No Hurry Vegetarian Curry - Crock Pot Meal

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So I have this internal need to multi-task. I LOVE things that help me do that like the washer and dryer, the dishwasher, and bloggers scheduling feature. If I can throw in a load of laundry, whip the dishes into the dish washer, and sweep the floor all at the same time, I feel like superwoman!  A few other things that help me multi task are my crock-pot and making my own stock. The other day it was snowing like crazy outside and I had my washer and dryer going, my dishwasher washing, and a pot of stock simmering on the stove filling my house with this intense aroma that was making me salivate while I was typing furiously my blog posts for the next week. It was a good day. (Now only if I could invent a machine to fold my laundry for me too, then I would be in business!)

So to help you multi-task here is a delicious vegetarian crock-pot meal that my family loves. It is adapted from Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker: 200 Recipes for Healthy and Hearty One-Pot Meals that are Ready When you are by Robin Robertson.

No Hurry Vegetarian Curry Crock-Pot Meal - by Madeline
Serves 8

Ingredients:
2 tablespoon canola oil
4 large carrots, diced or 1 lb baby carrots, diced
2 medium sized yellow onions, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons curry powder
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or less, depending on how much heat you want)
4 large Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced
16 ounces green beans, ends trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
Two 15 oz cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
Two 15 oz cans diced tomatoes, drained
4 cups vegetable stock
1 cup frozen green peas, thawed
1 can canned unsweetened coconut milk (or more if desired)
Salt

Directions:
1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add carrots and onions and saute until soft, aprox. 5 minutes. Add the garlic, curry powder, coriander, and cayenne, stirring to coat, leave on the heat until fragrant.
2. Transfer the mixture to a crock-pot. Add the potatoes, green beans, chickpeas, tomatoes, and stock; cover, and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.
3. Just before serving, stir in the peas and coconut milk and season with salt. Taste to adjust the seasonings.


Just put the peas on the counter while your crock-pot does its thing. They will be perfectly thaw by the time you need them. Or if you have little kiddos, add the frozen peas to the hot curry and it will bring the temp down for their little mouths.



These are my favorite potatoes to use, I never buy russets anymore. These have a naturally buttery flavor to them and so you don't have to add as much butter, increasing the fat.

I always keep a baggie in my freezer for all my veggie scraps. All those onion ends, peels, potato skins, etc that you would normally throw in the garbage - save them in a bag in your freezer and when it gets full you can make veggie stock. Just add the frozen veg scraps to a large stock pot and fill 3/4 full with water. Add approx 10 whole peppercorns, 1-2 bay leafs, 1/2 tablespoon salt, and a good pinch of any other herbs you like.
This is a great way to get free stock, because who wants to pay over $3 for a carton of this stuff? I know I don't. Also, if you have a leftover chicken carcass from a roasted chicken or perhaps you cooked bone in beef, save those bones too and you can throw them in the stock to make chicken or beef stock! You just bring the pot to a boil and then turn the heat down to low and cover. Let simmer for 1 hour. When it is done, allow to cool and divide it up into 1 cup measurements and freeze in plastic baggies. You can also put 1/4 cup portions in a large muffin tin and place that in your freezer then pop them out and keep frozen in a plastic bag.
I use stock all the time in my cooking so I keep about 4 cups in my fridge and the remainder in the freezer to thaw as needed.

Have I talked about the importance of mise en place? [MEEZ ahn plahs]. It is a fancy french cooking term which means everything in it's place. Basically when you read through an ingredient list and it says things like "1 yellow onion, chopped" - the recipe time and flow is counting on you having already chopped your onion (not trying to squeeze that in while heating the pan or stirring another pot). It has taken me a while to get in the habit of pre-prepping everything before I begin cooking a recipe. It has helped IMMENSELY! You know all those times when you are like in the middle of baking cookies and realize that after you have mixed half the ingredients together you are out of vanilla or eggs or some essential ingredient - well if you practice mise en place, that never happens to you! 


It takes a little effort and remembering but it is well worth it so I suggest trying it out on your next recipe and see if you agree. 



Yummy, yummy, yummy! Can't wait for this batch to be done.

If you don't have enough people in your family to make the entire batch - it's ok, just make it anyways and freeze the rest in approx 1 portion sizes (or enough to feed your family again). This freezes pretty darn well and as a home chef, you should always, "Cook once, eat twice".

Linking this post to Foodie Friday