Pop your Collar(ds)

By now, it's no secret I love my hand blender. (What? You mean you didn't know?)
However, I must admit to being quite intimidated by some of the other appliances loafing around my kitchen. For instance? How about the Super Scary Slow-Cooker!


Dun dun dun.
(*Cue the Twilight Zone music to play in the background*)


But everyone knows that the only way to get over a fear is to face it, head-on. So, one dark and cold morning, I put on a brave face (CCV-warrior face!) and pulled out that slow-cooker.

For my first battle with the slow-cooker, I tried my hand at a southern staple-- collard greens. And I discovered that the slow-cooker's not so scary after all!A delicious southern-comfort meal: Collards, roasted red peppers, a juicy apple, seitan with ketchup, and wheatberry pilaf


On another occasion, I enjoyed my collards with chickpeas:

Because I loathe having to rush through eating a meal, I often try to make a meal that's quick to prepare when I'm pressed for time. The meal below, thanks to the no-prep Gnu bar, came together lickety-split, which gave me plenty of time to savor it :o).Collards, homemade black bean soul dip (recipe to come in a future post), and a banana-nut Gnu bar

And now for the Collards recipe:

Collards à la CCV (Actually, it's my mommy's recipe)

Ingredients:

• A 1lb bag of chopped collards (such as Glory brand)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 cup broth (I use Imagine No-Chick'n Broth)
• 1-2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• up to 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Procedure:

• Turn the slow cooker onto high power and put in the chopped onion, salt, garlic, and a little broth.
• After about 10 minutes, stuff the collards into the crock pot, and change the setting to low.
• Leave on for 6 hours, stirring every few hours.
• Turn off the crock pot and add the vinegar. Stir again.
• Enjoy your victory over the slow cooker. Muahahahaha!

Chocolate-Covered Words of the Day
I must give a long-overdue shout-out to three terrific bloggers—Becca, Caroline, and Bethany. (I’m yelling your praises from the top of my roof—can ya hear me?) You three lovely ladies rock; I was one super-happy chocolate-covered vegan when I saw that you’d given me the Proximity Award. It’s always nice to get an award, but the award takes on an extra-special meaning when it’s from someone as kind-hearted and fun as you three!