Quick dinner recipe: Fennel & tomato penne with eggplant

This recipe includes several solanaceous vegetables that are just coming into season where I live: eggplant, sweet pepper, and tomatoes. My beloved fennel also plays a starring role, along with fresh basil and onions. And it took me under 30 minutes to prepare. There’s so many vegetables in this dish you could skip the salad. But if you have as many veggies as I do … Read more

Recipe: How to caramelize onions in the slow cooker

I love caramelized onions. Sweeter than sautéed onions, they make a great topping for pizza and a nice addition to soups and sauces. Caramelizing uses low, steady heat to break down the onions’ starches into sugars. Continue applying heat, and the sugars turn golden and more mellow in flavor—just as when caramelizing crystalized sugar. The challenge is that it’s easy to mess … Read more

Recipe: Slow cooker tomatillo soup (vegan/vegetarian)

My favorite coffee shop recently featured tomatillo soup for lunch. It was delectable and inspired me to create my own version at home. Because I keep cooked beans, caramelized onions, cooked grains and vegetable stock on hand in the freezer, the preparation was incredibly quick and easy. (You can find my directions for making big batches of beans here, caramelized onions here, … Read more

Recipe: Slow cooker cabbage and apples (plus how to cut onions without crying)

I have three main motives for my love of crock pot cooking. I’m easily distracted, which can lead to burnt food when I’m cooking on the stove top. With a slow cooker, I don’t have to worry about that. I am an impatient cook when I am hungry. Slow cooking allows me to prepare a meal after breakfast or lunch when I am … Read more