Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker: 200 Recipes for Healthy and Hearty One-Pot Meals That Are Ready When You Are

I've tried many of the recipes in this cookbook and have yet had one fail to please myself and my husband. The flavors are wonderful, and the recipes are quite varied! Most involve no more prep time than chopping the veggies and giving some a brief sautee to bring out the flavor. Some recipes include making a home-made curry paste first, but this only added about 15 minutes of extra prep time. Others are quick to get going - great for prepping before work. Most recipes use canned or precooked beans to ensure that the beans are fully cooked by the end of the cooking time. I read a complaint in the first reviews about the peppers (in particular, the chipotle) being too hot after eight hours of cooking, but the recipe says to add the chipotle at the end of the cooking time, which makes it savory but not molten! The recipes were obviously pretty well-tested before publication! I am really enjoying this cookbook and it's collection of tasty, easy to prepare meals! This has joined my list of favorite vegetarian cookbooks!

Ok, I LOVE this book! * Almost all of the recipes that use dairy products or cheese give alternate suggestions for a more vegan diet. * The recipes are soooo easy to make. Most prep is no more than 20 minutes. * The recipes actually taste awesome (I add more salt - shame on me) and I've never really been so healthy of an eater and am making changes in my diet. * Not all the recipes are soups or stews. Some really neat recipes are included like stuffed acorn squash, appetizers, and even breads - all made in a crock pot. Crazy... I never knew you could do all that. * There is even a small section on deserts that you can make in the crock pot and they are really good, too. I made the blue-berry cobbler and really liked it (blue berries are good for your brain and eyes)- the crust was more like cake though. * There is some really cool basics for beginners like me. Like how to soak/cook fresh beans, 101 advice on crock pot cooking, or hints and tips for better flavors. * New research (EAT TO LIVE, Dr. Mercola's Total Health, etc.) shows that a diet where you get most of your calories from fruits, vegatables, and beans is, by far, the most healthy. Ok, maybe this is common sense and doesn't take a book to figure out. lol At least this cook book makes that goal so much easier. I only wish I bought the hard cover edition because the soft cover is starting to warp and stay open because I use it so darn much. lol -- For those who get this book... I especially love the Sloppy Lentils except I added 2 garlic cloves. Even non-vegitarian friends ask me to make this. It is SO GOOD!

I've made about a half a dozen of the recipes from this book now and I have to say they are quite yummy. I'm very fond of her other book "The Vegetarian Meat and Potatoes Cookbook", so was happy to see a new book out. I've also been a vegetarian for nearly 20 years and it's about time someone came out with a good veg slow cooker book! It's seems like (until now) all I ever made with my slow cooker was beans. It's nice to finally use it for other things. My only real complaint with the recipes so far is that I keep finding that they are done sooner than anticipated even when left on the low setting. I'm starting to suspect that there must be some variation among heat settings with crock pots though. I noticed another reviewer mentioned that their slow cooker took longer (for lentils, which cook quite fast in my experience.) I've also noticed I usually have to stir things a few times, even though the author says it's not a good idea. I made the french onion soup recently and if I hadn't of stirred it would have burned. So maybe my cooker's low setting runs kind of hot or something. I just mark in my book that I need to stir, so I know in the future not to make that recipe when I'm gone all day, but at home puttering about. Other than that, I've been quite pleased with the ease and tastiness of the recipes. It's true some of the recipes ask that you saut onions, etc., but I don't find that's a big deal. It doesn't take very long and it dramatically improves the flavor of a dish. Also I like that she uses normal ingrediants that are easy to find. Some of the recipes call for different size slow cookers, which could be fun if I ever decide to invest in a larger or smaller one. I think it would be usefull around the holidays, since it opens up oven space. Overall, I'm happy with this book.

Vegan Planet and The Vegetarian Meat and Potatoes Cookbook are two of my all time favorite cookbooks. I can always count on their easy to follow recipes to produce delicious results. Now, Robin Robertson does it again! I am enjoying my Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker cookbook very much. I just got it a week ago and I have already made Seitan Cacciatore, Spicy Black Bean Chili and Old Fashioned Vegetable Soup. I went out and bought a lovely Rival Oval Programmable Stainless Steel 5.5 Quart Crock Pot. You can exactly set the cook time in half hour intervals up to 20 hours and you can set the temperature to high, low or warm. The crock-pot automatically switches to warm mode after cooking is complete so you don't have to worry about burning. The digital countdown shows you how much time is left. The lid fits perfectly on the crock-pot and doesn't let air seep out like some cheaper models. I highly recommend this sturdy and easy to use crock-pot.Now back to the wonderful recipes! The Seitan Cacciatore was a very easy to make a hearty stew. We loved the subtle blend of flavors and the seitan was perfectly moist. I made the Spicy Black Bean Chili in less than ten minutes. The results were fabulous, dark rich spicy black bean chili with red peppers, sweet onion and diced green jalapenos, amazing for such a mind numbingly simple recipe. I am eating the Old Fashioned Vegetable Soup as I type. This soup is so wholesome and tender it simply melts in your mouth.I am a busy vegan who absolutely loves to cook and this cookbook is a lifesaver. No longer will I have to rush home to cook, stopping at a busy grocery store on the way. Instead, I figure out what I want to make in the evening, go to the grocery store after dinner when it is not crowded at all and assemble the ingredients at my leisure. I pop the crock in the fridge until bedtime. I don't want to leave the cooker on when I am not at home, so I just turn it on before bed and when I wake up transfer the wonderful results to the fridge. They have all day to sit and get delicious (most stews are better if given time to rest) and then I reheat when I get home in the evening. It has worked out very easily and the recipes are mouthwatering. Now I can relax while cooking on busy weeknights and I look forward to going to the store rather then rushing. I think crock-pot cooking is miraculous.This cookbook is a huge bargain with 200 recipes for everything from appetizers to desserts, soups, stews, vegetables and everything in between. All of the recipes have vegan alternatives for dairy products and most are naturally dairy free. You cannot get better results both in the minimal effort, easy ingredients and outstanding results then this. Every vegan and vegetarian should give Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker by Robin Robertson a try!