Making dinner healthier, one slow cooker at a time.
My friend Gail Davis from So Delicious reminded me that today is oatmeal day. I can’t believe it almost past me by!
Since we’re so close to Halloween I selected 13 of my favorites for you to warm up with. So stay toasty and dry, and eat your oatmeal! [Read more...]
While some people avoid the “perfumy” flavors of rosewater, orange blossom water and lavender I just love them. In fact, I use them as much as I can.
At one of my favorite restaurants, La Shish in Cary, I get this amazing drink called Lebanese ice tea. It’s a mix of lemon juice, sugar, and black tea with a little something special. It can turn a bad day good with just a few sips. to recipe →
You guys know I tend to get on a tangent and now I can’t stop making frozen coffees. I guess it’s too warm to re-start my oatmeal obsession and they are so much better than you-know-who’s.
Since the CSA has been making veggies magically apear at my house so I haven’t gone to the farmers market every weekend. But I did go last Saturday and found a new coffee cart waiting for me, Cocoa and Cinnamon. Looking over their menu I saw my new favorite coffee combination – cardamom and rosewater. If you are in or near Durham you must try their coffee! to recipe →
Here’s another green tea variation, this time a little closer to you-know-who’s. The color of this one is a faint green, though it didn’t capture well in the photos. You could also throw in some Swiss Chard or Kale to get a darker (and healthier) green.
Here’s another inexpensive coffee house frozen drink. When I’m super busy and a little stressed out I tend to get a frap on my way to work. It’s an expensive and unhealthy habit. Once I catch up a little I always go back to making my own.
It takes about 10 minutes, has less sugar than the one from the chain and can even be made completely sugar-free by using unsweetened So Delicious Almond Plus Milk. to recipe →
It’s beautiful outside and I have all the windows and doors open. We’re decluttering and if all goes well I’ll even have the deck ready for a cocktail night next week. Spring is my favorite time of the year. It makes anything seem possible.
I like a nice frosty drink as a reward for all my hard work and this was perfect. Years ago, before I was a vegan, Starbuck’s had a blackberry green tea frapacinno that I loved. Of course, the blackberry syrup is long gone. to recipe →
I originally made this as a Valentine cocoa, but romance shouldn’t be limited to just one day. Surprise your someone special with the yummy dessert cocoa. The lavender and rose flavors blend together to form its own taste that’s not as floral as you think.
I used lavender extract which I got at Savory Spice Shop, but if you can’t find any you could fill a muslin tea bag or tea ball with 1 to 2 teaspoons of culinary lavender and add this at the beginning of cooking. This will infuse the milk with a great lavender flavor too.
I do use real sugar in this recipe, because it helps to thicken it up. The longer you cook it the thicker it will be. You can substitute stevia or agave, but the hot chocolate will be thinner.
Slow Cooker Lavender Rose Cocoa
soy-free, gluten-free
Serves 2 to 3
**Uses a 1 1/2 to 2 quart slow cooker**
Add all the ingredients and cook on low for 2 to 3 hours or on high for 1 to 1 1/2 hour.
Stir once or twice during this time with a whisk to help the chocolate mix in well. Whisk a final time and serve.
Continuing on my fancy drink exploration – this cocktail combines fresh pear with vanilla vodka and amaretto all tied together with the slightly floral flavor of cardamom.
If you can’t find any vanilla liquor you can make your own. Check on Barnivore to make sure the base vodka you use is vegan and then you just need vanilla beans and vegan sugar. It does take 2 to 3 months to make a usable liqueur, but if you start it tonight you’ll be that much closer to trying it.
Vegan Creamy Pear Cardamom Cocktail
Makes 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients:
Preparation:
Add all ingredients except sweetener into a blender and blend until pear is smooth. Taste and use the amount of sweetener needed. This will depend on how ripe the pear is. Blend again and serve over ice.
You can always add an additional cup of non-dairy milk if you like your drinks a little weaker.
Sometimes you need a treat. A soothing, winter treat that can warm you up. That would be me last night. It’s finally feeling like winter and it’s all too easy to get the blahs. I’m making a warm slow cooker drink or dessert every night to keep my spirits up. Feel free to use natural flavored extracts, zest, or juice in this recipe if you don’t imbibe.
This modified toddy has a Sugar Cookie tea base that has roasted barley and vanilla. The barley makes it not gluten-free. Almond Sunset would be my next choice, but they don’t make it anymore.
You could also use a vanilla or almond tea as your base instead. I like that Celestial Seasonings Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride Tea is caffeine free which is a requirement of mine for a night drink.
Just throw this together right before you serve dinner, and your “dessert” will be ready when you are. This is great to make for a dinner party, just tripe the recipe and use a 4 to 5 quart slow cooker.
Slow Cooker Sugar Cookie Hot Toddy for 2
**Uses a 1 1/2 to 2 quart slow cooker**
Serves 2 (double or triple as needed)
Place the teabags, water, and non-dairy milk in the slow cooker. Cook on high for about 1 to 2 hours or until hot. (You could also cook on low for about 3 hours.)
Just before serving add liquors and sweetener.
If you prefer a stronger drink you can double the amount of alcohol called for or add a shot of vanilla vodka.
Sorry I missed posting the last 2 days. I have a confession to make. I spent those 2 days oatmeal-less. I cheated on my oatmeal with vegan sausage biscuits and I have to admit it was pretty darn tasty!
Of course, what really made it special was that I ate them on Halloween biscuits. I made 2 dozen Halloween biscuits for a mini Halloween shoot. It was the perfect excuse to decorate the dinner table early.
And now back to our regularly scheduled Friday oatmeal:
Slow Cooker Coconut Banana Pecan Coffee Cake Oatmeal
2 to 3 servings
**This recipe uses a smaller slow cooker that’s 1 1/2 to 2 quarts
The night before: Spray your crock with some oil to help with clean up later. Add oats, milk, coconut, vanilla and coconut extract. Cook on low over night (7 to 9 hours).
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 mashed banana and sweetener. Top with chopped pecans
**(See Page Link on Menu Bar to get to Slow Cooker Oatmeal FAQS)
The Virtual Vegan Potluck is over, but the virtual feast lives on!