Quick and Easy Vegan Slow Cooking (12 page)

S
URE, YOU CAN
buy a commercial blend of poultry seasoning mix from the store. As with steak sauce, there is nothing animal derived in the mix—the name comes from where it is most commonly used—but this is super easy to whip up at home, and if you have flavor preferences you can customize. Whenever I’ve called for this ingredient, you can use a commercial blend instead. No big deal.

Makes just over ¼ cup
Preparation time: 5 minutes

4 teaspoons powdered dried sage

2 teaspoons dried thyme

2 teaspoons dried rosemary, crumbled

1 teaspoon dried marjoram (see Notes)

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

¼ teaspoon white pepper

¼ teaspoon celery salt or sea salt
 

1 bay leaf (see Notes)

1.
Mix the sage through the celery salt in a small sealable container.

2.
Add the bay leaf, seal, and store until ready to use.

3.
The mix will keep as long as regular dried herbs keep, about 6 months.

NOTES
:

If you don’t have marjoram, use more oregano.

Don’t add the bay leaf to recipes along with the mix; it is just meant to infuse the mix with a little flavor the same way a cinnamon stick or vanilla bean flavors sugar.

Tandoori Spice Mix

N
OT ENTIRELY AUTHENTIC
tandoori, as I have only used spices widely available in North America, but with the same warmth and depth of flavor as the original. The mix is used for several recipes, like Tandoori Baked Tofu (
page 118
) and Tandoori Spiced Potatoes with Spinach (
page 112
). Prepare a batch to have in your cupboard at all times, making these recipes (and more) much easier. Where I have used this in recipes, you may use a mild to medium curry powder if you don’t have the mix prepared. The flavor profile of the finished dish will be different but close to the intended result.

Makes about ¼ cup
Preparation time: 5 minutes

1½ tablespoons cumin

2 teaspoons smoked paprika

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon white pepper

1 teaspoon coriander

1 teaspoon cardamom

1 teaspoon ginger

½ teaspoon cloves

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon chile flakes, or more to taste

Mix the cumin through the chile flakes in an airtight container. Store until required.

VARIATION:

It’s less quick and easy, but you can try using whole versions of the spices listed above and grinding them yourself in place of the purchased ones if you prefer spices freshly ground.

Poached Garlic and Garlic Infused Oil

N
OT ONLY A
recipe, but two recipes in one—wonderful! The component parts can be used in myriad ways. Use the poached garlic whenever you would use roasted garlic and in recipes such as Poached Garlic and Roast Cauliflower Soup (
page 76
). Use the Garlic Infused Oil to replace the oil in any recipe you feel could use a little more mellow garlic flavor or as a drizzled highlight over the top of a plated meal or salad. This recipe makes a lot, but it keeps for months in the fridge. The oil gets more garlic flavor the longer it sits, so plan to make ahead for the best taste. It will always be a mellow garlic, nothing too over the top.

Makes 2 cups oil and about 70 cloves poached garlic
Preparation time: 20 minutes

6 heads (about 70 cloves) garlic, separated into cloves, bases removed, and peeled

2 cups canola or grapeseed oil, or other neutral oil (see Note)

1.
Combine the garlic and oil in the slow cooker. The garlic should be covered by the oil.

2.
Cover, set heat to LOW, and cook for 2 hours and 15 minutes.

3.
Leave in the slow cooker insert with the power off until cooled to room temperature.

4.
Transfer to a sealed container and store in the fridge together; remove individual cloves when you need them for recipes.

NOTE
: You want to use a neutral-flavored oil so it will really pick up the flavor from the garlic. A lower quality olive oil would also work, but not an extra virgin “bursting with olive flavors” oil; save that for when you want the olive flavors to come through.

VARIATION

HERBED POACHED GARLIC

Add fresh woody herbs of your choice (rosemary or thyme, for example) and simmer along with the garlic.

Simple Tomato Sauce

T
HIS IS AN
easy, basic, and very tasty tomato sauce, perfect as a sauce over pasta or wherever a recipe calls for canned tomato sauce. If you want to incorporate more vegetables into your sauce, you can add other longer-cooking veggies with the onion and garlic—mushrooms, for example—or quick-cooking ones such as spinach at the end just before blending. This sauce also makes a great dipping sauce for appetizer “meat” balls or smeared onto a pizza base.

Makes about 4½ cups
Preparation time: 15 minutes

¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes

½ cup boiling water
 

½ medium onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

½ medium red pepper, finely chopped (about ½ cup)

¼ cup red wine or vegetable stock, store-bought or homemade (
page 43
)

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried basil

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

One 19-ounce can diced tomatoes

1½ cups vegetable stock
 

Additional stock, if required
 

Salt and black pepper

*To ensure the dish is gluten free, if necessary, please check all packaged ingredients, as noted on
page 39
.

1.
Combine the tomatoes with the boiling water in a small bowl; cover and let stand for 15 minutes. Drain the liquid into the slow cooker; roughly chop the tomatoes and add to the slow cooker.

2.
Add the onion through the stock to the slow cooker; stir to combine.

3.
Cover, set heat to LOW, and cook for 6 hours, or until reduced and thickened.

4.
Using an immersion blender, blend until the mixture is as smooth as you’d like, adding more stock if required. I like to blend roughly half smooth and leave the rest to add texture.

5.
Taste and season with the salt and pepper as required.

VARIATION

FRESH TOMATO SAUCE

Instead of using the canned diced tomatoes when your garden is producing more tomatoes than you can eat, use 5 cups of seeded, diced fresh tomatoes. Cook for at least 12 hours on LOW, then for 2 hours, uncovered, on HIGH (check and increase the time if needed) to reduce the tomatoes sufficiently.

Homemade Soy Creamer