Fresh from the Vegan Slow Cooker 200 Ultra-Convenient, Super-Tasty, Completely Animal-Free Recipes

by Robertson, Robin

• ISBN13: 9781558327900
• ISBN10: 1558327908
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-09-25
• Publisher: Harvard Common Press

Summary

Quietly and under the radar, Robin Robertson has built a publishing record of successful--and some verysuccessful--books in the vegetarian category. Her newest book sits at the intersection of two hot-selling categories. Slow-cooker books continue to sell well, and vegan books now make up at least half of the best-selling books in vegetarian. FRESH FROM THE VEGAN SLOW COOKERis one of only two books at this intersection. At 200 recipes, it's a third larger than its only competitor and it comes from a more established and respected author than the competing title. Robertson's earlier Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cookerestablished her bona fides as an expert on the creative use of slow cookers, and her entire body of work speaks to her ingenuity in the kitchen and the breadth of enticing ingredients and flavors with which she works. Her new title again provides lots of practical background, in the book's introduction and in multiple sidebars, on how to work with different and newer models of slow cookers, taking into account the sizes of various machines, the variety of settings they offer, and the quirks and personalities of each device. She addresses any lingering skepticism readers may have about whether slow cookers really do best only with meats, and she shows how to take into account the water content of vegetables (as well as the absorptive qualities of grains) when doing vegan cooking in the slow cooker. FRESH FROM THE VEGAN SLOW COOKER includes eleven recipe chapters. Four of them focus on main courses. There are homey and comforting foods in the American and European style, such as a Rustic Pot Pie Topped with Chive Biscuits and a Ziti with Mushroom and Bell Pepper Ragu, and there are lots of East Asian, South and Southeast Asian, and Mexican/Latin dishes, too. Beans, which cook slowly under any circumstance, are fabulously well-suited to the slow cooker, and Robertson includes such appealing recipes as a Crockery Cassoulet and a Greek-Style Beans with Tomatoes and Spinach. Eighteen robust chilis and stewstwo more categories that do well in the slow cookerinclude a warming Chipotle Black Bean Chili with Winter Squash and a surprising but yummy Seitan Stroganoff. Beyond the mains, there are chapters devoted to snacks and appetizers, desserts, breads and breakfasts, and even one on drinks. The many soy-free and gluten-free recipes are clearly identified. Altogether, the collection offers readers loads of ways to expand their vegan repertoire and to get maximum value from their investment in a slow cooker.

Author Biography

Robin Robertson has written more than twenty cookbooks, including the best selling Vegan Planet and The Vegetarian Meat and Potatoes Cookbook. A columnist for VegNews Magazine, she has also written for Vegetarian Times, Cooking Light, and other magazines. A longtime vegan, she lives in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia with her husband Jon and their cats Gary and Mitzi. Visit her at www.robinrobertson.com.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. ix
Slow Cooker Basics	p. 1
Snacks and Appetizers	p. 23
Soups That Satisfy	p. 41
Stews and Chili	p. 73
Beans and Grains	p. 102
Hearty Main Dishes	p. 124
Simply Stuffed	p. 168
Vegetable Love	p. 194
Condiments from the Crock	p. 225
Don't Forget Dessert	p. 241
Breakfast and Bread	p. 275
Hot Drinks	p. 299
Measurement Equivalents	p. 310
Index	p. 313
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

IntroductionThe irresistible appeal of a slow cooker is its convenience and simplicity. Turn it on, and it cooks dinner while you do other things. You have no pot to watch. It doesnt burn or spill over. Just set it and let it do its work. Next thing you know, your kitchen smells heavenly, like a home-cooked meal, and you feel like your personal chef did all the work.Slow cookers first appeared in the 1970s, and you could get your crock pot in harvest gold, avocado green, or maybe decorated with orange flowers. Back then, the Crock-Pot (as the Rival Company, which is now a brand of Sunbeam Products, trademarked it) was mostly favored for cooking tough cuts of meat. The Crock-Pot left the limelight for a while, but in 2002, when I wrote my first slow cooker cookbook(Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker, The Harvard Common Press), slow cookers were enjoying a comeback. The goal of my first slow cooker book was to show how versatile slow cookers are for vegetarian cookingthey can be used to prepare everything from breakfast to dessert.Fast forward ten years from that first book, and the popularity of slow cookers shows no sign of waning. In addition, more people are enjoying a plant-based diet than ever before. Since that first slow cooker cookbook was published, Ive written many other titles, but I never stopped developing new recipes, discovering new techniques, and exploring new ideas for vegan slow cooking. As Ive explored new ways to use the slow cooker for plant-based meals, Ive been continually amazed at the effectiveness of slow cookers for vegan recipes. Over the years, I have developed scores of new recipes and explored the worlds cuisines to discover more creative ways to prepare food using the slow cooker method. What I came up with was enough to fill another book.Im pleased and proud, therefore, to present this new book to you. It contains more than 200 recipes using only plant-based ingredients. Ive also included pages of basic information and lots of new tips and pointers for making the most of your slow cooker experience. Ive worked hard to make the recipes accessible using most sizes of slow cookers. In addition to being 100 percent plant-based, many of the recipes are also gluten-free, soy-free, or low in fat.We all know that a slow cooker is ideal for cooking beans, soups, and stews, but as you explore the pages ofThe Vegan Slow Cooker Cookbook, youll discover a whole new slow-cooking world. The slow cooker can be used to make braised vegetable dishes, comforting casseroles, luxurious risottos, and fun dips and snacks. It can even be used to bake potatoes, breads, pts, and desserts.

With chapters on everything from appetizers to main dishes, desserts, and beverages, theres something for everyones breakfast, lunch, and dinner. My new book picks up where my previous book left off and elevates vegan slow cooking to a higher level. I love to cook in my slow cooker, and I hope that after you try some of these recipes, you will too.