Quick and Easy Vegan Slow Cooking (9 page)

Autumn

“Now we’re getting somewhere,” you’re thinking. “This is when the slow cooker really comes into its own.” Of course, you’re right. Although the slow cooker is great to use all year long, when the weather turns cooler with days getting shorter and darker, the ability to have a warm, nutritious, and tasty dinner ready when you are is such a huge draw.

Autumn is a very busy time in many households, with people getting back into the routine of school, extracurricular activities, and classes. Time is at a premium, and using a slow cooker so meals are ready when you and your family are is a lifesaver. Leftovers make perfect additions to school (or work) lunches, especially soup in a Thermos or items such as No-Crust Roast Fennel and Red Pepper Quiche (
page 160
), which are just as good cold for lunch as they were hot for dinner the night before.

Autumn months bring the fall harvest and all the wonderful produce it entails. Vegetables galore grace the stores and farmers’ markets and are well suited not only for winter storage but also for braising in the slow cooker, as recipes such as Peasant Vegetable and Sausage Stew (
page 97
) attest.

Now, no discussion of autumn would be complete without reference to Thanksgiving. Whether you celebrate in November (US) or October (Canada), it can be a stressful time with extended family, meals with many courses, and out-of-town friends. If you are hosting Thanksgiving dinner, make it less stressful by using your slow cooker to cook a Nut Roast (
page 164
), a side such as Squash and Cranberry Bake (
page 209
), or
just a starter course of a seasonal soup such as Sour and Spiced Sweet Potato (
page 72
), freeing up space in your oven or on your stovetop for other dishes. It’s one less thing to worry about, and it allows you more time to focus on hosting your dinner. If you’re not the Thanksgiving host this year (big sigh of thanks), contribute a dish to the meal that you’ve cooked, transported, and served in your slow cooker.

Winter

If autumn is when the slow cooker starts to come into its own, then winter is when it excels. Winter produce really suits the long, slow, moist cooking inherent to slow cooking and gives tender, succulent results that fill you up and warm you through. Winter and stored produce is used to great effect in recipes such as Parsnip and Chickpea Soup (
page 82
) and Winter Vegetables with Quinoa (
page 202
). Don’t think of winter vegetables as boring ever again!

Celebrations in winter are often focused around warming, filling food (as well as friends and family, laughter and love), and the slow cooker really can elevate them to another level. Celebrating Christmas is another stressful time, just like Thanksgiving, but you can make the cooking easier by using the slow cooker for a festive soup like Magnificent Mushroom (
page 74
), a side dish like Bread Crust Stuffing (
page 208
), or even a main course like Not-Meat Loaf (
page 162
). This leaves you with more time to spend with your loved ones, and more time with the presents!

On New Year’s Day you may not be able to face cooking, but you’ll still want to have some traditional black-eyed peas. Prepare everything the night before, prior to seeing in the new year, and you’ll have Chipotle’d Black-Eyed Pea Stew (
page 147
) ready for dinner with little effort, bringing you luck—and extra time—for the year ahead.

If you live in a cold climate, winter seems to last forever, so it is nice to have the odd nonholiday to look forward to. I am, of course, talking about Super Bowl Sunday. Plan to use your slow cooker to make a chili before the game, keep it warm until halftime, and then bring out the tortilla chips, vegan cheese or
cheesy sauce, and Classic Guacamole (
page 236
), and assemble your halftime lunch as you watch the commercials.

Although this trip through the slow cooker year has been a little simplistic, I hope it has given you ideas and greater insight into how your slow cooker can best be used whatever the season, weather, or day of the year.

ALLERGEN AWARENESS SYMBOLS

I USE SYMBOLS
to point out three common allergens in the recipes, but please check recipes carefully if you are allergic to anything else. Allergens can hide everywhere, so be especially careful with products that are new to you. Read ingredient labels very carefully every time, even on products purchased previously, in case producers have changed the ingredients.

GLUTEN FREE

Any recipe with this icon doesn’t include the following ingredients, or any others with gluten: seitan, vital wheat gluten, all-purpose flour, spelt flour, barley, beer, bulgur wheat, couscous, panko and regular bread crumbs, bread, and pasta.

Depending on the brand, some products that I use as ingredients may or may not be gluten free. If you are avoiding gluten, please be sure to choose gluten-free versions of the below, as well as any other processed ingredient I call for. Better safe than sorry!

A PARTIAL LIST OF INGREDIENTS TO CHECK
:

Asian hot sauce, black bean sauce, and other bottled sauces

brown rice syrup

chocolate chips

curry paste

curry powder, garam masala, and other spice blends

liquid smoke

marmite

miso paste

oats

prepared mustard

soy sauce

vegetable stock (my recipe, on
page 43
, is gluten-free)

SOY FREE

Any recipe with this icon doesn’t include the following ingredients, or any others with soy: tofu, tempeh, soy milk, miso paste, soy sauce, TVP granules and chunks, soy curls, soybeans, black bean paste, soy creamer, margarine, vegan mayonnaise, or garnishes like vegan sour cream, vegan cream cheese, and vegan cheese.

CONTAINS NUTS

When I use the icon I don’t specify which nut is contained in the recipe, so please check carefully. If there is an allergy to the specific nut, please substitute a safe nut so you can still enjoy the recipe. Nuts I use include almonds, cashews, peanuts, hazelnuts, pine nuts, pistachios, pecans, and walnuts.

INSERT ALERT

Any recipe marked with the
icon is pictured in the photo insert.

Basic Recipes

Beans

Vegetable Stock

Basic Slow Cooker Seitan, Darker and Lighter

Chipotle Lentil Sausages

Chipotle Lentil Pâté

Dry Chees-y Mix

Faux Poultry Seasoning Mix

Tandoori Spice Mix

Poached Garlic and Garlic Infused Oil

Simple Tomato Sauce

Homemade Soy Creamer

I
N THIS CHAPTER
you’ll find recipes that will be used as ingredients in other recipes. These items all last a long time in the pantry, the fridge, or even the freezer (some for months), so it makes sense to start making them so you have the supplies for in the future. Included you will find seasoning mixes, soy creamer, and seitan cooked in several methods such as seitan sausages. If you find a recipe for one of the seitan variations you like, use it in recipes from other books or those of your own devising. Conversely, if you have a favorite (slow cooker or conventional) seitan recipe from elsewhere, or prefer store-bought seitan, feel free to use it even when I suggest recipes from this section.