The Vegan Slow Cooker: Simply Set It and Go with 150 Recipes for Intensely Flavorful, Fuss-Free Fare Everyone (Vegan or Not!) Will Devour
“Kathy’s stellar recipes and straightforward instructions will have you creating hot, fresh, gourmet meals in just minutes a day. No more slaving away in the kitchen. With The Vegan Slow Cooker, you’ll be eating like a queen with just the flip of a switch!”—Rory Freedman, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Skinny Bitch”This book might just revolutionize vegan cooking! Kathy Hester’s recipes are ridiculously fast and easy, unbelievably delicious, and believe it or not—cheap. Bravo
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Fresh from the Vegan Slow Cooker: 200 Ultra-Convenient, Super-Tasty, Completely Animal-Free Recipes
Robin Robertson has built a publishing record of successful books in the vegetarian/vegan category. Her earlier cookbook, Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow-Cooker, established 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. Fresh from the Vegan Slow-Cooker provides practical guidence on how to work with different models of slow-cookers, takin
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Simple, nutritious slow cooker recipes you’ll love – vegan or not!,
Before I begin, let me make this clear: my husband and I are not vegans, or even vegetarians. So I hope you’re pleasantly surprised to hear that upon opening this book for the first time, I literally bookmarked at least 15 recipes and couldn’t decide what to make first. And even moreso, that our experiences thus far have been great. We’ve enjoyed the Italian Eggplant Casserole with Cashew-Tofu Ricotta and Pantry Pot Pie so much that we fight over leftovers. Last night I made the Whole Wheat Pumpkin Gingerbread and had a little sliver this morning – fantastic!
For a long time, I was not the biggest fan of the slow cooker because most of the recipes I found were comprised of processed ingredients and just plain boring and bland. And let’s not forget the slow cooker recipes that require a zillion preparation steps, thus defeating the purpose of an appliance that is meant to save some time. Recently, though, that’s been changing, as I’ve been compiling and developing a lot more recipes that fit my desire for flavorful, healthy recipes using wholesome ingredients. And that are quite easy to throw together. This book is a wonderful piece of that collection and I can’t wait to try more of the recipes, because they all meet exactly what I’m looking for.
Besides great food, Hester delivers others requirements of a great cookbook: simple ingredient lists; clear, concise instructions (that even highlight the steps which can be completed the night before); and options for substitutions to meet various dietary needs.
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|My new favorite cookbook!,
You won’t be sorry if you buy this one! Not only does this book contain simple, delicious, and nutritious, 100% vegan receipes, but it is also put together extremely well. The arrangement of the ingredients and instructions on each page makes each recipe easy to follow. All recipes are limited to one page, with the ingredients in the left column, and instructions in the right.
I own another cookbook (Viva Vegan by Terry Hope Romero), and while it contains tasty recipes, I rarely use it because there are multiple recipes on single pages, requiring you to turn the pages to see the remainder of many of the recipes… Which is not a good thing because you have to stop what you’re doing to wash food off your hands, remove the book from the stand, turn the page, and place the book back in the stand before you can continue with the recipe. A 2nd problem I find with the arrangement of the Viva Vegan book is it’s simply hard to follow with my eyes. Every time I look away (to do the next step), it takes me several seconds to find and “refocus” on the correct place on the page. So I really appreciate the user-friendly format of THIS book by Kathy Hester!
There are so many great recipes in this book, that I had a difficult time deciding what to try first. I decided to go with the “Chik’n Cacciatore” (made with seitan), and my family LOVED it! Over the next couple of days, I made the “Mix-and-Match Jambalaya”, and the “Baigan Bharta” (eggplant curry)…. and both were followed by rave reviews!
Some prep time is required in the recipes (chopping and sauteing), but Kathy makes it a cinch, by breaking up the instructions between “The Night Before”, and “In the Morning”. This helps tremendously if you want to toss everything in the crockpot on your way out to work in the morning. That being said, you don’t have to do anything the night before; if you have a few additional minutes to spare in the morning, you can do everything at once.
Simply put, this is an EXCELLENT cookbook, whether you are a new vegan looking for simple, yet tasty and satisfying recipes that do not contain hard-to-find ingredients (which is common in vegan cookbooks)… or whether you’re a long-term vegan, looking for a nice variety of easy to prepare, delectable dishes!
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|Save your money; just read your slow cooker manual,
I have never written a bad review for a cookbook before, but every time I look over at this one, I feel so ripped off. I have over 140 vegan cookbooks and this has to be the very worst I have ever seen.
Page 17, Dried beans from scratch: 1 pound beans, water, cook overnight. That’s it! And that’s not all: Page 18, Everyday rice: basmati rice, water, pinch of salt, cook. Page 25, Preserve-the-harvest diced tomatoes: “tomatoes to fill your crock,” cook, freeze. Page 26, Beyond Easy Baked Potatoes: you guessed it; put potatoes in slow cooker and cook. Page 27, All-Occasion Roasted Garlic: Add 4 to 6 heads garlic and cook. Really? A whole slow cooker to cook 4 heads of garlic? Page 35, Brandied Cranberry Sauce: brandy, cranberries, sweetener, cook.
Page 59, Creamy Potato Soup: potatoes, water, non-dairy milk, 1 clove garlic, and a little seasoning. Couldn’t anyone come up with that on their own? Even the Cheater Chili another reviewer mentioned, is a joke: 3 cans beans, 1 can corn, 1 can tomatoes, and chili flavorings. Anyone could do that on top of the stove in less time than it would take to clean the slow cooker!
Page 131, Sweet Herbed Beets: beets, water, herbs. Page 142, Southern-Style Green Beans: green beans, water, seasoning. Page 143 Vodka and Dill-Glazed Baby Carrots: carrots, water, vodka, seasoning. Page 189, Big Pot of Grits: grits, water, margarine. Page 190, Big Pot of Oatmeal: oats, water, non-dairy milk. Page 191, Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal: See previous recipe and add pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spices. Also, two other recipes wasted on changing the flavor of oatmeal. Page 211 Earl Grey Poached Pears: pears, tea, sweetener. Page 216, Spiced cider: apple cider and spice, duh. Page 217, Cardamom Hot Chocolate: non-dairy milk, chocolate, cardamom, sugar.
I don’t consider these to be vegan recipes. They are foods everyone prepares, whether they are vegan or omnivore. These so called recipes have not been adapted for vegans . . . they never, ever, contained animal products!
True, there are other more extensive recipes, but it is advertised as having 150 recipes. I think that is very misleading. And as other reviewers have mentioned, the more extensive recipes just say to add faux meat.
I only paid $11.00 for the book and got free shipping so it’s not worth the trouble to send it back, but if I had looked through the book before purchasing it, it would not be a part of my collection. Any other slower cooker book would serve better; just substitute faux meat, non-dairy milk, and margarine when the original ingredients are specified.
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|Another Great Book from Robin Robertson!,
I’m a big fan of my slow cooker and an even bigger fan of Robin Robertson, so I was super excited when I heard she was working on a slow cooker book. I use my slow cooker a lot during the cooler months, as I love coming home to a hot, cooked meal waiting for me. If you’re new to slow cookers, you’re in luck, because Robin starts the book out with an extensive chapter on slow cooker basics. Everything you could possibly imagine cooking up in your slow cooker is covered here, from snacks and appetizers to dessert and drinks with a plethora of tasty dishes in between. Did you know that you can make pizza in a slow cooker? I didn’t either! You can even make bread, marmalade and cheesecake! Robin’s simple instructions make cooking just about anything in the slow cooker seem easy. She also gives gluten-free and soy-free options, so there’s really something for everyone in this book
I’ve made about 6 dishes from Fresh From the Vegan Slow Cooker already, and every one of them has been delicious. So far my favorites have been the Rustic Potpie Topped with Chive Biscuits and the Wine Braised Seitan and Cremini Mushrooms. My copy of the book is already full of bookmarks for dishes I want to make, so I know my slow cooker will be working overtime this fall, and I’m sure I’ll have new favorite recipes soon!
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|I now <3 my slow cooker!,
I’ve had my slow cooker for about 5 years, and I never used it to make anything except vegan chili and some applesauce. It seemed to me to be a waste of cupboard space…until now. I have attempted to use other vegan slow cooker books, but with no success. Recipes always failed. I’m not sure it it was lack of recipe testing or what. Ms. Robertson’s book has yielded nothing but excellent food. The times and quantities are spot-on, though I do tend to add a smidge more salt. I’m just a picky cook, though. Of the 7 recipes I’ve tried so far, I have had great success. She really knows how to balance flavors to make a dish taste great. I can’t recommend this book enough! It has made me excited to use my slow cooker.
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|Slow Cooking made Easy & Delicious!,
I had the pleasure to test recipes for this amazing cookbook, and I was blown away by each and every recipe. The recipes range from basics, such as a pot of beans and homemade seitan, to amazing entrees and desserts, such as Chickpea and Mushroom Tagine, Seitan Pot au Feu, and Bananas Foster Bread Pudding. And don’t forget to make the Warm and Creamy Artichoke-Spinach Dip–you won’t be able to stop digging in!
I personally bought a slow cooker for this particular book, and it was one of the best purchases I’ve ever made. This book has spawned a love affair between me and my slow cooker. How amazing is it to have dinner waiting for you when you get home from work?! It’s also a wonderful tool to make staples for your weekly meals, and also serves as a space-saver when making big meals. Why not use your slow cooker to make Green Bean Casserole or Stuffing on Thanksgiving day–you’ll find both recipes in the book, and they are delicious. This book has it all and then some!
All of Robin Robinson’s books are truly fantastic, and we wouldn’t have the plethora of vegan cookbooks without her. You won’t regret picking up this book–it’s a winner, hands down!
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