Seitan Pot Roast in the Crock Pot

I can't even remember the last time I had pot roast. Actually, I can. It was three years ago, when I made this pot roast. I think we were overdue.

I tweaked this recipe a bit, and it was sooo much better. Instead of Braggs Aminos, I used soy sauce. I used 1-1/4 c. vital wheat gluten and 1/4 c. garbanzo bean flour. I changed the measurements to 1/2 t. thyme and 1/4 t. black pepper. I did not sprinkle the vegetables with salt and pepper, but did sprinkle the minced garlic and another 1/2 t. thyme over all of it.

I also cooked it on high for 5 hours, then turned it to low for one hour.

This was the result:

It was juicy and delicious. My dough seemed wetter than I recall, and that may have been the difference. It did not have the typical wheaty taste one finds in seitan, and I believe that is due to the addition of the garbanzo bean flour.

I had just enough leftovers to keep to make some kind of hash for tomorrow's supper.

Crockpot Mushroom and Green Bean Stroganoff

I seriously love the convenience of crockpots. And there is nothing more inviting than walking into the house and smelling some scrumptious. It makes your mouth water just anticipating what you are about to dine on!

Crockpot Mushroom and Green Bean Stroganoff

Olive oil
One package sliced mushrooms
2 T. tomato paste
2 c. vegetable stock
One onion, chopped
One green bell pepper, chopped
2 T. flour
1-1/2 T. Hungarian paprika (yes, it does make a difference!)
One bag frozen green beans
1/2 c. vegan sour cream

Saute the mushrooms, onion and bell pepper in the olive oil until softened. Whisk in the flour. Remove from heat. Add this mixture to the crockpot. Add paprika and green beans on top of mushroom mixture. Mix the tomato paste with the vegetable stock and pour this on top of everything. Cover and cook on low 8 hours. When done, stir in the vegan sour cream. Serve with wide noodles. Enjoy!

Layered Crockpot Dinner

Today is World Environment Day, so it seems appropriate that I should make a dish in my crockpot. It's cheaper, and saves energy, right?

Maybe.

According to Does Crock Pot Cooking Save You Money?, maybe yes and maybe no. In my house, the answer is yes, it does.

Layered Crockpot Dinner

6 potatoes, sliced
2 carrots, sliced
1 zucchini, sliced
1 c. green peas
1 onion, sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
1 c. corn kernels
2-1/2 c. tomato sauce
1 t. thyme
1 t. basil
1/2 t. cinnamon
2 T. parsley
1/4 c. tamari soy sauce
1 t. dry mustard
2 t. chili powder
1/8 t. sage

Layer vegetables in the crock pot in the order given. Mix together the remaining ingredients and pour over the vegetables. Cook on high for six hours or low for 12.

When done, stir it, serve it, enjoy it!

I liked this dish but I'm on the fence about the addition of cinnamon. Even half a teaspoon was very detectable. I might try it again without the cinnamon just to see what difference it makes. This recipe also lends itself to adding any leftover veggies you have in the fridge.

You can easily double this recipe and invite friends over while you find ways to celebrate World Environment Day. There are plenty of suggestions on things to do here.

Seitan Pot Roast

Nothing says comfort food like a pot roast! The centerpiece of many Sunday dinners, it is soul nourishing food. Placed in a crockpot, it's mouth-watering scent wafts through the home, welcoming all who enter. And the best part is leftovers! So many things you can do with them!

Seitan Pot Roast

1 onion, chopped
1-3/4 c. vital wheat gluten
1/4 c. nutritional yeast
1 t. onion powder
1 t. thyme
1-1/2 c. water
3 T. Braggs aminos
1 T. ketchup
3 large carrots, sliced
5 medium potatoes, cut into chunks
1 c. vegetable broth
3 garlic cloves, crushed
Salt and pepper

Spread the onion along the bottom of the crockpot.

In a bowl, mix the wheat gluten, nutritional yeast, onion powder, thyme and 1/2 t. salt and 1/2 t. pepper. In a separate bowl, mix the water, Braggs and ketchup. Pour liquids into the dry ingredients and mix well.  Knead this for about 2 minutes. Mold into a nice shape, and place the raw seitan in the crockpot, on top of the chopped onions.

Arrange the carrots and potatoes in the crockpot around the seitan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and the the vegetable broth. Place lid on crockpot, turn to low and let cook 8 hours.
Slice the seitan roast and serve with the vegetables. Enjoy!

If you have never used a crockpot, my first piece of advice is - go buy one! When purchasing a crockpot, look for one with a removable liner. They are much easier to clean. They come in many sizes and shapes, so pick one that suits you. I have two. One round, one oval and both large. I've found the oval shaped one does seem to take longer to cook.

The LOW setting is about 200 degrees, and the HIGH setting is about 300 degrees. In other words, it gets hot! Make sure it sits on your counter away from the edge, to avoid any little fingers accidentally touching. One hour on HIGH is equal to two hours on LOW.

Only fill the crockpot one half to two thirds full. The foods will not cook properly if the appliance is filled to the brim. If the food and liquid level is lower, the foods will cook too quickly. Foods cooked on the bottom of the slow cooker cook faster and will be moister because they are immersed in the simmering liquid. Don't lift the lid to stir, especially if you are cooking on the low setting. Each time you lift the lid, enough heat will escape that the cooking time should be extended by 20 minutes to half an hour. To check progress without lifting the lid, spin the cover until the condensation falls off. Then it's easy to see inside. Liquids do not boil away in the crockpot, so if you are making a recipe that wasn't specifically developed for the crockpot, reduce the liquid by 1/3 to 1/2 unless you are cooking rice or making soup.

Cooking times. Most people want to try adapting their favorite stews and sauces to the slow cooker. The chart below explains how to adjust cooking times.

Oven/Stove Top Time      Slow Cooker (Low Setting)     Slow Cooker (High Setting)

15 - 30 min.                     4 - 6 hours                               1.5 - 2.5 hours
30 - 45 min.                     6 - 8 hours                               3 - 4 hours
45 min - 3 hours               8 - 16 hours                             4 - 6 hours

The crockpot is ideal for working people who must be away from home all day (or for those days when you must run errands or attend meetings, or for when you're entertaining and want to get the food preparation done early). The food will simmer for 10 to 12 hours on Low if you must be gone all day or you may cook the food in 5 to 6 hours on High. It is a very simple appliance to operate and you will find that the cooked food is very tasty. If you are a working person or one who knows they will have a very busy day, you can do most of the chopping and measuring the night before. Then refrigerate these ingredients until the next morning. If your crockpot has a REMOVABLE liner, you can assemble and refrigerate the food right in the liner which will be easy to pop into the crockpot the next morning. Be sure you don't fill the crockpot so full that the food pushes up on the lid.  Protect the crockery liner. Do not subject it to sudden temperature changes. Do not preheat the cooker and then add food. Do not pour cool water into the crockery liner while it is still hot after food has been removed.

CLEANUP: As soon as you remove the food from the crockpot, uplug it and fill the liner with VERY HOT soapy water (DO NOT ADD COOL WATER!!). Let the liner soak while you eat. When the water has cooled, you can swish out the liner and rinse it and put in in the dishwasher. Mine are crockery and HEAVY, so be careful not to drop and break your liner! NEVER IMMERSE THE OUTSIDE PART OF THE COOKER OR LET THE CORD GET IN THE WATER!! Wipe the outside metal shell with a damp soft cloth and dry with a towel.
 
I have used a crockpot for years and have only ever had to replace one, when it quit cooking on LOW. They are a fabulously convenient appliance to use, and make dinner preparation a snap, especially on those days when I am extraordinarily busy. Having dinner ready and waiting is a blessing!

Bean There, Done That!

While reorganizing my pantry, I came across a large canister that I had placed bags of beans and rice in. I pulled it out, and put the beans in smaller, different containers. Most of the beans have come from farmer's markets. The one I chose to make for tonight's supper are speckled butter beans.

I put the in the crockpot last night, covered them with water and left them to soak overnight. This morning I drained the soaking water, covered them again with plenty of water, added a packet of dried onion soup and chopped up some elephant garlic. Cover, turn to low and off we go. After about six hours I turned the temp to high, just to make sure they would be done in time for supper. They were. They were delicious! I made a batch of wild pecan rice and homemade from scratch cornbread. It's been a long time since I've eaten like that, having grown up on a good pot of beans and cornbread. A yummy Southern meal!

I will definitely use this method to cook dried beans again.
The speckled butter bean is a little bigger than a lima and is higher in iron, fat and calories. Just like many legumes, butter beans provide a great source of fiber and protein. Eating them is a great way to lower cholesterol and especially good for those with diabetes. They provide a nice amount of magnesium (good for the cardiovascular system), folate, the trace mineral manganese, and iron. Butter beans also contain phytochemicals, which may play a role in cardiovascular protection and cancer prevention. One of the phytochemicals in butter beans, saponin, may have antifungal, antibacterial, cancer-fighting and cholesterol-lowering effects, notes Florida State University.

I make an effort to eat beans every day for either lunch or supper. The benefits are just too fantastic!

A Kinder, Gentler Barbecue

Tonight sounded like a good night for barbecue. Some cool ghosty shows were coming on and I wanted something fun and simple. So, I made this:


Crock Pot Barbecue Tofu

Ingredients:

2 containers firm or extra firm tofu, pressed
1 1/2 cups ketchup
3 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a crock pot. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours.

Simple enough. Reviews were mixed. My daughter and I thought it was okay, non-vegan hubby ate two sandwiches and youngest son loved it. If I were to make it again, I would use extra firm tofu and freeze it first to get a more chewy consistency. I had to buy firm because the grocery store was out of extra firm. I'd also half the red pepper flakes because everyone, other than my daughter who loves spicy stuff!, thought it was too spicy.

The next day I had a thought that it would be good over rice. I spooned some into my food processor, added a little water and made a slurry. Mixed it in with some leftover rice and liked it much better.

The origins of the word *barbecue* are, well, not interesting so much as curious. The most plausible theory states that the word "barbecue" is a derivative of the West Indian term "barbacoa," which denotes a method of slow-cooking meat over hot coals. Bon Appetit magazine blithely informs its readers that the word comes from an extinct tribe in Guyana who enjoyed "cheerfully spitroasting captured enemies." The Oxford English Dictionary traces the word back to Haiti, and others claim (somewhat implausibly) that "barbecue" actually comes from the French phrase "barbe a queue", meaning "from head to tail." Proponents of this theory point to the whole-hog cooking method espoused by some barbecue chefs. Tar Heel magazine posits that the word "barbecue" comes from a nineteenth century advertisement for a combination whiskey bar, beer hall, pool establishment and purveyor of roast pig, known as the BAR-BEER-CUE-PIG (Bass 313). The most convincing explanation is that the method of roasting meat over powdery coals was picked up from indigenous peoples in the colonial period, and that "barbacoa" became "barbecue" in the lexicon of early settlers. Due to the rather murky etymology of the term *barbecue*, and its constant association with meat, I'd like to find another word. Any suggestions?

Renewal and Ratatouille

Isn't this season just fantastic? We are so loving the cooler temps here. Renewal seems to be the word of the day for me, so with that in mind I have been vigorously and furiously cleaning and scrubbing and reorganizing my kitchen. Not wanting to have to stop this frenzy early for meal preparation, I decided this week to make all of the meals in the crockpot. One, it is just so simple and convenient, and two, it permeates the house with the most mouth-watering and delicious smells! My first recipe for the week is ratatouille.

Ratatouille Crockpot

•1 eggplant, peeled and 1 inch dice
•2 medium onion, chopped
•1 green bell pepper, 1/2 inch dice
•1 red bell pepper, 1/2 inch dice
•1 yellow bell pepper, 1/2 inch dice
•3 zucchini squash, sliced
•3 tbsp olive oil
•3 tbsp dried basil
•4 cloves garlic, minced
•1/2 tsp ground black pepper
•6 oz tomato paste
•1/2 tsp salt
•2 cups fresh tomatoes

Sprinkle eggplant with salt and let it drain in a colander about 1 hour. Press out excess moisture. Rinse with water and pat dry using paper towels. Place in crockpot then add onion, tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, olive oil, basil, garlic, and salt then mix well. Cover and cook on low 7 hours, or on high for 3 hours. Serve over hot cooked rice.

The sprinkling with salt and draining was probably unnecessary, but I did it anyway. I substituted the green bell pepper with an orange one, just for fun and additional color. It went very well with bread buttered with Earth Balance and iced green tea. This one is definitely a keeper!

A little bit of fascinating history about ratatouille:

The word Ratatouille actually comes from the french term "touiller," which means to toss food or to stir up.

Ratatouille originated in the area around present day Nice and is now eaten throughout Languedoc and Provence. It was originally a meal made by poor farmer's (in essence it started out life as a peasant dish), and was prepared in the summer with fresh summer vegetables. The first appearance of the word in English was found in Cassell's Dictionary of Cookery, 1877.

The original and simplest form of Ratatouille used only zucchini, tomatoes, green and red peppers (bell peppers), onions, and garlic.

Today eggplant is usually added to the list of ingredients.

It can be served warm or cold. My son actually ate some at room temperature and still thought it was delicious.