The amazing thing about a crackpot -- er, crockpot -- is that if you have a few minutes to load it up, it will do all the work for you, regardless of how busy your schedule is. Now, hitherto, I have often pre-sauteed the more potent elements such as onion and garlic. This time however, not only was time quite pressing, but I also thought it was time to get over my fear, and allow the crockpot to do its thing. A benign and benevolent key makeup artist had wrapped me early from work one day, and I decided it was the perfect opportunity to get the crockpot going so there would be dinner for the next couple of nights when I would certainly be home very late in the evening.
I'd been keen to try out adzuki beans in the crockpot, because although they are larger than a lentil and are not a split pea, they are 'soaking optional'. I also thought it would be fun to throw in some barley -- however for those who are gluten sensitive or intolerant, please substitute your favourite short, whole grain rice for the barley.
My son and I both like this hearty concoction very much. My husband, who seems to have the tongue of a super-taster, is not so keen. It does have a bit of a stronger flavour. It's probably the cauliflower that is at fault. I personally can't taste the cauliflower, and certainly can't rule out the adzuki's, the barley, or the wild rice for the 'earthiness' of the flavour, Colin often turns up his nose at dishes that contain cauliflower even if he doesn't know it's there. Sigh.
How cute are adzukis? Seriously. They are adorable! If you are not a fan of cauliflower, you can definitely substitute something sweeter. Perhaps a combination of chopped tomato and sweet potato? Mushrooms and eggplant? Beets? Kolrabi? Whatever tickles your fancy.
ingredients:
2 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil
2 tbsp finely minced garlic
3/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 diced carrot
1/2 cup diced celery
125 g cauliflower, divided into florets (frozen organic works well) -- about 1 cup
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
3/4 cup adzuki beans
1/4 cup barley (or short, whole grain rice for gluten free option)
2 tbsp wild rice
2 tbsp small brown lentils
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 tsp marjoram
1 tsp chili powder
black pepper
3 -3 1/2 cups water
125 g peas (frozen organic works well) -- about 3/4 or 1 cup
75 g spinach, chopped (frozen and defrosted works well)
directions:
turn on the crockpot to medium
layer the ingredients into your crockpot as follows:
1. coconut oil, garlic, and onion + 1/2 tsp sea salt sprinkled on top
2. cauliflower + 1/2 tsp sea salt sprinkled on top
3. carrots and celery + 1/2 tsp sea salt sprinkled on top
4. adzuki beans, barley, wild rice, and lentils, + 1 1/2 tsp sea salt, marjoram, chili powder, and black pepper
5. pour on 3 or 3 1/2 cups of water, careful not to disturb your layers
6. pour your peas on top of the water
7. cook for 6 hours on medium (I just turned mine on and went to bed. It turned itself off after cooking).
8. when finished cooking, stir in the chopped spinach.
3 comments:
VERY excited! More crockpot!! Will let you know.... and likely will steer away from the dreaded cauliflower of course, based on your experience.... M
Don't be too afraid of the cauliflower. It really melts down to nothing ... Unless you are a super taster, you probably wouldn't notice it. However, there are so many other great options and choices out there, and I look forward to hearing what you come up with. I have a stock pile of organic broccoli, cauliflower, peas, thus spinach in my freezer, and cauliflower is a good option for a 'base' for soups and stews. I find it easiest to cook from things that I have on hand, and I always have carrots, celery, onions, garlic, cauliflower etc ready to go. One of these days I'll actually make a special trip ... Stay tuned for more crockpot adventures. And let me know what you end up substituting, and how it turns out :)
As you know, I love cauliflower and have actually managed to sneak it by m a few times so far.... so we will see... stay tuned!
M
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