, cayenne, or thyme if needed.
If you want a thicker soup you can take about 1/3 of the soup and purée it in a blender or food processor and then mix it into the rest of the soup. Personally I liked the thinner soup.
Serve topped with shredded vegan cheddar, extra vegan sour cream, and/or chopped chives if desired.
Slow Cooker Pineapple Chick’n
August 1, 2011 · by · 6 Comments
It’s been awhile since I’ve dived whole-heartedly into the slow cooker to make an almost complete dinner. This recipe does require you to cook some rice, but I use my rice cooker, so I can still catch up on writing while the dinner finishes cooking itself.
The catalyst for this one was a sad pineapple sitting on my counter that just wasn’t going to make it another week. I had just bought some long beans at the market and I wanted to start exploring working with Gardein in the slow cooker, so this dish seemed like a perfect way to bring all that together.
If you don’t like fake meat just substitute your favorite protein. Firm pressed tofu, seitan, and wheat gluten should all work just fine. (This holds true for any recipe on this site or in my book.)
For allergies you can use wheat gluten to make it soy-free or use plain tempeh to make it gluten-free.
Also feel free to substitute green or wax beans for the long beans.
I originally cut my chick’n patties into strips and it was too hard to eat that way. Next time I will chop into large pieces. (Which is why I ask you to do that in the instructions.)
Make sure to like the Healthy Slow Cooking Facebook page if you haven’t already. We’re over 500 string so far!
Slow Cooker Pineapple Chick’n – serves 4
Cooking Time: 6 – 8 hours on low
- 1 pineapple, cored and chopped (or 4 cups frozen)
- 1/2 small onion, sliced (about 1/2 cup)
- 1 poblano or 1/2 bell pepper, minced
- 1 package (10 oz/286g) Gardein Chik’n Scallopini (or equivalent tenders or chopped vegan chick’n)
- 1 teaspoon jerk seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon to 1 teaspoon smoked salt (or smoked paprika and plain salt)
- 3 cups long beans, cut into 1 inch pieces (or green beans)
The night before: Cut up the pineapple, onion, and pepper. Store in fridge.
In the morning: Oil the crock. Carefully cut the frozen chick’n into large chunks. Layer 1/2 the pineapple, all the onion and pepper, and top with the chick’n. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon jerk seasoning and 1/4 teaspoon smoked salt.
Spread the rest of the pineapple on top of this, then add the long beans and top with another 1/2 teaspoon jerk seasoning and 1/4 teaspoon smoked salt.
Cook on low for 6 to 8 or high for 3 to 4 hours.
Stir everything together, taste, and add more salt or jerk seasoning if needed.
Serve over rice.
Slow Cooker Irish Piña Colada Oatmeal – It’s Green and Tastes Great Too!
March 16, 2011 · by · 3 Comments
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I know I’m a day early, but I wanted to share this oatmeal with you so you can make it on St. Patrick’s for your family. There’s no denying that it’s green enough and there’s no artificial color to be found. The secret ingredient is spinach.
Where did the Irish/piña colada connection come from? I knew I was going to make a piña colada oatmeal and I wanted to have some big tastes to mask the hint of spinach. (Before you start worrying, it really is just a hint.) This is like if a green smoothie met a pineapple oatmeal and they had a tasty baby – this oatmeal.
I decided not to add shredded coconut to this oatmeal, but you can add 1/4 cup shredded coconut if you don’t have coconut extract. I just decided not to have green oatmeal with that texture. It’s hard enough to get green foods eaten in my house, but yours may be different.
Slow Cooker Irish Piña Colada Oatmeal
2 to 3 servings
**This recipe uses a smaller slow cooker that’s 1 1/2 to 2 quarts
- 1/2 cup Bob’s Red Mill steel-cut oats
- 2 cups Unsweetened So Delicious Coconut Milk
- 1/2 cup minced pineapple (fresh, frozen, or canned)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon coconut extract
- 1 to 2 tablespoon(s) sweetener of your choice
green mix-in:
- 1/2 cup Vanilla So Delicious Coconut Yogurt
- 2 cups fresh spinach
The night before: Spray your crock with some oil to help with clean up later. Add everything but sweetener and green mix-in. Cook on low over night (7 to 9 hours). Blend the green mix-in ingredients in a blender until it’s a purée then store in the fridge overnight.
In the morning: Stir your oatmeal well. It may seem watery at the top but if stirred it should become a more uniform consistency. Stir in the sweetener and green mix-in. You may not use all the mix-in, it depends on how thin or thick your oats are.
**See Page Link on Menu Bar to get to Slow Cooker Oatmeal FAQS
Slow Cooker Hummingbird Cake Oatmeal – An Oatmeal Cure for the Monday Blues
February 28, 2011 · by · 5 Comments
When nothing but something sweet will do, try some Hummingbird Cake Oatmeal. This is an old Southern cake favorite that has pineapple, banana, and pecans in the cake and is topped with a cream cheese icing. Obviously there’s no dairy in my oatmeal. Instead the icing we use is made from Vanilla So Delicious Coconut Yogurt, minced pineapple and some extra pecans.
The oatmeal base is creamy from the mashed banana and coconut milk. Plus you get bites of pineapple and crunchy pecan bits in every bite from the oatmeal and its icing topping. It’s been one of my favorites out of all of them so far. I’m a Southern girl and sometimes (like now) it shows!
In my Love Your Oatmeal Celebration I’ve found that adding vanilla extract to oatmeal really gives it a cake batter and/or pudding taste. With all the fruit and the sweetened yogurt in this oatmeal I didn’t need to use any extra sweetener.
I shared this at Pennywise Platter Thursday.
Slow Cooker Hummingbird Cake Oatmeal
2 to 3 servings
**This recipe uses a smaller slow cooker that’s 1 1/2 to 2 quarts
- 1/2 cup Country Choice Organic steel-cut oats
- 2 cups Unsweetened So Delicious Coconut Milk
- 1/2 cup minced pineapple (fresh, frozen, or canned)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 ripe banana (the riper it is the less extra sweetener you’ll need to use)
- 2 tablespoon chopped pecans
‘icing’ topping
- 1/2 cup Vanilla So Delicious Coconut Yogurt
- 1/4 cup chopped pineapple
- 1 tablespoon chopped pecans
The night before: Spray your crock with some oil to help with clean up later. Add oats, pineapple, cinnamon, and So Delicious Coconut Milk. Cook on low over night (7 to 9 hours). You can mix the icing topping ingredients now and store in the fridge overnight.
In the morning: Stir your oatmeal well. It may seem watery at the top but if stirred it should become a more uniform consistency. In a separate bowl mash the banana and mix it and the nuts in with the oatmeal. Top each serving with the icing topping and top with extra pineapple if desired.
**See Page Link on Menu Bar to get to Slow Cooker Oatmeal FAQS
Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Smoked Tofu
February 5, 2010 · by · 2 Comments
I just made another batch of smoked tofu and was itching for a recipe to use it. I saw this recipe for sweet and sour seitan on Learning Vegan’s blog. Yum! I’m on a restricted diet for the next couple of months, so no seitan or brown sugar for me. But Learning Vegan inspired me to make my own version.
This is just my interpretation, feel free to play with it and make it your own. If you don’t have canned pineapple you can use fresh or frozen. You’ll just need about 1 cup of juice to substitute for the pineapple juice. Apple juice would be my first choice, though I think OJ would work just as well. After all you’re using it to sweeten the mix.
Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Smoked Tofu (*gluten-free)
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 6 – 8 hours + 45 minutes before serving
- 1 batch smoked tofu, pressed and cubed
- 2 cups sliced carrot, sliced
- 1 onion, cut in half and sliced thinly
- 2 Tb soy sauce, low sodium (*gluten-free soy must be used to make this dish gluten-free)
- 2 – 3 tsp fresh ginger, minced or grated
- 1 20-oz can pineapple in juice
- 3 Tb cornstarch
- 3 Tb cold water
- 2 cups bell pepper, sliced thinly
- 2 cups broccoli (or other veggie you would like)
The night before: Open the pineapple can and drain the juice into a small bowl. Add soy sauce and ginger to the juice to make the sauce. Store sauce and pineapple chunks in the fridge for the morning. Cut the tofu, onions, peppers, carrots, and broccoli.
In the morning: Add the sauce, carrots, and tofu cook on low for 6-8 hours.
45 – 60 minutes before serving: Turn slow cooker to high and add peppers, broccoli, and pineapple. Make a thickener by mixing the corn starch and water in a small cup and then add it to the slow cooker. It’s ready when the sauce has thickened and the broccoli is done.
The Virtual Vegan Potluck is over, but the virtual feast lives on!
