Harvard Common Press
I never thought I’d be that girl who used a slow-cooker. Now, after the last couple weeks, with the help of best-selling author, Robin Robertson, my slow-cooker and I have formed a pretty tight bond.
When Harvard Common Press contacted me to review the newest cookbook from author of 19 other vegetarian and vegan cookbooks, Robin Robertson, I was thrilled! Her newest book, being released in early October, is Fresh from the Vegan Slow-Cooker, 200 inspired, ultra-convenient, and completely animal free one-dish recipes. As a fan of Robin’s blog, I was extremely excited until I remembered: I didn’t have a slow-cooker. I had toyed with the idea of getting an inexpensive one to cook beans with, but the lack of storage space in my little kitchen prevented me from doing much more than thinking about it. I decided that this email from HCP was a sign that it was time for me to start slow-cooking things, so I quickly ordered an inexpensive slow-cooker and while I waited for my newest toy, I read through Robin’s introduction to slow-cooker basics. By the time it arrived, I was ready to be that girl.
I started with cooking some beans, following her recipe for Basic Beans (page 104). I love how thorough Robin was for slow-cooker newbies, like myself, making sure to include instructions on soaking, along with many other helpful hints. I chose to cook Great Northern White Beans (because I had them in mind for another one of Robin’s recipes) overnight, and I couldn’t have been more thrilled with how easy it was. Set the heat level, set a timer, and go about your business (which, for me, was sleep). Now that I had a ton of cooked beans, I was ready for the next recipe: Portobello and White Bean Goulash (page 95). When looking for recipes to try, this one caught my eye because the list of ingredients read like a veritable who’s who of Kristy’s favorite ingredients: Portobello, Sauerkraut, White Beans, Dry White Wine. How could it not be good? I knew immediately that it was going to be the first thing I made. Again, this recipe was so easy to prepare. It was about 10 minutes of preparations before my goulash was in the cooker and making my house smell like a Hungarian Heaven. The recipe called for serving it over noodles, but since we’re not big on pasta, we chose to serve it with some crusty french bread. After devouring trying it, I can safely say: There is nothing that compares to a steaming bowl of hearty white bean stew, every bit filled with big chunks of portobello mushroom. This is a type of comfort food I can get on board with!
I wanted to try a sweet recipe as well, and after perusing Robin’s list of mouthwatering desserts (Chocolate Truffle Cake, Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cheesecake, Pumpkin-Oatmeal Bars), I decided on a breakfast recipe: French Toast Bread Pudding (page 286). French Toast is one of my step-daughters favorites and something my stepson will never touch. Making it in bread pudding form (and informing him that there was cinnamon in it), seemed like a great way to get him to try it. I prepared the cubes of bread and the sauce the night before, so all I had to do was put them in the slow-cooker for an hour. The time I normally would have spent cooking was spent taking a shower, walking the dog, and setting the table. For the first time in a long while, the whole family had the same exact thing on each of our brunch plates. There was nothing but kudos all around! I love that the sauce is made with silken tofu, turning this decadently delicious dish into a filling meal as well.
Another thing I really admired about this cookbook was that amongst the 200 recipes for appetizers, soups, stews, various condiments, main dishes, breakfasts, breads and desserts , there were also recipes for vegan kitchen basics. I made Robin’s Slow-Cooker Seitan (page 136) because it’s been awhile since I’ve taken the time to make my own. This recipe was so easy and the seitan (unpictured because, frankly, seitan is not so pretty by itself) was perfect, ready to added to whatever recipe my heart desires. I am looking forward to spending much more time with this cookbook and my slow-cooker, proudly being that girl.
Are you all ready to bring some convenience to your kitchen? The publishers were kind enough to give me two copies of Fresh from the Vegan Slow-Cooker to giveaway to a couple of my incredibly awesome readers! You have through Friday, September 21st to enter. To enter, you can:
- Leave a comment, telling me what recipe you want to try in your slow-cooker.
- Subscribe to Keepin’ It Kind’s RSS Feed.
- Like Keepin’ It Kind on Facebook.
- Do a post about this giveaway on Facebook (You can do this once per day and get another entry each time).
- Follow Keepin’ It Kind on Pinterest.
- Pin a picture from this review, with “Fresh from the Vegan Slow-Cooker- Book Review & Giveaway” in the description (You can do this once per day and get another entry each time).
Thank you again to the folks at Harvard Common Press and Robin Robertson for this wonderful opportunity! Good luck, my friends!
Disclaimer: Harvard Common Press gave me this book, but the opinions are my own.
Unless otherwise stated, all photos by Chris Miller
© Kristy Turner and Keepin’ It Kind, 2012. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material (content and images) without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Kristy Turner and Keepin’ It Kind with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
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You don’t have any idea how much this post made me smile and laugh. I am totally the slow cooker girl. Nothing beats 10 minutes prep for a fabulous meal that cooks itself and is ready at dinner time for a frazzled vegan mom. Would you believe I own 4 slow cookers in various sizes. Yeah, I’m pretty much a freak. I cook my beans in my crock pot, rice pudding in a crock pot, african peanut soup in a crock pot, morrocan lentil soup in a crock pot…. The list goes on and on. Dagnabit, I wish I had a contact at Harper publishing so I could get the goods and review it too! Sounds right up my alley! I totally need to figure out how to do seitan in the slow cooker! I think I really just need to get on Amazon right now and order that book! Love this and the recipes you tested look absolutely amazing!!!
Wow, do I ever NEED this cookbook! I’d try the French Toast recipe first.
Well, good luck! The french toast bread pudding is UH-mazing!
Oh, duh, got distracted at the end of the post and missed the totally awesome giveaway! Entered!!! Woot Woot!
Wow! You’re hard-core (but I already knew that)! I don’t know that I’ll be getting anymore slow-cookers, but I know I’ll be using this one A LOT! Good luck in the contest- I know you would put this book to good use!
Woohoo! The slow cooker is my friend. Since fall is rolling in- lovely fall weather this morning- I’m ready to try new vegan soups and put on a sweater. And it’s true, she really does have 4 slow cookers and she has one going almost everytime I stop by!
Oh, and we live on slow cooker beans. Wait until you try pintos.
I love that you’re planning on wearing a sweater- now that’s planning ahead!
I’m so excited about my slow-cooker (a statement I NEVER thought would come out of my mouth)! I just bought a ton of beans in bulk, pintos included, to start cooking! 
anything for breakfast would be awesome
I like your thinking, Michelle!
I’m almost embarrassed to admit that I am collecting slow cookers now. I just made black bean,rice and kale soup from “Vegan on the Cheap” and so good and easy! I LOVE my slow cookers and must make the portobello and sauerkraut dish. Yum.
You are not the first person I’ve heard of collecting several slow-cookers. It’s pretty smart if you want to get multiple things done at once. They’re magical little machines! And you are going to LOVE the goulash- so incredible!
I love it. I really found that once someone goes vegan or or even vegetarian that it doesn’t take long until they begin to not miss meat or animal products at all, it the best why to eat…I’ll pick up the slow cooker book, thanks
You are so right, CJ. I hope you like the book!
I absolutely want to try baking with the slow cooker! Never tried anything like this before!
Me too! Baking some cake is next on my list of things to try!
I love that the twins both ate it! lol All the recipes you mentioned sound fabulous, looking forward to trying some out for fall! xoxo
Haha! I know, right?! It is a rare occasion that we all have the same food on our plates and we all equally enjoy it. I’m so happy to have found another twin-friendly recipe.
Love you! xoxo
Oh man, I totally love the slow cooker. Ours broke recently and we had to go buy a new one right away. It’s so awesome to just leave it to do it’s thing and then your food is magically done! Your creations from the book look really great! I would love to try some of the dessert recipes, since I usually just make soups and chilis.
They are magical little machines, aren’t they? Next up on my list of things to try is a dessert- all of the one’s in Robin’s book sound incredible!
That Hungarian Goulash looks pretty awesome and I”m ALWAYS up for making dessert recipes.
Me too, Karen. Me too.
That portabella soup looks so amazing! I’d definitely give that a go first thing. Anything with mushrooms I’m bound to love!
You and I must be cut from the same cloth- anything with mushrooms always rocks my world too.
Would you believe we got rid of three slow cookers when we left Los Angeles? Just cooking for two, I never used them. Plus, the only things I’d ever seen people make in them involved copious amounts of animal products. Does she give alternative directions for those among us who are without slow cookers, or do you think they’re pretty much a necessity for these recipes? That portobello stew looks and sounds amazing. I love the addition of sauerkraut!
I’d always thought that about slow-cookers too, but I’m definitely happy to have one now. She does not give alternate instructions, but I’m sure you would be able to figure out an alternative (cook on higher heat on the stovetop or oven, using shorter time). The portobello goulash could be easily transferable to stovetop, if needed.
I’m interested in the pizza and dessert recipes.
I know- that pizza sounds amazing!
The Portobello and White Bean Goulash sounds amazing! I want to make that
Courtney
You are going to love it, Courtney! It is so good!
You are such a tease – that goulash sounds right up my alley. If only I had a slow-cooker!
That goulash alone was worth the purchase of my slow-cooker. Then there was the bread pudding… Sigh.
Hey Kristy! I’d love to donate to your walk but I can’t find the name of your team anywhere? Sorry I am sure it easy to find but not for this frazzled mom at this hour (for some reason – hehe!). I don’t need another appliance in my house, but the photos in this post look incredible! Fabulous!! X
Thank you so much, Shira, or wanting to donate! It is a very confusing website, and it took me awhile to figure it out as well. Just go here, then enter “Keepin’ It Kind” and 5 names (our team members) should come up. You can choose any name to donate to, and it all goes to the team’s goal. I hope that makes more sense! Thank you again, Shira- you are just the sweetest soul!
I totally hear you on the appliance thing. If my food processor hadn’t recently broke, leaving a section of cupboard space vacant, I probably wouldn’t have gone for it either!
Ohhhhh!! Fantastic! My sister mentioned recently that she had an old slow cooker lying around that I could have but I was doubtful that it could be used for vegan food. NOW I KNOW! WHOOHOO, I’ll give her a call now. Thanks for the review and inspiration!
Take her up on it! They’re much more useful than I had imagined! Have fun!
I would love some dessert recipes. I miss being able to bake fresh yummy desserts in the summer since the stove makes the kitchen to darn hot.
Oh my gosh- you will love making desserts in your slow-cooker then! It doesn’t heat up the kitchen at all and you can still partake in delicious vegan treats!
I want to make vegan rice pudding in my slow cooker! Or, some kind of delicious taco filling. Either one
Oooh! Good choices! I did see (and it’s on the cover of the book) a recipe for seitan fajitas that looks pretty amazing!
My Crockpot and I are BFF’s in the Winter – I love that I can throw he ingredients in the crock the night before then the next morning but the crock in the cooker and turn it on – by the time I get home we have an awesome dinner with little clean up
I am drooling over that hungarian stew – looks amazing!
Oh, the clean-up is one of the best parts! The super anal-retentive side of me loves that I there are no pots or pans I have to clean and no splatters on the counters to wipe down. I’m getting excited just talking about it!
And you need to try this hungarian stew- it is out-of-this-world!
hubbs is going to love the bella goulash and me the french toast pudding! i dont have a slow cooker, i have 4 pressure cookers though:) ther eis always a tussle in my head about which way to go.. slow or quick cooking pressure cooker. but since most slow cooker recipes can be made on stove top i need to get a hand on this book:)
That’s so true- most of these recipes can easily be altered to use on the stovetop or in the oven. I’ve never worked with a pressure cooker before- I’m sure I’ll be lured in to trying that one someday too.
It’s cooling off here in coastal North Carolina (finally), so I am more than ready to put in a lamb braise or stew!
A stew does sound pretty good.
Tempeh sloppy joes
I like your thinking, Shannon!
I would love to try a dessert recipe in my slow cooker! Never heard of that before!
It’s pretty awesome- you’re going to love it!
I also follow you on pinterest!
Oooh that Portobello and White Bean Goulash sounds fantastic…I think I would make that first!
It is fantastic! I hope you like it, Valerie!
Ooo I’m looking forward to make some hearty stew or chili. Crossing fingers I win! Great Giveaway
Btw I’m already subscribed to your RSS. Will like your page on FB.
The season for hearty stews and chilis are upon us! Good luck and thank you!
I’m going to have to try making steel cut oats in the slow cooker. I keep hearing people talk about it, but I’ll have to try it myself. Personally, I don’t think they take that much effort to do on the stove top, but try everything once!
I’ve heard slow-cooker oatmeal is pretty great too, but I haven’t given it a try yet. I’m not in “hot breakfast” mode yet.
I have a slow cooker, and I’ve only used it once! This book seems like it’s full of amazing, delicious goodness. I’m intrigued by that portobello goulash, it looks divine.
This book will definitely have you putting your slow-cooker to good use! Good luck, Sondi!
Ahhh, this looks amazing! All of it–the book, the recipes, what you created. I’d love to try to mushroom goulash. My boyfriend and I both work long hours, and I’d love to be able to just throw everything in a slow-cooker and have dinner ready when I get home. I just don’t know what to do exactly. I can’t wait to read this book. Thanks for the post!
This book and a slow-cooker will be perfect for you! Good luck!
I would love to try a dessert recipe! My brother is vegan and we have a lot of trouble coming up with desserts the whole family will love.
I’m sure your brother would be grateful to try any of the desserts in this book. That’s awfully sweet of your family for making an effort to include him!
Goulash or Lasagne!
Great choices!
The goulash is what brought me here, so I’d definitely want to try that. I’m intrigued by the desserts, too. So many creative uses for a slow cooker!
I am totally amazed with how much you can use your slow-cooker for! Have fun and good luck!
So you didn’t post the goulash recipe or am I just blind?
I did not publish the recipe because I was just reviewing the book. Sorry!
Slow cooker seitan has me intrigued. I’ve made seitan once. It was time consuming. I’d love to try again!
Slow-cooker seitan is just a life-saver- we love seitan, but I rarely have time to make it and I refuse to buy it at the store. I definitely recommend giving it a try!
Would love, love, love to try the white bean and mushroom goulash. Yum!!!!
You will love it!
It’s raining here today … so I’m thinking that the Portobello and White Bean Goulash would be PERFECT!
Oooh! That goulash would be perfect rainy weather food!
French Toast Bread Pudding – two of my favorite things combined into one dish! Yum!
Exactly what I was thinking, Eileen. Great minds think alike, don’t they!
Awesome review, Kristy! This sounds like a fantastic cookbook and a must-have. I love my slow cookers; I have a little one, a medium-sized one and a really big one
! I’d be into trying a dessert recipe – it’s like mad science!
The dessert recipes sound so good too! Since you have a really big one, you’ll be able to do even more of the recipes than I can (mine’s just medium sized). Good luck!
Just shared the link on my two FB pages
!
Thank you, Annie!
Great giveaway!!!
I would like to try some sort or fruit pie dessert in my crockpot. I’ve always done main dishes, but dessert…..never.
Awesome! You will love this book! Good luck!
I LOVE slow-cooking, it’s the only way to survive soccer season with the kiddos. I’m just throwing stuff in there in the morning and working it out when we get home at night! I’d love a vegan slow-cooking cookbook – that would be great inspiration!
This will be PERFECT for you Jenn! Good luck!
My slow cooker use is limited and I am transitioning to a vegan diet. I am still learning and also a little lost. This cookbook would be great for me!
This would be so helpful for you! I know this is a very tough transition, but if you need any help or have any questions, I’m here for you.
Thanks for letting me use your photo in my review of this book. My post is now live! Looking forward to sharing more awesome recipes with you.
Thank you so much, Yosef! Congrats on the new baby!
What a wounderful cookbook to have, Im planning on trying to make the White bean an portibella mushroom goulash.
Ive shared with Pinterest an Facebook..Spreading the word about
how good Eating healthy can be