Fresh Slowcooking

Pomegranate, Clementine and Beef -- Slow Cooked in Squash

2011-11-28T20:38:34Z

This seasonal dish combines acorn squash, clementines and pomegranate to create a scrumptious slow cooker dinner. The citrus flavour of the clementines infused the squash giving it a bright, slightly sweet taste, while the pomegranate juice gave the beef a delicate fruity flavour.

While telling my hubby that the grocery stores are already stocked with pomegranates and crates of clementines, he suggested I use them together in a recipe. Coincidentally, I had just read a recipe for cranberry and orange quinoa stuffing. The wheels began to turn …

Although I love quinoa, I wanted my stuffing to be made with grass fed ground beef. Also, to keep it gluten free, I used cubed homemade cornbread instead of croutons.

This was one of those recipes that just worked. We loved the citrusy squash and the juicy beef. A few fresh pomegranate seeds sprinkled on top really brought out the pomegranate flavours in the beef so I highly recommend them as a garnish. They contribute to more than the appetizing appearance.

with recipe

Moroccan Mint Beef

2011-11-24T01:02:29Z

Mint is one of those herbs that grows like a weed and will take over your garden if you let it. Rather than letting it become a pest, I decided to add it to our spicy beef dinner to brighten it up.

As hard as it is to believe, the first snowflakes of the season fell last week. Luckily our plants were already inside because the nighttime low has been hovering near freezing for a while. With our herbs on our kitchen counter we’ve caught our sneaky mint plant invading our potted basil plant multiple times! We keep finding shoots of mint poking into the basil’s soil. To trim back the mint and regain control I put most of it in this mouthwatering dish.

The idea for this recipe came from a post on the Planning with kids site. Since we love moroccan food, I added a greater variety of spices to produce a more authentic taste. Don’t you love the warmth of all those North African spices?

The beef turned out amazing — tender and full of rich flavour. Cucumber salad with mint in a lemon juice and olive oil dressing made the perfect side. Although at this time of year roasted squash would be great too.

What’s your favourite way to use fresh mint?

with recipe

Two Year Blog-iversary!

2011-11-18T02:35:28Z

Should I be celebrating a blogiversary even though I haven’t posted a new recipe since July? Yes damn it!!

Freshslowcooking.com’s main goal has been fulfilled. With an infant occupying the majority of my time we are still eating wholesome, delicious meals prepared from real foods.

Within the last couple of weeks I’ve used the crock pot to cook:

Butternut squash soup
Chicken stock
Ham and pea soup using leftover pulled pork
Yogurt
Apple sauce

The catalogue of recipes that accumulated during this blogs first 18 months has been more than enough to keep our tummys satisfied and our taste buds happy. I hope you are enjoying the recipes too :)

Will I keep posting? Of course. I just can’t promise how regularly because I don’t break promises.

Other moms out there might get a laugh out of how naive I was coming into this…

I thought carrying my son around in a sling while he slept etc. would free me to do everyday activities like cook, clean and blog. Obviously that has not been the case. Our son loves being in the sling as long as we’re walking or he can grab everything in reach. Meaning he slaps my keyboard, grabs vegetables while I’m trying to slice them, (dangerous and scary!),and practically jumps out if something that catches his eye is beyond his reach!

I’d love to be doing more giveaways, and engaging with readers and other bloggers, but for now our little guy demands my undivided attention as a tour guide to this awesome world.

So what has been happening at freshslowcooking.com?

In 6 months our little boy has grown from a fragile looking newborn, into a curious,

very active little person who sits, tries to crawl and stand,

and of course shoves everything he can into his mouth. Luckily these days that includes food!

I apologize for neglecting readers and fellow bloggers but as you can see he’s irresistible.

All the best to everyone reading this and I’ll post as soon as I can sneak away and not be missed :)

Slow Cooker Dill & Yogurt Chicken

2011-07-20T16:36:40Z

The perfect balance of creamy and tangy, this slow cooker chicken dish is great for feeding a crowd. As a bonus, cooking this in your slow cooker, means your air conditioning won’t have to battle the oven in this summer heat.

The first time I made this dish just for my husband and I, it actually tasted like my mother-in-law’s slow cooker chicken with dumplings. A very yummy way to cook chicken, but for this dish I had a more summery flavour in mind.

Recently during a visit to Reesor Farmer Market, we found the most fragrant dill that I’ve ever tasted so I decided to tweak my original recipe and try again.

The second time around the chicken and yogurt sauce tasted exactly as I hoped. We all gobbled it up including my young nieces… so it definitely wasn’t too tangy or mustardy. If you’re feeling ambitious, you can also make your own slow cooker yogurt to use in this recipe. Of course you can also use it to make refreshing fruit smoothies or frozen yogurt.

I hope you’re all enjoying your summer :)

with recipe

Thanks Bonnie!

2011-06-24T14:19:45Z

They say moms should nap when their newborns nap… does anyone manage to pull this off?

I love my new little man so I’ve been hanging out with him, but I just realized that I am long over due in thanking Bonnie from Sweet Life for the Poteet prize pack that she sent me.

I barely remember entering her contest, I think it was back in April after she attended the Poteet Strawberry Festival in Texas — Can you believe that? A strawberry festival in April? Up here in Ontario, Canada the local strawberry festival happens next weekend — the July 1st, Canada Day long weekend. The Whitchurch-Stouffville Strawberry Festival promises to provide family fun including comedy, BBQs, fireworks and of course strawberries. Believe it or not, I’ve never gone to a strawberry festival, so I look forward to packing both of my favourite men into the car, (maybe even our dog) and enjoying some local berries.

I will need to bring home a bunch of fresh berries too, because the prize pack included the Poteet Festival Taste of Texas cookbook. Packed with recipes for desserts as well as jams and salsas — I can’t wait to try some.

The package also included some raw honey. For those of you that don’t already know I love honey, and when I saw the label on the bottle, “Uncertain Farms”, I couldn’t help but look them up — would you eat something with that name on it without looking into it first?! Good marketing strategy if you ask me :) They are a family run farm in Texas that sells fresh produce and preserves — and their honey is delicious!

My littlest man is calling… So while the weather is great, get out there and enjoy your weekend :)

While you’re out, have your slow cooker prepare one of these tasty meals:

slow cooker paella

Chicken & Asparagus Soup

Lamb Navarin with Spring Vegetables

Thanks again Bonnie!

Slow Cooker Pesto Chicken

2011-06-01T16:25:40Z

Is the basil in your garden or on your window sill calling to you? Cook some tender chicken in a creamy, fresh homemade pesto sauce — prep it in just 10 minutes and let your slow cooker take care of the rest.

I love pesto sauce and use it regularly instead of tomato sauce when I make homemade gluten free pizza. In fact, I’m surprised it took me so long to make this simple slow cooker pesto chicken for dinner.

In April, my hubby bought a thriving potted basil plant. Those young, fresh, aromatic leaves inspired this classic slow cooker pesto chicken dish. I followed the pesto recipe from The Italian Country Table: Home Cooking from Italy’s Farmhouse Kitchens and it turned out amazing! The basil added a fresh flavour to the cheesy, tender, chicken, while the pine nuts added a subtle warm and nutty tone.

with recipe

It's A Boy!

2011-05-30T18:03:18Z

On May 10th, 2011, we became the proud parents of a healthy 8lb 4oz baby boy!

For nine months we expected to become parents. We made lists of supplies to buy, friends and family bought us all kinds of gifts, but nothing could prepare us for the overwhelming joy we felt as we got to know our newborn those first few hours after his birth.

When we finally took him home a couple days later, we were free to admire all his little expressions, calm his cries and get him used to his new home. We even introduced to him to our (and now his) dog Spark… so far so good on that front; dog’s not jealous :)

I’ve still been cooking up meals in our slow cooker, I just can’t find time to post them between feedings, diaper changes, laundry, sleep etc. The only way I’ve been in touch with the blogosphere is reading posts as I nurse — Is that wrong? It makes me feel guilty, so I don’t do it much. I hope you’re all well and forgive my absence while I enjoy every minute of being a mom and adjust to a new schedule.

Since last week, we’ve actually had spring weather, so soon we should be able to taste some local veggies, like asparagus and rhubarb. Fiddleheads were already out a couple weeks ago; we missed out on those this year, but honestly, I prefer wild leeks (ramps) to fiddleheads anyway… I just need to find a place where they grow so we can forage for our own!

If you’re looking for some spring slow cooker recipes before I get the new ones up, check out the ones I posted last year. They include favourites like slow cooker rhubarb crumble, chicken and asparagus soup and braised chicken in rhubarb sauce.

Braised Cumin Pork with Ginger & Pineapple Relish

2011-04-28T15:39:50Z

A refreshingly light tasting pork. Perfect for dinner or lunchtime left overs (if you’re lucky enough to have left overs!). Prepare the pork with an easy cumin-based rub, brown for a couple minutes to get some nice crunchy pieces on the outside, then slow cook for the day.

With my due date quickly approaching, I’ve been busy cooking meals that I know freeze well including meatballs, pulled pork, spicy chicken and a few soups. But with the family visiting on the weekend, I needed a new, easy recipe so I turned to the blogosphere for inspiration.

During a quick skim of my RSS feeds Oui Chef’s ginger and pineapple relish jumped out at me. He served it over barbecued pork chops — immediately I imagined pouring it over slices of braised pork roast.

With a ripe pineapple staring at me from the kitchen the counter, the timing was perfect to make this fruity, spicy relish. All I needed now was scale up the recipe and make it slow cooker-friendly.

While mincing the ginger and jalapeños together in the food processor the aromas from those two ingredients alone made me realize just how tasty this pork was going to be I could hardly wait for the pork to cook!

Finally we sat down to dinner and enjoyed a delicately flavoured, tender, juicy pork complemented by the refreshing pineapple relish. Everyone gobbled it up, including my young nieces. I thought we’d be snacking on leftovers the next day in a wrap, with a sprinkle of relish — but nope! Together we enjoyed every last bite :)

As sides I prepared moroccan carrot salad and roasted broccoli, both of which we’ve enjoyed many times since finding them online.

with recipe

Tom Yum Soup with Coconut & Chicken

2011-04-17T15:23:03Z

One of my favourite soups — I love the heat from the curry paste, the freshness from the coconut and lime, and the nutrients from the broccoli, cauliflower and chicken. A healthy and complete meal easily prepared in your slow cooker.

This is the soup I used to order when we had take out. I’ve meant to make our own for the longest time, procrastinating because I expected it to be more complicated. A little research, a quick trip to the store and now I can make not just a bowl, but a whole pot of Tom Yum soup in our slow cooker — who needs delivery?

We could use some spring weather though… there was snow falling when I woke up this morning! Earlier in the week it was snowing in Alberta, which I thought that was relatively normal at this time of year. But during my lifetime, here in Toronto, snow in early April is rare, let alone in the second half of the month! If you’re still experiencing winter weather where you live, you will appreciate the comfort and flavors of this easy slow cooker soup even more.

Enjoy :)

I’ve posted this recipe as part of Souper Sunday. Be sure to check out Deb’s post where she shares the links to everyone’s great recipes. If you’d like to participate, click the badge for details.

with recipe

Slow Cooker Texan BBQ Beef Ribs

2011-04-14T15:31:11Z

Truly finger-licking good! These spicy ribs are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Just take a few minutes to make your own homemade BBQ sauce, pour it over some meaty beef ribs and let your slow cooker work its magic.

With our freezer freshly stocked it was time to reap the benefits of our grass fed beef. Sitting on top of the pile were a couple packages of meaty ribs — perfect for a casual Friday night dinner with my favourite man. The original recipe for the BBQ sauce came from Cooks Illustrated, but as usual it required some tweaking to work in the slow cooker.

The alluring aromas emanating from the slow cooker on that day were too much for my hubby to resist — when I got home from work he came clean about sampling a rib! I can’t say I blamed him. Even after dinner, with a belly full of ribs, it was a challenge to save a few ribs to snack on the next day.

As a bonus, you can use the extra cooking juices as a rib dip, or as a base to cook a pot of spicy chilli.

with recipe