Emptying the Fridge: Slow Cooker Style

Week one down!

Blogging everyday has caused me to have a lot of left over items in my fridge. More than a lot, actually. I decided to attempt getting rid of them by throwing as much as I could into my slow cooker and crossing my fingers.

To give it a Vegan MoFo twist, I decided to attempt a mole-esque sauce to go with it.

I don't slow cook very often in the summer. To me, slow cooking is for fall and winter. When you are busy and tired all the time and just need something to be ready for dinner when you get home. If you are like this, get a slow cooker. There is nothing greater than just throwing things into a pot, going to work and having dinner ready when you come home.

Here is what I made:

Sweet Potato Cocoa Stew

• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 1 Tbsp oil
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 1 Anaheim pepper, diced (I ended up only using half)
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp coriander
• 1 Tbsp paprika
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced about 2" cubes
• 2-3 red potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 can of diced tomatoes
• 2 vegan sausages, chopped
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 2 Tbsp cocoa powder
• salt and pepper

So, a lot of ingredients, but easy to make. First get out a big frying pan and heat with the oil on medium. Next, toss in the onions and cook for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and the peppers and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Add in the spices (not the cocoa though!) and cook for a few more minutes until everything is softened up.

Slow Cooker Step one: Brown aromatics (onions, peppers, garlic etc)

Put this and all remaining ingredients into your slow cooker. Stir it and set on low for 6-8 hours.

Step two: Dump everything in the slow cooker.
Step three: turn it on and go about your day.

That's it! I love slow cooking. I decided to step it up a notch and cook up some collards to go with my stew. It was a perfect addition. All I did was chop up some collards and add them to a hot pan with a Tsp of oil. Let it cook for 5 minutes them add some balsamic vinegar and cook a few more minutes.

and serve.. I love when I can get dinner on the table within 15 minutes of landing at home!

I have to be honest. Normally when I attempt to just randomly dump left overs together into a dish, I screw it up. This stew tastes very classic. The cocoa gives it a little something, something that works so well with the sweet potatoes. If you don't have all the ingredients at home, don't worry about it. Just work with what you have. I am so glad it tastes good, because I made enough to feed a small army! Laura... if you're reading this, I will be bringing some by for you guys to try :)

Cooking without a recipe a la Chef at Home

Well, it is Monday. It is freezing out and snowing and I am getting over a nasty cold. I am trying to get back into meal planning and while making the meal plan is not so difficult, following it is my challenge. Today for dinner I wrote 'stew'.

Well, so many options here all of a sudden. I took stock of ingredients and I didn't have enough of traditional stew ingredients. I did, however, have two sweet potatoes and really wanted to use them.

Following the Michael Smith theme of cooking without a recipe... I decided to just to go free style. A little scary for me as I have screwed up many a recipes by trying to ad-lib herbs and spices. Here is what I came up with..

Stay outta the Snow Sweet Potato Stew

• 1 tbsp Oil
• one onion, chopped
• two cloves of garlic, chopped
• One package of Seitan, chopped (about 500g)
• 1/2 tsp red chili flakes (Or maybe a small hot chili, diced)
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp all spice
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 coriander
• salt and pepper to taste
• two sweet potatoes, approx 1 1/2" dice
• one can of diced tomatoes
• approx 1 cup vegetable broth
• one can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• one head of broccoli, chopped

Prep all the ingredients and in a large pot heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until translucent. Add in the seitan and  cook another 2-3 minutes. Add all the spices and cook for another 1-2 minutes.

Add in all the other ingredients and bring to a boil. Once boiling, drop the heat to a simmer and cook for 20-25 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are nice and soft. Taste and adjust the spices as necessary.

With mine, I steamed some dinosaur kale, rainbow chard to make sure I got some additional veggies and had a side of steamed brown rice.

When I started this, I was not intending on putting broccoli in it. While I am not sure it is the best vegetable in the stew, it definitely was non-offensive and really just took on the flavours of the stew.However, I really like to put at least one or two green veggies in these one pot meals. I find if I don't, I forget to eat my veggies. I also forgot that Broccoli does not really hold its colour well in things like stew, so it was not the prettiest thing to include.
 
I think maybe instead of having the chard or kale on the side. This might have been really yummy and pretty with the chard just right in the stew. Noted for next time.
 
Now, I have recently realized that a lot of people I know, have never tried Kale and I now feel obligated to include some information on this yummy veggie I often throw on the side of my dinners.
 
Kale is loaded in nutrients including vitamins A, C, K, calcium, fibre, magnesium, and many others. It packs a big punch for the little 36 calories per cup. It is in my opinion, a super food. Some think it has cancer fighting powers and an ability to lower cholesterol.

 
I compare Kale to a healthier substitute for Broccoli. It is in the same family and is considered part of the same family as Broc, Cauliflower, and wild cabbage. Its taste is pretty mild and it can be pared with almost any entree. I love to add kale to green smoothies, stir fries, soups, stews, pizza.. See? Kale is a magical veggie. You can even make kale chips with it! I have been told the best way to eat Kale is by steaming it first for about 4-5 minutes. I love to steam or saute kale and the throw a splash of balsamic vinegar on it. It brings the kale to life!
 
If you have not tried Kale, please do. I cannot believe I went 25 years without trying this vegetable. Next dinner, skip the usual, boring veggies and try something new!