consciouseating


October is Vegetarian Awareness Month


and a wide range of settings. Barnhart and McKay recommend the five-to- six-quart size with a removable insert as the most practical. Food cooks in the insert, which can be washed and dried separately, so there’s no need to put the entire slow cooker in the sink to clean up afterwards. Because the slow cooker’s low


Slow Cooking The Zen of


Savor Your Autumn Harvest in One-Pot Dishes by Judith Fertig


A


utumn’s shorter days remind us how precious time is, especially when we can spend the hours with good friends and loved ones. That’s why Chicago mothers and bloggers Meg Barnhart and Jane McKay decided to try slow cooking with a Zen approach in creating family meals. With the time they save in food preparation—especial- ly when one recipe can yield an extra lunch or dinner—they free up moments for both family interaction and their own spiritual practices. “Slow cooking with the sacred in-


tention of slowing down creates a sense of peace and calm after a full day of work and school,” says Barnhart. Once she transitioned to this kind of meal planning and preparation on a regular basis, she realized that it allows her to be more attentive to her family’s needs while a healthy, tasty dinner basically cooks itself. With extra time for med- itation and yoga in her daily life, she realizes increased clarity and focus for other interests and demands.


McKay enjoys the creative chal- lenge of making family-pleasing, whole food recipes and converting conven- tionally cooked recipes for use with a slow cooker. “I especially love the bounty of the autumn harvest, which in- cludes seasonal picks from our family’s urban garden,” she says. She’s found that root vegetables, squash, pump- kin, leeks, mushrooms, leafy greens, Brussels sprouts, apples, pears and nuts all translate well to lower temperature cooking for a longer period. Whether it’s a quick preparation


that allows for other activities or a more contemplative, mindful endeavor that can be relaxing in itself, the reci- pes on the pair’s website, TheZenOf SlowCooking.com, are highly suited for busy people.


Slow Cooking 101 Slow cookers have come a long way since they were first introduced in the 1970s. Today, they come in all shapes and sizes, with inserts, timers


natural awakenings October 2015 19


temperature is about 200° F and the heat is indirect, the appliance uses less liquid than conventional cooking. Many of Barnhart and McKay’s easi- er recipes simply require putting the ingredients in the slow cooker, selecting the temperature, replacing the lid and turning the appliance on. Fresh garnishes, such as the roasted pumpkin seeds or fried sage leaves for the Butternut Squash Soup, make a crisper contrast to the softer texture of slow-cooked foods, notes McKay. Dishes like Sweet and Spicy Apples can be made the day before; leftovers taste delicious for breakfast with a dol- lop of yogurt. Barnhart and McKay make their own Sweet & Spicy Ground Spice Blend, available on their website, with proceeds funding cooking classes for adults with developmental disabilities.


Judith Fertig blogs at AlfrescoFoodAnd Lifestyle.blogspot.com from Overland Park, KS.


It’s one of the greatest gifts you can give


yourself, to forgive. Forgive everybody.


~Maya Angelou


photo by Stephen Blancett


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