Vegan Laptop Lunchtime!

Golden beet salad from Whole Foods (Justin hates beets so I don't usually cook them; have to treat myself once in a while!); Slow Cooker Seitan Roast with Veggies from Robin Robertson's Vegan on the Cheap; homemade trail mix; plum

Chilly weather is on its way - it's crock pot season! If you have Vegan on the Cheap, I absolutely recommend this super easy recipe for seitan and veggies. We added a turnip the veggies and included some rosemary and it is delicious! And you can't beat the wonderful aromas coming from the crock pot as the veggies and seitan are slowly cooked for 8 hours. We went out on some errands yesterday afternoon and came home to a complete dinner all ready to go. If you don't have a slow cooker - go get one! They're not too expensive if you find one used at Goodwill or online. I inherited mine from my grandmother and it must be 5-10 years old. They last forever if they're made well and they're so worth the money when it's chilly outside and you come home from work tired and just want to relax. BAM! Dinner is ready. How sweet is that? 

Last night's dinner; not shown, small salad with fig dressing

What a crock!

Sunday - I looked at my calendar for this week and felt anxious. A stressful work week, several after work obligations, etc. Something I've learned as I've embarked on this vegan journey is that I cannot just "wing-it" for dinner. I need a plan in place. Whether it's a recipe from our coveted Vegan on the Cheap, something we've made up in the past, or homemade pizza, I need a plan. So I looked at our busiest nights and the nights I thought, "Wow, I am not going to want to come home to cook" and I remembered my faithful old crock pot.

Now I had always thought that crock pots were for cooking meat balls, or sausage, or chili, or beefy stew. But low-and-behold, Vegan on the Cheap's got an entire slow-cooker section and just do a search on "slow cooker" on VegWeb and the possibilities are endless!

My yellow and maroon crock pot, handed down to my from my grandmother, was sitting below a shelf on our kitchen floor collecting dust. This old girl may not be new and flashy with all of the nicer amenities like a timer or alarm, but I knew she'd get the job done. I set my alarm for 6:20am the next day, hopped out of bed and threw a bunch of veggies into the deep marroon basin - onion, carrots, black beans, kale - some spices - cumin, salt, pepper, paprika - 5 cups of homemade veggie stock, and set the dial to low.

9 hours later, I'm greeted at the front door by a hungry crying kitty and an amazing aroma filling every space of our apartment. I had forgotten how wonderful it is to come home to the smell of food that's been cooking all day and know that all you'll need to do is wash the dishes. Exhausted from a long day at work, my boyfriend and I grabbed bowls and ate the hearty stew like Black Beans & Kale Soup while watching LOST in bed. A perfect end to a tiring day.