Slow Cooker Brownies

Yes, these are indeed cooked in the slow cooker. We found them to be a little under-chocolatey but maybe adding a bit more cocoa will help next time. We'd certainly eat them again!

This is a double batch for a large crockpot. If you have a small crockpot for 2, make half the recipe.

I used chia seeds and water but you could also use ground flax seed. If you use chia seeds, there are little seeds in your brownies. Doesn't change the flavour, just the look.

Adapted from Vegan Slow Cooking for Two or Just You

In a medium bowl, mix:
1.5 cups flour (I used spelt)
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

In a large measuring jug, mix:
4 tbsp chia seeds and 1/2 cup warm water and let sit a couple minutes until it starts to get gluey

Add to the chia mixture:
1 cup non-dairy milk (I used coconut)
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp vanilla

Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix well. Add chocolate chips or nuts if you want.

Spray your crockpot then pour the batter in and spread it out to be even. Put a teatowel under the lid to collect the moisture as it cooks.

Bake 45-90 minutes on high depending on your crockpot. Mine took 90 minutes. The top should be firm. Let cool and enjoy!






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Roasted Asparagus Corn Chowder

This rain is depressing. It's June 7th and I have the fireplace on to warm up because the outside temperature drops to about 6 degrees at night. It shouldn't be time to be making soup but who wants salads and sandwiches when we are wearing scarves and gloves in the morning and at night? Ridiculous!!

I made this chowder in the slow cooker and left it for about 4 hours on low. You could do it in a regular pot and cook it faster. It depends on your time. You could also toss in raw asparagus if you don't want to roast it but I can't guarantee that the flavour will be as good. Play around!

Roasted Asparagus Corn Chowder

2 tbsp canola oil
1 medium leek, sliced thin (see note below)
3 medium carrots, sliced
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 lrg can garbanzo beans or 1 cup cooked garbanzo beans that you have waiting in your freezer
1 red pepper, sliced
1 yellow pepper, sliced
1 tbsp coarse sea salt
2 cups corn kernels, frozen or fresh
1 package powdered coconut milk
5 cups water
1 vegan stock cube
chopped roasted asparagus - however much you have left

If you are making this in a slow cooker, omit the oil and throw all the rest of the ingredients, minus the roasted asparagus, in the slow cooker, mix really well to get the coconut powder to dissolve as much as possible, and leave on low for 4 hours or so. Add the asparagus in the last 30 minutes of cooking. If you are using raw asparagus, add it at the beginning.

If you are doing this in a pot, heat the oil and fry the leek until the pieces start to brown. Add all the other ingredients , minus the roasted asparagus. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat and leave to simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes. Toss in the roasted asparagus and leave to simmer another 5 minutes. If the asparagus is raw, toss in with the rest of the ingredients so that it cooks.

Leek Note: Leeks can be full of dirt. To clean them properly, cut off the root end and slice down the length of the leek so that you cut the rings in all the way down. Don't cut all the way through, the knife should go half way through to the core and then slice down. Put the leek under running cold water and use your thumb to separate the layers to wash the grit caught in-between the layers. You can even pull the leek layers apart, wash them, and then put them back together.