Book Review

Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker
by Robin Robertson
Review by Cathe Olson

If you think a slow cooker has no place in a vegan kitchen, Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker will change your mind. The book contains "200 Recipes for Healthy and Hearty One-Pot Meals That Are Ready When You Are."

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As you might expect, there are many bean dishes. Robertson gives basic instructions for cooking dried beans and legumes as well as dishes like Maple Baked Beans, Sloppy Lentils, and Vegetarian Hoppin' John. There is also a plentiful selection of soups and stews, including several chilis, chowders, and lots of vegetable and bean soups.

There are also entrees you wouldn't expect to be able to make in a slow cooker like Slow-Fashioned Potpie with Biscuit Crust, Vegetable Lasagna, and Stuffed Cabbage Rolls. The book has instructions for making your own seitan and offers many delicious sounding recipes with seitan such as Not Your Mama's Pot Roast and Savory Stuffed Wheat-Meat Roast. Also included are vegetable dishes like Rustic Mashed Potatoes with Garlic, Sweet Potato Casserole with Pineapple and Coconut, and Herb-Infused Corn on the Cob.

If you're entertaining, you'll want to try some of the appetizers like Country-Style Pate and Sante Fe Trail Mix, or hot drinks like Swedish Glogg and Spiced Hot Mocha. This book even has an impressive selection of quick breads and desserts including Chocolate-Coconut Cake and Blueberry Cobbler that can be "baked" in the slow cooker.

Most of the recipes in the book were easy to make and tasted delicious. They are not, however, all "one-pot meals" like the subtitle indicates. Many of the dishes require sautéing of onions or other vegetables before adding them to the slow cooker. While this is not a big deal, it does require a little extra time and another dirty pot. I found that the results were worth the extra effort though.

One thing that initially disappointed me was that just about all of the bean recipes called for cooked beans. I really was hoping for recipes where I could throw soaked beans and other ingredients in a pot and have them all cook together. I got around the problem by putting my beans to soak the morning before I was going to cook the meal and cooking them overnight. The next morning I had cooked beans that I could use for the recipe. It took some advance planning but I'd cook a pot full of beans and had extra to freeze. Of course, you can just use canned beans if you prefer.

The cooking time for most recipes is fairly flexible so you can fit them into your schedule. (Robertson also offers excellent suggestions for varying cooking times further when you need to.) I even cooked several recipes on the stovetop to have them done in an hour and they came out fine. I did find that the cooking time specified in some of the recipes was inaccurate - at least for my slow cooker. When I cooked my beans overnight on high as instructed, they were mushy, out of water, and partially burned in the morning but when I cooked them on low heat, they came out perfect. When I made the No Hurry Curry (which was delicious), the potatoes were undercooked at the minimum cooking time so next time I will plan for a longer cooking, or cook it on high for part of the time.

One thing I didn't like - a problem I see in many cookbooks - is that Robertson uses a lot of weight measurements (ounces, pounds, etc.). I don't have a scale to measure carrots, beans, or potatoes (and I don't think most people do) so I often had to guess how much of a particular ingredient to use. Fortunately, I am pretty good at seeing what looks right but I think an inexperienced cook might have trouble with this.

All in all, I really like this book and have been using it often. I'm finding it surprisingly useful in the summer because when the weather is nice I want to be out and about during the afternoon and often don't get home until dinner. Best of all, a slow cooker doesn't heat up the house! I've also enjoyed making the recipes for company because I can get my cooking out of the way before my friends come over. One of the best things about the book is that, unlike many other vegetarian cookbooks that rely so heavily on dairy products, almost all of the recipes are vegan.

If you're not afraid of a little experimentation and relying on your instincts for measurements and cooking times, I heartily recommend this book.

Order Fresh From the Vegetarian Slow Cooker Now!

Cathe Olson is the author of the new nondairy ice cream cookbook: Lick It! Cream Dreamy Vegan Ice Cream Your Mouth Will Love, as well as Simply Natural Baby Food and The Vegetarian Mother's Cookbook. Visit Cathe's website at www.simplynaturalbooks.com and her blog at http://catheolson.blogspot.com.

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