Low + slow = quick + delicious! Nothing gets dinner on the table faster than a cooker!

Vegetarian Times, Nov-Dec, 2004

What could be more appetizing after a long day at the office or running around with the kids than walking in to the aroma of an enticing stew or soup? With a slow cooker, it's easy. (If you're already a convert, skip straight to the recipes.) Just fill the pot with all the ingredients in the morning, plug it in and come home hours later to a savory dinner that's ready to eat. It's that simple.

Bonus: Foods prepared in slow cookers yield healthful meals. The long, moist cooking retains the natural juices from vegetables rather than boiling them away, so the results are nutritious as well as delicious. And if you're worried that leaving something cooking all day is risky or wasteful, don't be. Slow cookers use a remarkably low, safe amount of electricity--to 90 watts, or about what you'd use if you left a radio or a light on all day.

Also, it's no sweat if you get home late. An extra hour or so won't make any difference. Root vegetables, such as carrots, parsnips, beets and celery root, are naturals for slow-cooking. It enhances their inherent sweetness and turns these often underrated vegetables into the stars of the hearty stews, thick soups and cozy braised dishes coming up.

LEMON-GINGER GLAZED
BEETS AND CARROTS WITH
TOASTED WALNUTS

Serves 4

This tasty, colorful recipe can work as
a side dish, or it can become a flavorful
entree by adding slices of browned tempeh
or soy "sausage" just before serving.

1/3 cup lemon juice
3 Tbs. light brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. minced fresh ginger
1 1/2 tsp. crystallized ginger,
  crushed
2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 lb. beets, trimmed, peeled
  and cut into 1/2-inch slices
1/2 lb. carrots, peeled and cut
  diagonally into 1/2-inch slices
6 small shallots, peeled
  and halved
Salt and freshly ground black
  pepper to taste
3/4 cup chopped toasted walnuts

1. Combine lemon juice, brown sugar,
both gingers and oil with 3 tablespoons
water. Stir well to blend, dissolve sugar
and moisten crystallized ginger.

2. Put beets, carrots and shallots in
slow cooker, and pour on lemon-ginger
mixture, stirring to coat. Season with
salt and pepper.

3. Cover, and cook on low until vegetables
are soft, 6 to 8 hours. To serve,
sprinkle with chopped toasted walnuts.

OVEN METHOD: Prepare lemon-ginger
mixture as directed. Preheat oven to 375F.
Place beets, carrots and shallots in
ovenproof dish; pour on lemon-ginger
mixture, stirring to coat. Season with salt
and pepper. Cover, mid bake until
vegetables are tender, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
When ready to serve, sprinkle with
chopped toasted walnuts.

PER SERVING: 380 CAL; 10G PROT. 21G TOTAL FAT
(2G SAT FAT); 43G CARB; 0MG CHOL; 190MG
SOD; 10G FIBER; 26G SUGARS

WHITE-BEAN "CASSOULET"

Serves 4

In a classic cassoulet, a variety of meats
complement the traditional white beans.
In this version, a flavorful selection
of winter root vegetables takes their place.
For a heartier dish, add browned and sliced
soy "sausage" links just before serving.
Canned white beans make this recipe
super-easy to assemble.

1 Tbs. olive oil
4 small shallots, quartered
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 carrots, peeled and sliced into
  1/4-inch rounds
1 turnip, peeled and chopped
1 parsnip, peeled and sliced
  into 1/4-inch rounds
3 15.5-oz. cans great Northern
  beans, preferably organic,
  drained and rinsed
1 14.5-oz. can crushed tomatoes,
  undrained
1 1/2 cups vegetable stock or water
2 bay leaves
1 1/4 tsp. dried thyme or savory
Salt and freshly ground black
  pepper to taste
3 Tbs. toasted breadcrumbs for
  garnish
1 Tbs. minced fresh parsley for
  garnish

1. Pour oil into slow cooker, and turn
it on high. Add shallots and garlic.
Cover, and cook to soften, about 15
to 20 minutes.

2. Add carrots, turnip, parsnip,
beans and tomatoes. Stir in stock,
bay leaves, thyme, salt and pepper.

3. Reduce heat to low. Cover, and
cook until all vegetables are tender,
6 to 8 hours.

4. Remove and discard bay leaves
before serving. Garnish with
breadcrumbs and minced parsley.

STOVETOP METHOD: Heat oil in
5- to 6-quart Dutch oven or other large
pot over medium heat. Add shallots,
garlic and carrots. Cover, and cook
5 minutes to soften. Reduce heat to
low. Add remaining ingredients, and
cook, stirring occasionally, until
vegetables are tender, 1 to 1/2 hours.

PER SERVING: 490 CAL; 26G PROT; 5G TOTAL FAT
(1G SAT. FAT); 88G CARB; 0MG CHOL; 260MG
SOD; 21G FIBER: 7G SUGARS

MAIN-DISH
LENTIL-VEGETABLE SOUP

Serves 4

This flavorful soup with its protein-rich
lentils is substantial enough to
enjoy as a main dish. One note:
Even though most lentils today are
picked clean, sort through them just
in case to remove any debris.

If you're pinched for time, skip tire
initial saute that starts the soup;
however, those few extra minutes
(and the 1 extra pan it takes) greatly
enhance the overall flavor. To add
some greens with no extra cooking,
chop some baby spinach, and stir it
in just before serving. The heat from
the soup will just wilt the spinach.

1 Tbs. olive oil
1 medium-sized yellow onion,
  chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 to 3 carrots, peeled and cut
  into 1/4-inch dice
1 parsnip, peeled and cut into
  1/4-inch dice
1 small celery root, peeled and
  cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 1/4 cups dried brown lentils,
  sorted and rinsed
6 cups vegetable stock or water
1 Tbs. tamari soy sauce
Salt and freshly ground black
  pepper
Minced fresh parsley for garnish

1. Heat oil in skillet over medium
heat. Add onion and garlic, cover
and cook until softened, about
5 minutes; transfer to slow cooker.

2. Add carrots, parsnip, celery
root, lentils, stock, tamari, salt
and pepper. Cover, and cook on
low until lentils and vegetables
are tender, 6 to 8 hours. To serve,
adjust seasonings to taste, and
garnish with fresh parsley.

STOVETOP METHOD: Heat oil in
a 5- to 6-quart pot over medium
heat. Add onion and garlic.
Covet; mad cook 5 minutes to
soften. Add carrots, parsnip, celery
root, lentils, stock, tamari, salt and
pepper. Reduce heat to low. Cover,
and cook, stirring from time to
time, until lentils and vegetables are
tender, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Taste
and adjust seasonings, if necessary.
Garnish with parsley, and serve.

PER SERVING: 360 CAL; 19G PROT; 45G TOTAL
FAT (0.5G SAT. FAT); 65G CARB; 0MG CHOL;
900MG SOD; 19G FIBER; 12G SUGARS

HEARTY WINTER
VEGETABLE STEW

Serves 4

If you like, the rich broth this
recipe produces naturally can be
made even thicker right in the pot.
Just before you're ready to serve the
stew, mash one or two of the
potatoes against the cooker's side,
and blend them into the broth.

To enjoy "pot roast" with these
vegetables, add chunks of seitan at
any time during cooking. If you
like Brussels sprouts, they make
a colorful addition--just trim and
halve 8 ounces of sprouts, and
include them when you add the
rest of the vegetables.

2 Tbs. olive oil
4 to 6 small shallots,
  peeled and halved
8 oz. baby carrots
1 lb. small new potatoes,
  well scrubbed and cut in half
  if larger than 1 1/2 inches
2 turnips or 1 small rutabaga,
  peeled and cut into 1-inch
  pieces
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Salt and freshly ground black
  pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups vegetable stack
1/4 cup dry red or white wine
1 Tbs. tamari soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp. dried thyme, sage,
  or savory, or a mix
  of all three

1. Oil bottom of slow cooker with
1 tablespoon oil. Add shallots,
carrots, potatoes, turnips and
garlic, and toss to coat with oil.

2. Add salt, pepper, stock, wine,
tamari and herbs. Drizzle with
remaining 1 tablespoon oil.
Do not stir.

3. Cover slow cooker, and set
on low; cook until all vegetables
are tender, 6 to 8 hours.

STOVETOP METHOD: Heat all oil
in 5- to 6-quart Dutch oven or
other large pot over medium heat.
Add all remaining ingredients.
Reduce heat to low. Cover pot,
and cook, stirring contents
occasionally, until all vegetables
are tender, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

PER SERVING: 240 CAL; 5G PROT; 7G TOTAL
FAT (1G SAT FAT); 39G CARB: 0MG CHOL;
940MG SOD; 6G FIBER; 10G SUGARS