Fall crockpot

Since it finally feels like fall, I felt like making this. The rich, savoury flavours are both delicious and comforting. And if you are not familiar with seitan, it's a toothsome, chewy, dense food made primarily from the protein in wheat. So obviously, not for those with gluten intolerance or wheat allergy! This crockpot is great without it, so that part is totally optional. I added some chickpea flour to my seitan this time because I am totally a chickpea flour fan. A last minute addition of oven crisped chickpea flour tofu when the crockpot is finished would also be good, or chunks of tofu for extra heartiness when you fire up the crockpot. We ate this with oven roasted potato wedges one day, and with brown basmati another. Versatile, hearty, and perfect for fall.

equipment needed:
crockpot
 (or cook in a large pot on the stove, no prob)
measure cups
measuring spoons
cutting board
knife
mixing bowl
mixing spoon


ingredients:

2 tbsp coconut oil
1 onion, finely diced
2 cups green cabbage, finely diced

2 cups uncooked green lentils, rinsed

2 cups chopped celery hearts
2 cups diced carrot

4 dried shiitake mushrooms


4 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp herbe de provence
1 tsp cumin

8 cups water


directions:

1. layer all ingredients in order listed -- that's my crockpot secret for you.



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for seitan:

1 cup gluten flour
1/2 cup chickpea flour
1 tsp vegetable bouillon powder (or sea salt, herbs, and seasonings to your taste e.g. 1/2 tsp sea salt, some marjoram, basil or oregano, some chili powder or garlic powder etc -- I was in a hurry hence the bouillon powder)
1 1/2 cup water


directions:
1. combine chickpea flour, gluten flour and seasonings, and mix well
2. add water and mix well
3. knead
4. roll flat, and place on top of other ingredients in crockpot.

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finally:
1. cook the concoction on high in crock pot for 5 hours
2. remove the seitan and cut into cubes
3. remove the mushrooms and cut into pieces
4. return the mushrooms and seitan to the crockpot, stir, and let cook for 1 final hour


This is a dish that tastes great the next day. It's really good as soon as it's made, but don't worry about making it ahead if that's more convenient.

Also would be great with some crusty bread for soaking up any residual (and delicious) broth.

Broccoli and Chickpea Crockpot

This green and white concoction is savoury, thick, and utterly comforting. The peeps in my house adore both broccoli and chickpeas, so it's really easy to love this simple dish. The cauliflower and sweet potato aren't really very noticeable, although they do provide body, flavour, and nutrition. The theme of the concoction is definitely broccoli and chickpea. Once again, I mixed a little chickpea flour into the water I added to the crockpot, which thickened up wonderfully over the cook time. Simple, satisfying, and universally enjoyed.

2 tbsp coconut oil
1 onion, finely diced
3 cups of chopped up cauliflower florets

3 cups cooked chickpeas
3 cup frozen green peas

1/2 cup diced celery

4 cups diced white sweet potato


3 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp marjoram

3 cups boiling water
1 cup water + 1/2 cup chickpea flour

500 g broccoli florets


directions:

1. melt the coconut oil in the bottom of the crockpot as it's heating, and then go about chopping.
2. add the onions
3. add the cauliflower florets
4. add the cooked chickpeas
5. add the green peas
6. add the diced celery, followed by the white sweet potato
7. on top of all this sprinkled the seasonings
8. add the 1 cup water and 1/2 cup chickpea flour mixture
9. pour on the rest of the water
10. cook on high for 4-6 hours depending on how well your crockpot does.
11. when it's all done cooking, add in your dismembered broccoli florets, and stir in. I used frozen ones that then didn't really need to be cooked ... if yours are fresh and raw, you might give them a little cook time in the crockpot after mixing in.
12. taste, and adjust salt and pepper if needed.

Split Chickpeas

I live just down the street from Little India, and enjoy going into my local tiny supermarket. This week I  found both split moong dal (split mung beans) and split channa dal (split chickpeas). Always  fun to try new things. I cooked a pot of split moong dal seasoned with just avocado oil, dehydrated vegetables, and sea salt. It produced a thick creamy dish. Today I'm playing with the split chickpeas. I did a quick soak on them this morning, and will now see what fun I can have.

ingredients:

2 tbsp coconut oil
1 finely diced onion
4 cups finely chopped cabbage

3 cups split chickpeas -- soaked but not cooked

1/4 cup crumbled dried mushrooms

1 1/2  cup diced celery

3 cups diced sweet potato

4 cups diced zucchini

1 cup water

3 cups chopped broccoli florets -- lightly steamed, stirred in when the crockpot is finished cooking.

Moong Dal Crockpot

One of the things I really liked about this dish was the way in which the moong dal completely break down in the cooking process, making a thick dal with firm chunks of veggies in it. Delicious.

2 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil
2 tbsp finely  minced garlic
1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion
2 cups moong dal (split mung beans)


3 cups frozen green peas
2 cups finely diced carrots
2 cups finely diced asian sweet potato



4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp chili powder
1 tbsp rosemary
1 tsp cumin
black pepper
3 tsp raw cacao



combine the following:

4 cups tomato sauce
4 cups water
1/2 cup coconut butter
1/2 cup almond butter


3 cups (steamed) chopped broccoli -- to be added after cooking is complete



1. layer the ingredients in the order listed
2. sprinkle the seasonings on, then pour on the liquid mixture of tomato sauce, water, coconut butter, and almond butter
3. cook for 6 hours in the crockpot
4. when done, add the broccoli, stir, and let sit for  a little while.
5. serve!

The moong dal will completely break down, but all the veggies will be more or less intact. This makes for a thick and rich stew, and it's pretty fantastic.

Crockpot Stew -- giant lima beans in the pink

You are probably sick of me going on about the goings on in my crockpot. But let me tell you that this one is too good to miss. Imagine the satisfying toothsome texture of giant limas simmered in a stew of veggies, tomato sauce, and coconut milk. The coconut milk mellows the bite of the tomato sauce, and the veggies all add sweetness and texture. Truly a delicious combination. Yo, vegans!!

ingredients:

3 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil

3 cloves of garlic, very finely minced

1 large onion, very finely chopped

500 g frozen green peas

4 cups giant lima beans soaked but not cooked (bring to a boil in plenty of water for 2 minutes then turn off heat and soak for 1 hour. Rinse well)


2 cups diced celery
1 cup diced carrot
3 cups diced sweet potato

3 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp herbe de provence

4 cups tomato sauce (either make it using tomatoes, onions, garlic, carrots, or take some out of your freezer)

400 ml coconut milk


1. layer the ingredients in the order listed
2. cook for 4-6 hours on high in your crockpot

Oven Roasted Butternut Squash and Chickpea Stew

Inspired by Sara and her squash and chickpea stew ...


I had three adorable if generous 'bone' squashes from my favourite chemical free farmer at the East York Civic Center, and decided that today was the day to use one of them. Squashes to keep very well, so it could be weeks before the next squash post. We'll see.


I oven roasted the individual ingredients before combining them all in my red cast iron casserole (named Nemesis after a Red Dwarf star) and cooking them all together to let the flavours do a final meld.
The individual roasting section of the preparation doesn't really add much in terms of labour because honestly it's the cutting and dicing that feels the most labour intensive. However, it does add a little in terms of time. But also adds much in terms of flavour, integrity, and over all result. If you wish to skip the pre-roasting, I'd love to hear how it turns out for you. Yummy, I'm sure. I oven roasted some cauliflower and was originally going to add it, but then decided to just serve it as a side dish. With a loaf of freshly baked bread. :)


ingredients:


1 butternut squash, gutted and cubed
2 small onions, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
4 cups cauliflower florets and greens, chopped
4 cups cooked chickpeas
1 cup coconut milk
1 1/2 cups tomato sauce (see the pizza recipe post) (or you could chop some cherry tomatoes in half and throw those in instead -- yum)


1/2 tsp chili powder
black pepper
sea salt




directions:


1. toss butternut squash with coconut oil and a touch of salt and oven roast on a large baking sheet (line with silicone or parchment
2. toss onion and garlic with coconut oil and oven roast in a small oven proof baking dish
3. toss cauliflower with coconut oil and a touch of sea salt and oven roast in a rectangular glass pan
(you'll be able to fit the squash on your bottom rack, and the other two on your upper rack, and thereby do all at once)
4. oven roast everything at 345 until each one is individually done. I really hate under cooked garlic and onion, so I probably roast these much longer than some people would.  The cauliflower should be nicely brown in spots, and kind of translucent and soft. If you've never had cauliflower this way, try it and give thanks to my sister Debbie :) The squash is nice when it's a little brown in places.
5. you can reserve the cauliflower like I did to use as a side dish, or you can use it in your 'stew'.
6. In a large casserole (cast iron, stainless steel, ceramic, or glass), combine the oven roasted vegetables and the chickpeas. Pour the coconut milk over everything, and stir gently to combine.
7. pour on the tomato sauce. You don't want to use so much that the tomato dominates, but rather just enough that it pulls the flavours together nicely, and balances out the richness of the coconut milk. I found 1 1/2 cups did the trick for me.
8. I really like chili powder (not the same as chili pepper) and decided to add 1/2 tsp to this stew. I really like the way it works with the sweetness of the roasted vegetables and the brightness of the tomato. If chili powder is not your bag, maybe just sea salt and black pepper would work.
9. put the loaded casserole into the oven, and bake for 45-60 minutes to meld the flavours fully.
10. Serve with fresh bread, by itself, sided by cauliflower, wearing only a smile, topping quinoa, or consume standing over the stove directly from the casserole whilst wearing a guilty expression.

Oven roasted cauliflower and cauliflower greens that didn't make it into the stew

Squash stew, fresh bread, and Nemesis

Well, we've eaten this for the past three days or so, and I find it to be wake-up-in-the-night-and-raid-the-refrigerator delicious. Not that I do that ;) But I do look forward to a bowl of it for dinner. Extra Yum!


Let me know what you think :)