And the Winner of The Vegan Slow Cooker is . . .

Thank you to everyone who left a comment and entered my blogger giveaway for a copy of Kathy Hester's The Vegan Slow Cooker. I've got Kathy's Carrot Cake and Zucchini Bread Oatmeal in my slow cooker right now and I can't wait for tomorrow morning.

The winner is entry number 79, Sara, who made the following comment:

"1) I use mine to cook a batch of dried beans every week. After cooking, I put it in pyrex, and then use the beans all week. Sometimes in the winter, I use it to cook a single serving of steel-cut oats (using this method:http://annkroeker.com/2008/03/25/overnight-crockp... overnight for me to eat before work. I also use mine as an "air freshener" in the kitchen, often after cooking the beans! Basically, fill your crockpot with water, baking soda, and a bit of an extract (I usually use peppermint extract), turn on low (WITHOUT the cover on), and allow it to rid your kitchen of cooking smells.

2) I'm pretty confident in modification, but not so much in developing my own recipes. Creating my own recipes is something I'd like to work more on. I always stir-fry with vegetable oil broth, and always add tons more veggies (e.g. an entire pound of greens to a big pot of soup) than recipes call for. I'm much more confident tweaking some types of recipes (such as soups and stir-fry) than others, such as casseroles, and other baked dishes. A lot of vegan baked dishes use nutritional yeast - which contains MSG, which I'm allergic to - so I always have to modify those recipes. What I normally do is follow the recipe as closely as I can given the ingredients I have on hand or am willing to purchase (I don't usually buy things that I can never see myself ever using up), because I'm always curious to know the taste that the author intended. After that trial, I modify it to fit my preferences. Regardless of the author's intent, I always up the veggie content"

So Sara, please e-mail me at healthygirlskitchen@gmail.com to claim your prize!

Have an excellent week everybody. Back tomorrow with another muffin recipe to go with all of these soups and stews we're all making.