Post Punk Kitchen Forum

I have a question...my slow cooker is 5 quart, so how should I modify the recipes to make them work? To make that more elaborate and annoying...doubling seems like it loads it down a little too much, 1.5ing (great word there!) would probably work, but a lot of the recipes seem best at a one recipe unit, like "one can" of tomatoes or one block of tofu. And I think 1.5ing would make my husband's kitchen impaired head explode. I find 8 hours optimal cooking time for my schedule.

You're welcome to tell me the way to fix my problem is to buy a 4 quart slow cooker because that's what I will probably do anyway.

I believe my slow cooker is a 5 quart and so far what I've made has worked out fine. For the oatmeal I made, I just doubled the recipe, but unless the recipe specifies for a smaller slow cooker, you'd probably be fine. Maybe do a test run on the weekend when you can keep an eye on the dish to see if it starts to dry out too much or get gross.

I downloaded this cookbook on my Ipad! So far so good. The only recipe I have made is the White Bean and Kale Stew (I could have the name wrong) and the entire family LOVED it. My twin four year olds kept asking for more. I did add bullion to the recipe to make the broth a bit richer. We were out of bread for dipping, so I made drop biscuits to dip in the stew and it was delicious. I will definitely make this recipe again, but I will have to double this recipe for our hungry family of 6:)

I can't tell you how excited I am to have another crockpot cookbook--coming home to an already made, healthy meal made dinner time a breeze! I am looking forward making more from this book.

Well so far I have made the sweet potato-chorizo casserole. It tasted really good, but when it was done cooking it was all one big unrecognizable gump. Sometimes I wonder why I spend time making sure the layers look pretty when something is going into the slow cooker since it comes out all mixed up anyway! It was tasty, but I served it with some tortilla chips and diced avocado for a little textural variety.

I just wanted to follow up about the pumpkin white bean lasagna. It's super, super awesome leftover. Everything firms up more, including the tofu/pumpkin ricotta and I'm going to admit to eating two huge slices of it each night for dinner until it was gone. I miss it. Good news is that it's not difficult to make!

The split pea and lentil soup was good but I found an error in the recipe. She does not list garlic as an ingredient but she tells you to add it to the onions when sautéing. Not a big deal but just a heads up.

Making tapioca pudding tonight, and really looking forward to eating it tomorrow. Of course, though, I had to pour it into a tupperware piece that, unbeknownst to me, had a small hole in the bottom. It took 2 rather large puddles for me to figure this one out.

I'd like to blame it on the recipe, but alas....
Hopefully it will turn out as well as her wonderful as her flavored oatmeal recipes from her blog, which I adore.

I have made chicken and dumplings, very good; butter chicken, also very good but I felt was missing something, I probably just wanted it spicier; and mango rice pudding.

Bekki - Sorry I just saw that this thread had a page two - doh! Everything should work fine in a 5 quart or a 3 1/2 quart. If yours runs real hot, you may need to add an additional 1/2 cup liquid, but other than that you should be golden.

Thanks for letting me know. I'll get it updated in the next printing. The soup would be fine without it if you are a garlic hater though.

I tried it in various slow cookers and it does cook faster in some of them. If yours cooks a little hot you may want to try cooking it for three hours on low or 1 1/2 on high and see if that does better for you. Another option is to layer it in a pyrex dish and put that inside the slow cooker.

It can be a hard call on greens. I live in North Carolina and the collards here are best after the first frost. They lose their bitterness and have a hint of sweetness. With that being said our fall has been so hot they are more bitter right now than usual.

Sorry your collards were bitter!

I know this is about the dumbest question ever, but is it very...pumpkin-y? For a point of reference, I did not love the pumpkin ziti in V'Con, and the husband wouldn't eat it at all but I've really wanted to try this lasagne.

I had the same problem with the collards! I thought the bitterness would cook out but sadly it didn't. I don't usually like the flavor of collards though, so I take responsibility for that one. I'm sure it'll be delicious with just some kale next time!

You could always sub another veg puree or use all tofu to make the riccotta.

It wasn't VERY pumpkiny, and I think the reason for that is that it still uses a tomato based sauce. The pumpkin mellows the acidity and maybe adds a bit of sweetness, but it's not the main flavor profile like it is in a dish that effectively is based off of a pumpkin cream sauce.

That being said, I really like pumpkin, so I might not notice it as much as someone who finds it off-putting. :)

I've preordered this book as it's not out here yet. I'm looking forward to cooking from it. Now I just have to find my slow cooker which is somewhere in the shed, where about 75% of my belongings are currently being held hostage.

For the Veggie Gumbo, is it a 1/2 cup of sausage? I have the Kindle version and I want to make sure since it says "1/2 cups". I'm afraid it's missing a number and I don't want to mess it up.

Also, it's six individual almonds, and not some sort of measurement, right? Sorry, I've just heard of mistakes in kindle cookbooks very often.

It should be 1 and 1/2 cups sausage, tempeh, or tofu and it is 6 individual smoked almonds.

Thanks for finding that - I will alert my publisher to change it in the ebook!

Is the book so good that you need two slow cookers to use at once, or why do you want a second one?

Somehow I have ended up with three of them, and I use one of them at a time, so if anyone is near me at any time, feel free to pick up a free slowcooker.

I think my copy was delivered today, and I'm so stoked!

Make the tempeh-wine-fig bake, people. It's fantastic. Just go ahead and double the recipe, though, because you'll want more. I put the parsnip-cauliflower faux mashed potatoes in my smaller slow cooker and had a fantastic meal.

The rest of the stuff I've made has been pretty good so far but those were absolute standouts. I did have the same issue with the chorizo-sweet potato casserole, I think my slow cooker runs warmer than the author's based on my experiences so far. Kung Pao tofu was good, sweet and sour tofu was fairly good (but would've been better had the asian grocery store smoked tofu I used not been kinda overpowering, that's not the author's fault). I've had the ingredients for the brunch casserole for a while now but never seem to get my act together to make it. Maybe tomorrow!

I made the Cheesy rice and broccoli, and despite additional cooking time, the rice remained raw. I'm not sure what I did wrong.

My cheesy rice and broccoli took longer than expected to make, but was good once the rice cooked.

I've also made the Spanish quinoa and have modified some chili and soup recipes. Definitely glad I picked the book up, even if I am too paranoid to leave my slow cooker on when I'm away from the house.