Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Slow Cooker Soups

Shortly after my vegan adventure began 2 years ago, I read a wonderful review of Robin Robertson's book, Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker, in Herbivore magazine. I ended up buying the book and a Breville slow cooker shortly thereafter. The rest is history. I use my slow cooker several times a week, primarily for cooking beans and soups. I have become so dependent on it, I don't know what I would do without it now. It is the perfect appliance for people like me who have very little time to spend in the kitchen, and has allowed me to have more variety of healthy, unprocessed foods in my diet.
Last week I made my two favorite soups from this book, Lentil Soup with Ribbons of Kale, (top photo), and Split Pea Soup, (bottom photo), subbing carrots for parsnips. For both recipes I saute my onion in olive oil spray instead of the amount of oil called for, to reduce the amount of fat in the recipes. Both of these soups freeze well.

By the way, every recipe I have tried from Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker is absolutely delicious. I hope you get a chance to check it out sometime!