Making dinner healthier, one slow cooker at a time.
From the Pantry Pot Pie (Photo by Bill Bettencourt, Property of Fair Winds Press)
Mark your calendars and join me this Tuesday at the Regulator! I’ll be bringing snacks ; )
The Regulator (An Independent Bookstore)
Tuesday , January 31, 2012
7 to 8 pm
720 9th St Durham, NC 27705
Join us for a warm wintertime snack with Durham blogger and cookbook author Kathy Hester who will discuss and sign copies of her new book The Vegan Slow Cooker.
I’m so excited that so many of you have already bought my book and that it’s still the most wished for vegetarian book on amazon!
(Pictured above is the book on my iPad. The photos look awesome on it.)
One of the things I would like this Holiday season is that people who can’t afford to get a copy would have access to it at their local library. Many of the meals are budget-conscious and it’s much cheaper to make bouillon and seitan from scratch. Also just cooking in a slow cooker helps me spend less money by making it easier to have dinner ready everyday.
You’ll enter this giveaway by requesting my book at your local library. The details are below. It shouldn’t take long to do and you may be able to do it from your computer depending on how plugged-in your library is.
This giveaway will last for the rest of December, so the winner will be chosen on January 1, 2012.
To enter the contest:
A signed copy of The Vegan Slow Cooker and a brand new slow cooker (I will post a pic later) will mailed directly to you if you win the giveaway. If you already have a copy of my book I will send it to your library instead at your request! (If you and your library already have it I can send it to a library that does not have a copy.) It’s a win-win for everyone.
12/6/2011 – You can also get extra entries by doing one or more of the following. You must add an additional comment for each one you do to get an additional entry!
Update: If your library rocks (as so many do) and already has the book and/or e-book on order, still leave me the name city/state of your library and you will still be entered. I’d love it if you would tell me how many copies are there or on order too and how many holds/reserves are already in for the book.
Good luck!
Tofu Bouillabaisse (Photo by Bill Bettencourt, Property of Fair Winds Press)
Here’s another teaser from The Vegan Slow Cooker. It comes out October 1.
Stews are the perfect way to start using your slow cooker while you are away at work. They need the least attention and shouldn’t over cook if you come home a little late.
However, if you are going to be very late or find that your slow cooker runs particularly hot add an extra 1/2 to 1 cup of liquid to make sure it doesn’t burn. Typically, I do this the first time I cook a dish and then gauge from the result how much liquid I’ll use in the future.
Chapter 4
Steamy Stews and Curries that Save the Day
1. Soy Chorizo Black Bean Stew
2. White Bean and Kale Stew
3. Asian-Style Winter Stew
4. Veggie Gumbo with Cheater Roux
5. Mojito Pinto Beans
6. Cheater Chili
7. Tofu Bouillabaisse
8. Chinese-Style Eggplant in Garlic Sauce
9. Hard Cider and Cabbage Stew
10. Thai Red Curry Tofu and Veggies
11. Caribbean Mango Black Beans
12. Not-My-Grandmother’s Beefy Stew
13. Sweet Potato and Chard Dal
14. Chana Saag (Indian Greens with
Chickpeas)
15. Baigan Bharta (Eggplant Curry)
16. Easy Veggie Chickpea Biryani
17. Butter Chick’n
Chana Saag (Indian Greens with Chickpeas) (Photo by Bill Bettencourt, Property of Fair Winds Press)
Hot and Sour Soup (Photo by Bill Bettencourt, Property of Fair Winds Press)
Here’s another teaser from The Vegan Slow Cooker. It’s available for pre-order, but it doesn’t come out until October 1.
Soups are amazing. Ranging from light, brothy soups to a hearty Hungarian Mushroom Soup that’s thick and rich with cashew cream. No matter what the season, there’s a soup that’s perfect for it. Summer wants chilled soups, Spring and Fall want to celebrate the local harvest, and Winter just would like to keep warm.
I seem to want soup all the time. If I’m sick I want Hot and Sour Soup or Smoked Tofu and Stars. If I’ve found some great veggies at the market I want to make a soup that features them. I could spend all winter eating soup and fresh-baked bread, but Cheryl won’t hear of it!
Chapter 3
Simmering Soups That Cook While You’re Away
1. Golden Borscht
2. Herbed Carrot and Baby Turnip Soup
3. Creamy Corn Chowder
4. Summer Squash Bisque
5. Asparagus Tarragon Soup
6. Spring Minestrone with Pesto Parmesan
7. Sweet Potato White Bean Soup
8. Cauliflower and Celery Root Bisque
9. Thai Coconut Pumpkin Soup
10. Hungarian Mushroom Soup
11. Asian Tofu Soup
12. Tortilla Soup
13. Hot and Sour Soup
14. Split Pea and Apple Soup
15. Delicata Squash and Pear Soup
16. Turbodog Root Veggie Soup
17. Split Pea and Lentil Soup
18. Smoked Tofu and Stars Soup
19. What’s in the Freezer? Veggie Soup
20. Creamy Potato Soup
21. Citrus Black Bean Soup
Smoked Tofu and Stars Soup (Photo by Bill Bettencourt, Property of Fair Winds Press)
Citrus Rum BBQ Sauce (Photo by Bill Bettencourt, Property of Fair Winds Press)
I want to give you a little teaser from The Vegan Slow Cooker since the book doesn’t come out until October 1. It’s available for pre-order, but my publisher doesn’t have the look inside the book feature turned on yet. Hopefully this will get you as excited as I am about the launch!
This staples chapter is one of my favorites. You save so much money by cooking the things you use everyday from scratch right in your slow cooker. Plus you know exactly what went in them including how much salt!
I can’t begin to tell you how much money I saved when I was writing the book because of these recipes. Canned beans cost 3 to 6 times what dry beans cost, and wheat gluten flour is so much cheaper than ready-made gluten at the store.
I still try to take one day a month to make up a few batches and freeze them.
Chapter 2
Staples You’ll Want to Know: Make Your Own Bouillon, Seitan, sauces, and More
1. Dry Beans from Scratch (1 1/2 quart recipe on blog)
2. Perfectly Easy Everyday Brown Rice
3. Chickeny Bouillon
4. Beefy Bouillon
5. Chick’n Seitan
6. Beefy Seitan
7. Apple Sage Sausage (with gluten-free alternative)
8. Tea-Scented Tofu
9. Preserve-the-Harvest Diced Tomatoes
10. Beyond-Easy Baked Potatoes
11. All-Occasion Roasted Garlic
12. Citrus Rum BBQ Sauce
13. Balsamic Onion Marmalade
14. Homemade Smoky Ketchup
15. Fall Harvest Fruit Butter
16. Perfect Pumpkin Purée
17. Brandied Cranberry Sauce
Fall Harvest Butter (Photo by Bill Bettencourt, Property of Fair Winds Press)
Great Vegan Bean Book: 
The Vegan Slow Cooker:
The Vegan Slow Cooker:
