Monday, March 26, 2012
Homemade Veggie Broth
Lately I've been experimenting with making my own vegetable broth in the crock-pot. Vegetable bullion has a lot of added salt and can be expensive if you use it a lot in cooking. Instead of composting those carrot tops, onion skins, kale stems, broccoli stalks and garlic peels, I throw them in the freezer. When I have a full tupperware full, I put the frozen veggies in the crock-pot with 8 cups of water. You can spices like peppercorns and a bay leaf too but might not be necessary. 6-8 hours later, you have a nice pot of homemade broth. Press out the veggies through a sieve or colander. I usually freeze and label in 2-3 cup portions so next time I make soup, bulger or rice, I just have to defrost.
Some friends were over and mentioned they were juicing a lot of fruits and vegetables lately. I think the pulp leftover from juicing could be used in the same way to make broth.
Dueling Crock-Pots!
Soon after we bought our house, Patrick found a "new" crock-pot at a garage sale last summer.
So I borrowed Katie's vegetarian slow cooker cookbook and made a few soups this winter. Both were simple and tasty.
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| Kidney Bean and Sweet Potato Stew |
So I borrowed Katie's vegetarian slow cooker cookbook and made a few soups this winter. Both were simple and tasty.
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| Tortilla-Tomato Soup served with avocado and fresh cilantro |
3 Dishes in 4 Days
Thursday.
I still had lots of lentils on my shelf, so I decided to make the "What a Dal" recipe from my vegetarian slow cooker book. I had all the spices, but it just wasn't that tasty. I'm not sure why. It also wasn't what I thought of as typical dal. This had brown lentils & beans, not soupy at all. It was a little better as leftovers, but truthfully the best thing about it was the cornbread I ate it with.
Saturday.
Dessert!
This recipe was super easy & would be a great use of rice left over from a previous dinner.
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
1 1/2 cups milk or vanilla soy milk
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
1/3 cup golden raisins or other dried fruit
1/3 - 1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted
1. Combine all but raisins & almonds in lightly oiled slow cooker, stirring to mix well. Cover & cook on low for 3-4 hours, stirring once halfway through & add raisins.
2. Serve warm & garnish with toasted almonds.
Sunday.
Sweet & Sour Cabbage. This was another super easy & tasty dish. It only takes 10 minutes to prep & is a good way to get another winter vegetable in your diet. It is perfectly sweet & sour. I served it with veggie burgers, but the book suggests vegetarian sausage links mixed in. I might try that next.
Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small yellow onion, minced
2 tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 medium-size head red cabbage, cored & shredded
1 mediun-size cooking apple, like Granny Smith or Rome Beauty, peeled, cored & chopped
Salt & pepper
1. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onion, cover & cook until soft ~5min. Add flour & cook, stirring for 1 minute. Add water, stirring until smooth.
2. Transfer onion mixture to slow cooker & stir in vinegar & brown sugar. Add cabbage & apple, season with salt & pepper, stir to combine. Cover & cook on low for 5-6 hours, until tender. Taste to adjust seasonings, serve hot.
I still had lots of lentils on my shelf, so I decided to make the "What a Dal" recipe from my vegetarian slow cooker book. I had all the spices, but it just wasn't that tasty. I'm not sure why. It also wasn't what I thought of as typical dal. This had brown lentils & beans, not soupy at all. It was a little better as leftovers, but truthfully the best thing about it was the cornbread I ate it with.
Saturday.
Dessert!
 |
| Brown Rice Pudding with Golden Raisins and Toasted Almonds |
This recipe was super easy & would be a great use of rice left over from a previous dinner.
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
1 1/2 cups milk or vanilla soy milk
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
1/3 cup golden raisins or other dried fruit
1/3 - 1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted
1. Combine all but raisins & almonds in lightly oiled slow cooker, stirring to mix well. Cover & cook on low for 3-4 hours, stirring once halfway through & add raisins.
2. Serve warm & garnish with toasted almonds.
Sunday.
Sweet & Sour Cabbage. This was another super easy & tasty dish. It only takes 10 minutes to prep & is a good way to get another winter vegetable in your diet. It is perfectly sweet & sour. I served it with veggie burgers, but the book suggests vegetarian sausage links mixed in. I might try that next.
Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small yellow onion, minced
2 tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 medium-size head red cabbage, cored & shredded
1 mediun-size cooking apple, like Granny Smith or Rome Beauty, peeled, cored & chopped
Salt & pepper
1. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onion, cover & cook until soft ~5min. Add flour & cook, stirring for 1 minute. Add water, stirring until smooth.
2. Transfer onion mixture to slow cooker & stir in vinegar & brown sugar. Add cabbage & apple, season with salt & pepper, stir to combine. Cover & cook on low for 5-6 hours, until tender. Taste to adjust seasonings, serve hot.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Tomato Soup
So glad I had this to come home to after a cold, rainy spring day.
All I had to do was blend it up & add some Israeli couscous. Put together with a fresh salad & dinner is done!
To make: saute a chopped, medium onion & a minced clove of garlic in olive oil. Add to crockpot. Add 3 cups veggie broth, lg can of chopped tomatoes (I used a quart of canned garden tomatoes), 1 tbsp tomato paste or ketchup, 2 bay leaves, a pinch of sugar, salt & pepper to taste. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Remove bay leaves. Blend in food processor or blender or better yet, use immersion blender right in the crockpot. Add more salt & pepper if desired. Eat!
All I had to do was blend it up & add some Israeli couscous. Put together with a fresh salad & dinner is done!
To make: saute a chopped, medium onion & a minced clove of garlic in olive oil. Add to crockpot. Add 3 cups veggie broth, lg can of chopped tomatoes (I used a quart of canned garden tomatoes), 1 tbsp tomato paste or ketchup, 2 bay leaves, a pinch of sugar, salt & pepper to taste. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Remove bay leaves. Blend in food processor or blender or better yet, use immersion blender right in the crockpot. Add more salt & pepper if desired. Eat!
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Sloppy Lentils
3.1.12
I knew Thursday afternoon/evening was going to be busy, so I found this recipe & prepped the onion & pepper the night before. That way, I could go to yoga, come home, eat dinner, go to the neighborhood meeting & check out some friend's bands. All without cooking!
This might be one of the best dishes to come from the slow cooker yet. It was super easy, I even overslept & got it all ready before heading to work on time. And it was super tasty. I used tomatoes from my mother's garden that I had canned last summer which made it a little extra juicy. Served with slider rolls & crisp lettuce. As leftovers, I ate it as soup with slices of tomatoes on top.
Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium-size yellow onion, chopped
1 small red or green bell pepper, seeded & chopped
1 tbsp chili powder
1.5 cups brown lentils, picked over & rinsed
14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes
3 cups water
2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
1 tbsp prepared mustard
1 tbsp light brown sugar
1 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1. Heat oil in medium skillet over medium heat. Add onion & pepper, cook until softened ~5 min. Add chili powder, stirring to coat.
2. Transfer to slow cooker. Add lentil, tomatoes, water, tamari, mustard, brown sugar, salt & pepper to taste & stir to combine. Cover & cook on low for 8 hours.
Serves 6.
I knew Thursday afternoon/evening was going to be busy, so I found this recipe & prepped the onion & pepper the night before. That way, I could go to yoga, come home, eat dinner, go to the neighborhood meeting & check out some friend's bands. All without cooking!
This might be one of the best dishes to come from the slow cooker yet. It was super easy, I even overslept & got it all ready before heading to work on time. And it was super tasty. I used tomatoes from my mother's garden that I had canned last summer which made it a little extra juicy. Served with slider rolls & crisp lettuce. As leftovers, I ate it as soup with slices of tomatoes on top.
Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium-size yellow onion, chopped
1 small red or green bell pepper, seeded & chopped
1 tbsp chili powder
1.5 cups brown lentils, picked over & rinsed
14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes
3 cups water
2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
1 tbsp prepared mustard
1 tbsp light brown sugar
1 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1. Heat oil in medium skillet over medium heat. Add onion & pepper, cook until softened ~5 min. Add chili powder, stirring to coat.
2. Transfer to slow cooker. Add lentil, tomatoes, water, tamari, mustard, brown sugar, salt & pepper to taste & stir to combine. Cover & cook on low for 8 hours.
Serves 6.
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