DubaiReader

I have used a slow cooker before, but it has been neglected lately, so I thought I would request this recipe book from NetGalley (for an unbiased review) to inspire myself to start using it again.

I buy organic vegetables direct from a farm, so the first thing that appealed about this book was that it was organised by season. This means the correct vegetables are grouped together and I can make efficient use of my veg box.

On the downside, the majority of the recipes are not vegetarian, which reduces the number that I can use, although I'm generally pretty good at substituting alternatives, these are definitely heavy on the meat.

I did find a few delicious recipes to sample - lentils with garam masala, coconut, and pomegranate seeds (P22) and tartines with roasted garlic, white bean spread, fresh spinach, and radishes (P90). The deserts are also vegetarian, but I don't make a lot of deserts so I haven't tried any of these yet.

The advice at the beginning of the book applied to all slow cooking though. I was not previously aware that frozen food should not be added as it brings the temperature down into the danger zone, ditto opening the lid any more than necessary during cooking.

I was also interested to learn that slow cooker sauces need to be quite thick to allow for the liquid that comes out of the foods during cooking and for the lack of evaporation through the closed lid.

On balance, this is a great book for non-vegetarians who want inspiration to start using a slow cooker, sadly, it is less practical for those of us who prefer to eat vegetarian.