Crockpot Asparagus Corn Chowder

This is one of those long autumn nights, I know I'm going to have no time to cook so I'll do ahead AND clean out the fridge.


throw all this in a pot
2 ears corn removed from cob or 1 can corn...whichever is cheaper

1 poblano pepper
1/2 onion sauteed in 2 tb butter
1 tomato
we had 3 tiny sweet peppers also so those went in
1/2 tb cumin
 1 tsp sage
1 tsp smoked salt
5 cups water or broth
1 tb cider vinegar
cook on low 8 hours in crockpot or simmer 20 min on stove in a pot
after fully cooked add a 1/2 cup cream or coconut cream (to the pot )before serving

Optional:
this is really flexible so use up your leftovers
you could run this through a stick blender
or add leftover pumpkin pack or bits of pumpkin from the freezer 1/2 cup puree
or 1/2 cup leeks(then skip the onions)
2 handfuls cooked frozen black eye peas or northerns for protein
those 3 tb of leftover salsa in a jar
other  veggies like cauliflower
or sweet potatoes
peas,
green beans
for a porridgey texture add 1/2 cup cornmeal or polenta
basil (if it's still growing)
carrot coins? you get the picture.

sesame spinach ( and other greens) gf if needed

You just roasted some tofu and made some rice
You need edible greens...

Take 1 lb leaves wash em'. Remove woody parts.
Please don't be skittish about ingesting a variety of edible greens. Use what's in season, you can grow it and will be ok cooked. Eating what's available encourages biodviersity, your health and can save you money. (For ex right now in may spinach is tres expensive but the kale is coming up, and so is arugula and dandelion greens. Last month cress was cheap...and if the strawberry spinach would grow it should have shown up then..alas.
Pour 1 tb off the top of your tahini or direct from a bottle of sesame oil
add 1 tb lemon juice and 3 cloves garlic, if desired grate in 1/2 inch fresh ginger.
Heat and allow greens to wilt . Add 3 tb soy sauce (gf if needed) and a small handful of sesame or sesame and flax seeds. Serve hot or chilled. Some greens freeze well, some do not.

Cook until most of the liquid is dissolved and evaporated and your greens are bright green.
options:
add 1 tsp honey or maple syrup if sweetness is desired with the soysauce
add 1/4 tsp thai or korean chili powder with the soysauce.
This is good packed with a protein and rice balls for lunch, as part of bibimbap, sushi filling, as a sandwich topping or omlette filling and along side bbq tempeh or pulled jackfruit bbq.

apple cheddar rice cooker risotto (veg,gf with dairy free / veganoptions)

I'm going to start out by saying that you shouldn't do this. Your rice cooker is not designed for it and you might set something on fire..Really.

I do it at least once a month but I don't leave the house when I do and I check it every 15 or so minutes. Even then it's really good but not quite risotto textured.

1.Take 1 cup rice (can be med or long grain) add 2 cups water with broth paste (or cubes) or broth
meanwhile sautee 1 chopped sweet onion (like a red or yellow) or one sliced clean leek.
5 cloves minced garlic
and one lb of clean and chopped mild or bitter greens (kale, collard, dandelion, chard,cress,broccoli leaves or spinach. Mustard and Turnip do not work well here)
if you want to add a chopped mushroom or a chopped apple feel free
add a bit of salt nutmeg and pepper
use olive or sunflower oil as your oil
add a handful of walnuts or pecans if you can afford to and want to


2.Cover and let sit until rice is cooked

with cheese 3.  Grate or mince up 1/2 cup very sharp cheddar. add this and 1 tb dijon to your rice and stir thoroughly.

dairy free   3. Take 1 tb dry mustard , 1 tb dijon,1 tb lemon juice, 1/3 cup nutritional yeast and 3 tb sesame paste, if you have almond or cashew butter add 3 tb. Mix all thoroughly. Now mix into rice.

4. Add 1/2 bottle gf hard cider to your pot. stir. The more you stir the more creamy.
5. Reset cooker and put back on cook cycle. allow to be used in keep warm cycle for up to 24 hours. garnish with cress or parsley if desired.

how rice ate chicago- lazy lentil risotto

This month this been insane. As a result not only have my posts been more sporadic at best. The status of my frequency in the kitchen is not much better. But we still have to eat and hopefully it'll be quick and not too intense or frequent and it should be hearty and contain nutrients...which brings us to my rice cooker. Several years back, in the throes of a bad fever I purchased a rice cooker online. One of those non stick vacuum sealed bucket kinds. It was a very good deal. No, seriously. Despite it's fever related origins this device is used almost as much as my cast iron, my cutting boards and my knives. Better yet it can keep food warm for a day so I make one big batch of something and it's good for 24 hours without changing serving devices. Please keep in mind the method I am suggesting is not recommended by manufacturers , may cause fires and is done entirely at your own risk. I have successfully been doing this and crazy stuff like it with my rice cooker for 7 years. It's not supposed to do sushi rice or brown rice either but it has been doing that for years too. It's still working. I do have to clean the vents more often. We make pilaf,  rice and beans, sushi rice for handrolls etc in it. We use it an average of 4 days a week. Rice cookers save my sanity, such as it is. This is the best thing I can make in it besides plain  rice. That being said I have seen enough recipes calling for similar that I would assume you can throw these ingredients in a crockpot on low for 8 hours and get similar results. I haven't tried it yet, so I don't know but it might work.


In your rice cooker put:
1 cup lentils

1 1/2 cup rice
3-4 cup water or broth
1 cup red or white wine or hard cider ( my favorite)
1 half head of garlic and 1 sauteed onion or 2 cleaned and sauteed leeks and 2 tb butter/ olive oil/ mixture to sautee them in.
1 lb chopped veg of choice (lately peppers from the freezer or chunks of squash form previous cooking)
1 handful frozen peas
1tb grated nutmeg
chives or scapes when available
1 tsp salt
a few grinds of black pepper
1/2 lb to 1 lb small cooking greens (little kale, dandelion,baby mustard, mizuna, cress,spinach, chard, caulifower leaves,whatever is popping up) washed
1/2 lb grated cheese (swiss, gouda, cheddar, parmesan...whatever)
4 oz sliced mushrooms or 5 dried shitake broken up into the rice cooker pot.

Throw everything but the cheese in. Stir. Put on a full cook cycle. adjust flavours to preference. Stir in cheese. wait 15 minutes, stir again....serve.

Slow cooker cheesy Grits

This recipe was altered from the gourmet vegetarian slow cooker by Lynn Alley
Please use yellow cornmeal rather than the kind bleached with cleaning solvents, kay?

 In a little crockpot

Take
1 cup coarse cornmeal (often marketed as polenta or grits)
4 cups water
(optional 1-2 cups thinly sliced greens like mustard, collard or kale)
1 poblano chile diced (I get them when they go on sale, wash them and leave them in the freezer until I feel like using them)
Plug in, put the lid on and leave alone for 8 hours. 
Before serving stir in 3/4 cup cheese (strong flavours work best here so cheddar, gouda, smoked provolone) and recover for about 15 minutes so it can melt. Stir again. Divide 1/4 cup of cheese between your 2-4 servings so it can be pretty. Sprinkle a touch of paprika on top. Eat.

Baked Custards (gf, cf options)

You will need

4-6 oven safe ramekins, cups or bowls 1-2 inches in depth

a deep baking dish that fits  the ramekins and can hold water to just below the rim of said vessels. I use a lasagna pan.

Put the cups down in the baking dish now to see if they fit.

To put water on to boil and preheat oven to 325F

Then mix these in a biggish bowl.

2 cups dairy or almond milk, cream, or half and half (the last time I made it with a mix of almond milk and cream.)
2 eggs (egg substitutes have not worked here for me)
1/4 tsp fresh nutmeg (alternately use a plane grater to cover surface lightly and that should be enough
1/4 c of plain,vanilla sugar, turbinado, or maple sugar (honey and maple syrup don't seem to work here)
a pinch of salt

Optionally, add any 2 or 3 of the following
1 tsp preferred extracts (vanilla, almond and lemon all work well)
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 cup jam, or fresh fruit (drain excess liquid)
2 tb cocoa powder
lemon or orange zest

Mix all ingredients until incorporated.

Ladle the batter into the ramekins/cups. carefully pour hot water water into the big dish so that the water stays below the rims. Transport this to the oven and try to make sure water doean't splash into your cups.
Bake (at 325 F) 35-50 minutes until it wobbles like jello and a fork or skewer comes out clean. You can serve this chilled or warm as it is good both ways.


If you need gf or cf options please make sure all ingredients are gf and cf.
this can be pre- prepared in bulk for events.

Hot Cocoa Sorghum Brownies

Whole grain and vegan if you like or eggy if not. These beat wheat flour brownies with a stick.

2 eggs beaten or 1 tb ground flax with 2 tb hot water allowed to sit 5 minutes (cheaper than cage free eggs and might be healthier anyway)

6 tb cocoa powder (I'm not going to lecture you here about making sure you get one of the slave labour free brands..much) These also taste good without the cocoa. Just add an equal amount of spices or flour and you're good.
1/2 tsp dried chiles of choice I like bird chiles here but 1/2 tsp of cayenne or 1 tsp of ancho taste good here too
1 tb cinnamon
1 cup packed brown sugar. Ditto on the slave labour. (This means a legitimate fair trade co-op grown variety or 'inferior' beet sugar like imperial or holly brand. Either way you're stirring in a touch of molasses to make it "brown sugar".) Or you can use 3/4 cup of honey instead and add 1/4c more barley flour
1/2 cup oil / butter/ coconut fat
(or 1/4 c applesauce or pumpkin puree and 1/4 of the fats above)
1 Tb vanilla
3/4 cup sorghum flour (see note)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder (aluminum free if you have it)
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup add in like more chocolate, chopped ginger, nuts totally optional
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 8-by-8-inch baking dish.
In a large bowl, beat together eggs, cocoa powder, sugar, oil and vanilla.
In a medium bowl, sift or whisk together barley flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to egg mixture, mixing well. Stir in walnuts, incorporating them well.
Pour batter into buttered pan or if you're like me and hate doing dishes lay down parchment in a lasagna pan and double the batch. If desired dust with more cocoa, cinnamon.
Bake until a tester comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Leftovers freeze well.
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Adapted from "Bob's Red Mill Baking Book"
Here's a link to a table of slave free chocolate manufacturer's.
  and this explains why you should pony up the extra $ and just eat less cocoa and sugar aside from the obvious health reasons on the latter.

super easy macaroons and even easier macaroons

Mix together
2 cup coconut flakes
½ cup sugar
2 egg whites
¼ tsp salt or vanilla salt
1 tsp almond extract or 1tsp vanilla extract
1 tb  shortening
chill for ½ hr

pre heat oven to 325 F degrees

line a cookie sheet with parchment

drop 1 tb per cookie on cookie sheet

Bake 25 minutes until golden
allow to cool at least 5 minutes before eating
store in airtight container

Even easier vegan macaroons
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Mash 1 overripe banana until pudding textured.
add a pinch of salt and 2cups coconut flakes. Mix well.

pre heat oven to 325 F degrees

line a cookie sheet with parchment

drop 1 tb per cookie on cookie sheet

Bake 25 minutes until golden as your dwelling becomes banana scented
allow to cool at least 5 minutes before eating
store in airtight container.

Schi -meaty or vegan , or dairy (gluten free) usually about 45 minutes total time (good crockpotter)

When we were kids Other Mother Brother would occasionally make this sauerkraut soup( or a very similar one) with bones during winter. For all the reasons you would expect it was cozy and still makes me think of him.  Because our sorrel grew up and bolted when I wasn't looking (silly me) I can't have my favorite (and much more traditional for summer) Schi  (http://www.ruscuisine.com/recipes/soups/schi-and-borsch/n--620/)  and we had mushrooms and sauerkraut lying around , hence:

Schi  ----warning! your house will smell like sauerkraut for a day or two after making this. Fortunately it freezes well and is very very cheap.

take:
1 lb  sauerkraut (traditional ferment if you can find it)reserve the liquid for the broth
1 lg chopped onion or 2 cleaned leeks chopped
4 cloves diced garlic
1 sliced or shredded carrot
3 ribs celery (optional)
8 oz mushrooms (I usually use a mix of rehydrated shitake and fresh crimini) chopped into hunks
2 tsp caraway
4 juniper berries(not necessary but nice)
4 peppercorns or a few grinds of pepper
1 bay leaf
 and saute in 2 tb fat (olive oil, beef or pork drippings, butter) in a heavy bottomed pot  deep enough to make 4 qts
(like my 5 qt enamel dutch oven or a stock/crock pot)

once onions are translucent add:
1/2-1 lb parsnip, potato and/ or turnip)
and
(optional) meat : 1 browned pork  chop with bone, or  beef soup bone/oxtail of choice or 6 oz of chicken prepared as you would for soup. Similar quantities of rabbit would likely also work but as a pescatarian I have no clue how.
and /or
(optional) more dried mushrooms
and /or
(optional) add 9 oz tasty but not at all traditional kale
and/or 6 oz of barley (which is not gluten free and is optional)

3 qts broth (beef, chicken, or mushroom) or water plus the reserved sauerkraut (please note that this is not low sodium and is not intended to be)

Bring to a simmer and cover until :

in the case of no meat
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your root veggies begin to  fall apart

in the case of meat on  a bone
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your root veggies begin to  fall apart and the meat begins to fall off the bone
(fork shred the remainder and pull out the bone- if you can add the marrow to the soup and cook a bit longer)

in the case of meat not on a bone
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your root veggies begin to  fall apart and the meat is cooked (you would know better than I would)
 turn off the fire and  now, for the final countdown you can finish in several ways 
 1. use a stick blender or potato masher on about half and then stir for a creamier texture
 2. garnish with parsley or paprika (about 1 tsp))
 3.  add 1/2 c sourcream or hung yogurt and stir until consolidated
 4. serve it as is
5. 1&2, 1&3, 2&3, 1-3, or take half and do 1 and then 3 with the other half ...oh you get what I mean
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I like to eat this with dill pickle and whole rye bread spread with sour cream/ hung yogurt if we have it (well not if there's any in the soup) garnished with sardines or herring(when Rabbit doesn't have to watch), or thin cut raw sliced beets (when she is there to see it) or maybe some home made apple sauce.

Sorghum quick bread and pancake/biscuit mix (vegan/ gf options)

Barley is NOT GF if you are celiac or gluten intolerant use the Sorghum...please

Barley and Sorghum are whole grains that plays well with other flavors and have a moist crumbly texture. As a whole grain you should either use the flour relatively quickly or leave it in your freezer to prevent spoilage.  Recipes doubles lovely. Don't freeze this unless you WANT bread crumbs as that's what freezing this does. You can mix the wet and dry willy nilly or if you want packets of quick bread mix for busy evenings you can mix the dry ingredients to store in a jar or tin and add the wet when you want to make it up. This will be ready in less than an hour start to finish with about 45 minutes of downtime.
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Dry mix
3 cups sorghum or barley flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tb baking powder
3 tb olive oil or your preferred oil (yes this goes in the dry mix)
Mix until resembles sandy stuff and store in air tight container
If using this as pancake mix add 1 egg and 1 cup milk per cup of mix. If using as biscuit mix just add the 1 cup milk, buttermilk or milk analogue. They will be crumblier than wheat flour biscuits and pancakes but also more tender.

wet stuff
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oil to oil your pan
2 eggs or 2 tb ground flax in one oz boiling water allowed to soak until gelatinized
1 cup milk, buttermilk or milk analogue (almond worked well)
1 tb lemon juice or cider vinegar(optional-do not use with buttermilk)
heat oven to 350F
oil your pan -a dutch oven (leave the lid off), loaf pan, muffin,or bundt pan works
Whisk wet into dry and pour into pan (take care to fill it nor more than 2/3 full as this stuff rises
and allow to bake 25-30 minutes