Robin Robertson

Red Bean Gumbo from Fresh from the Vegan Slow Cooker (photo by VeganAide)

You don’t need to travel to New Orleans to celebrate Mardis Gras.  You can have a party right in your own kitchen with this recipe for Red Bean Gumbo from Fresh from the Vegan Slow Cooker.

Long, gentle cooking in a slow cooker is a great way to bring out the flavors in a gumbo, in which okra and file powder are natural thickeners. For a heartier gumbo, you can add some sliced and sauteed vegan sausage just before serving.  And if you’re not a fan of okra, that’s okay — you can leave it out and veg up your gumbo with some zucchini instead.

Red Bean Gumbo
This recipe is from Fresh from the Vegan Slow Cooker by Robin Robertson © 2012.

Slow Cooker Size: 4- to 6-quart
Cook Time: 6 to 8 hours on Low or 4 to 5  hours on High

1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups vegetable broth
One 14-ounce can diced fire-roasted tomatoes, with their juices
3 cups cooked dark red kidney beans or other red beans or 2 (15-ounce) cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 1/2 cups sliced fresh or thawed frozen okra (or diced zucchini)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon file powder (optional)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces vegan sausage links, sliced (optional)
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
3 cups cooked brown rice, for serving

1. Combine the onion, celery, and garlic in a slow cooker. Add the broth, tomatoes and their juices, beans, bell pepper, okra, thyme, file powder (if using), and salt and pepper to taste. Cover and cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours.
2. Meanwhile, sauté the sausage, if using. Set aside.
3. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Just before serving, stir in the Tabasco and liquid smoke. If the gumbo isn’t thick enough, use a stick blender to puree some of the soup right in the cooker.  Add the sauteed sausage slices, if using. To serve, spoon some cooked rice into soup bowls and ladle the hot gumbo on top.

You may not be able to tell from the photo, but Gary is VERY excited to see advance copies of my new book, Nut Butter Universe — and so am I!

I’m thrilled that it was printed a little bit ahead of schedule, so it will be available very soon on Amazon and  where it is available now for pre-order.  You can also buy it through Barnes and Noble or your independent bookstore — please ask your local bookstore to carry it. They can order through Baker & Taylor or direct from the publisher, Vegan Heritage Press.

I hope you will all love Nut Butter Universe as much as I do (and Gary, of course) 🙂

More to come soon about an upcoming blog tour for Nut Butter Universe with lots of recipes, guest posts, and giveaways!

Although my television will be tuned to Downton Abbey instead of football on Sunday, I can’t ignore any occasion that involves fun food! One of my favorite  Superbowl Party menus is the one in  Party Vegan. It features an olive-enhanced guacamole, finger-lickin’ tempeh fingers, a refreshing super-slaw, a spicy chili, corn muffins, and these Man-Size Chocolate Chip Cookies.

But it’s the slow cooker that may be considered Super Bowl Snack Central.  In addition to several tasty chili recipes that will “keep warm” right in the slow cooker for game-day noshing, there are also recipes for fabulous warm dips.  Two of my favorites are the Spicy Tomato Queso Dip (pictured above, photo by Melissa Chapman) and also the Warm and Creamy Artichoke-Spinach Dip.  These dips are comfortably made in those smaller 1 to 2 quart slow cookers, but if you’re having a crowd over, you can double or triple the recipe and make it in a 3 to 4 quart slow cooker.  There are also recipes for crunchy nuts, party mixes, and even the delectable Artisanal Sweet and Spicy Weiner Balls.

Here’s the recipe for Spicy Tomato Queso Dip.  Whether you’ll be watching football or Lady Mary’s eyebrows, this makes a great dip to enjoy with your favorite chips.

Spicy Tomato Queso Dip
This is a quick and delicious dip that assembles easily.  It also lends itself to variations such as the addition of crumbled vegan chorizo or cooked black beans. This recipe is from Fresh from the Vegan Slow Cooker by Robin Robertson © 2012.
Slow cooker size: 1 1/2 quart
Cooking Time: 2 hours on Low

One 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes with green chilies, drained
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
3 tablespoons oat flour
1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup nondairy milk
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Puree the tomatoes in a blender or food processor until smooth. Add the remaining ingredients, except the nondairy milk and lemon juice, and blend until smooth.

Transfer the mixture to a lightly oiled 1 1/2 quart slow cooker.  Stir in the nondairy milk until well incorporated.  Cover and set the cooker on Low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 hours, or until the mixture is thick and hot.  If the mixture isn’t thickening after 2 hours, turn it up to High, remove the lid, and cook uncovered for 20 to 30 minutes longer.

When ready to serve, spoon about 1/3 cup of the queso into a small bowl, stir in the lemon juice, then stir back into the slow cooker.  Taste and adjust the seasonings, if needed.

Makes about 2 cups

Within a few days of Jon and I remarking about what a “mild winter” we were having, the frigid air descended upon us.  (I guess we forgot to knock on wood…)

The cold weather combined with a slammin’ schedule this week could only mean one thing.  Well actually, two things:  1) comfort food and 2) the slow cooker.

I’ve been in a bit of a soup rut lately, but I’m not complaining.  Just about every week for the past several weeks, I’ve made a huge a pot of my Million Bean Soup.  I’ve posted about it before but I can’t find the link, so I’ll recap: Into a 6-quart slow cooker I combine a 1 pound bag of dried “15-beans” (after soaking overnight and draining); a  large chopped onion, 2 chopped carrots; 1 chopped celery rib; 2 or 3 smashed garlic cloves and enough water to cover by at least one inch.  I then stir in about 1 tablespoon of Better Than Bouillon vegetable base paste, some salt and pepper, and some dried herbs, usually marjoram or oregano and basil. I then let the slow cooker work its magic and about an hour before the soup is done cooking, I stir in some frozen chopped spinach, a can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes, and about 1/2 cup or more of marinara sauce for added richness.  I also add a teaspoon of Liquid Smoke and then taste to see if it needs more of any seasoning.

That makes enough soup for us to enjoy all week long — and we don’t get tired of it mostly because it’s so good, but also because I change it up a little each time.   I just heat enough for two bowls each day and depending on our mood and what’s on hand, I might add some cooked rice or quinoa, or pasta.  Often we douse it with some hot sauce.  Today, we stirred in some vegan sour cream and Tabasco — wow! It’s a quick, easy, and satisfying lunch for cold and busy days like this.

While I was chopping veggies to make the soup, I also put on a second slow cooker with stroganoff, using the recipe from Fresh from the Vegan Slow Cooker, although instead of making it with seitan, I made it with soy curls.  I didn’t get a chance to take a photo, but here’s a tester photo of the stroganoff taken by Melissa Chapman:

The stroganoff was so delicious!  I served it over some noodles with steamed broccoli.  Yum! Two days later, I used the leftovers to make a quick Shepherd’s Pie.  I steamed some vegetables to add to the stroganoff mixture and then “baked” a couple of potatoes in the microwave and mashed them for the topping.  Just a few minutes of prep, and into the oven for another hearty and comforting meal.  I didn’t get a photo of the Shepherd’s Pie because it was dark out by dinnertime — the winter is no friend of the food blogger!

The official publication date of Nut Butter Universe is still nearly four weeks away, but I’m so excited for this book to come out, I decided to share a recipe from it today.  And since the weather is cold, damp and soon-to-be snowy, what better type of recipe to share than a nice warming soup?

This is one of my favorite soups in Nut Butter Universe, perhaps because the nut butter in this particular recipe is so unexpected and rather than being a dominant flavor, it actually just melds into the overall lusciousness to make a creamy “cheesy” broccoli soup.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

btw… Nut Butter Universe is available for preorder now on Amazon.

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Cheesy Broccoli Soup

Almond butter adds extra richness to this flavorful soup. Just as you don’t need dairy cream to have a creamy soup, you don’t need dairy cheese to add a cheesy flavor to recipes.

Author Robin Robertson

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil or 1/4 cup water
• 1 medium yellow onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 medium russet potato, peeled and finely chopped or shredded
• 1 pound broccoli, trimmed and coarsely chopped
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/4 cup almond butter
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 2 cups plain unsweetened almond milk

Instructions

1. In a large soup pot, heat the oil or water over medium heat. Add the onion, cover, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the potato and stir in the broth. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, add the broccoli and simmer, uncovered, until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove 1/2 cup of small broccoli florets and set aside.
2. Add the nutritional yeast, almond butter, lemon juice, and mustard to the soup. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup directly in the pot or transfer to a high-speed blender or food processor and puree, in batches if necessary, then return to the pot. Stir in the almond milk, then taste and adjust the seasonings, if necessary. Reheat the soup over low heat until hot. To serve, ladle soup into bowls, garnish with the reserved broccoli florets. Serve hot.

Recipe Notes

This recipe is from The Nut Butter Cookbook by Robin Robertson (c) 2013. Photo by Lori Maffei