Broke-Ass College Student’s Minestrone (and Veggie Goth’s new toy)

Yep, time for Veggie Goth’s monthly update! You missed me and you know it…

Ever have one of those weeks where just about everything goes wrong? Where you narrowly avoid getting stranded at the airport because you seriously have one of the best friends in the world who’s willing to drive almost six hours nonstop just to save your stupid ass, THEN your car gets rear-ended by someone who not only doesn’t know how to drive, but doesn’t have insurance, THEN you get into an argument with the raging bitch-beast in financial aid who doesn’t seem to understand that you’re actually smart enough to be talked to like an adult (lady, just ’cause I’m a Munchkin doesn’t mean I’m secretly three years old!), THEN you miss the first class of the semester because you thought you made it clear you wanted to sign up for another, similar course but were put in this class you have no interest whatsoever with *sigh* that girl who makes you want to stop being a liberal because of how stupid she is…

Suffice it to say, I’ve been watching a lot of Penn and Teller: Bullshit! lately. There’s something about a guy effortlessly destroying creationists’ arguments that just makes me hot. And keeps me from going postal, which, believe me, is always a good thing.

But there’s always something to be happy about. In my case, it’s Baby:

A 2-quart slow-cooker that is MINE, DAMN IT, ALL MINE!!! *smooths feathers* I’ve already used her to make a really awesome-tasting vegetable stock and this “throw it in there and let it stew” vegetable soup that turned out way better than I expected. I call it a minestrone, even though it’s probably sending my Milanese great-grandmother spinning in her grave, because it’s thicker than most vegetable soups I’ve made. I also didn’t really measure anything of the ingredients, save the rice; I more or less eyeballed everything. Of course, I’m only cooking for myself and using a slow-cooker that is basically built for one person. Adjust accordingly. Also: All of my veggies were frozen because, well, that’s what I have.

Broke-Ass College Student’s Minestrone
1 12-ounce can diced tomatoes
1/4 cup frozen chopped onions (or 1/2 of a small fresh onion, diced)
1/4 cup frozen sweet corn kernels
1/4 cup frozen baby lima beans
2 small handfuls frozen red and green bell pepper strips (yes; my grocery store has these, it’s awesome. If using fresh peppers, use one small red and one small green pepper, seeded and sliced)
2 cloves garlic, smashed
3 tablespoons rice (I used up the last of my black rice; use any rice you want, or substitute orzo)
2 cups vegetable broth
Red pepper flakes to taste
Dried basil to taste
Salt to taste

Dump everything in the slow-cooker, put on the lid, and cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 3 hours.

Next up: An experiment with someone else’s recipe. Namely, the Ethiopian Seitan and Peppers recipe from Vegan With a Vengeance. Last time I made it, I wasn’t really sold on it, and I’m wondering if slow-cooking might change that, since it allows the flavors more time to develop.