Slow Cooker Black Bean Soup with Kale & Rice

More "stuff" from the CSA box to use up. I'm embarrassed to say I've had a bunch of kale sitting in my fridge for several weeks now... waiting, just waiting to be cooked. The most interesting use of kale I found was from my cookbook Vegan on the Cheap by Robin Robertson. This is adapted from that recipe with quantities greatly reduced. I almost cooked it on the stove and I'm glad I didn't because the flavors really came together after cooking for about 6 hours in the crockpot.

Ingredients
1 Tb olive oil
1/2 small onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup short grain brown rice
1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
3 cups chopped kale, stems removed and chopped too
3 cups vegetable stock (I used "unchicken stock" and it was great)

Directions
Heat the crockpot to high and add oil, onion, carrots, and cloves. Stir around for about 10 minutes. Add rest of ingredients, lower heat, and cook until rice and kale are done, about 6 hours. Garnish with vegan parmesan cheese.

Karen's Teriyaki Rice Bowl

Do you ever buy Amy's Teriyaki Rice Bowl in the frozen health food section? For close to $5? I loved it but thought the price tag outrageous considering its ingredients: rice, tofu, broccoli and seasoning. When I make this, I divvy it up in individual serving freezer containers. Makes about 4 servings.

Ingredients
1 cup uncooked brown rice
1 pound firm tofu, drained and diced
2-3 cloves of garlic, diced
1 inch chunk of fresh ginger, diced
2 bunches of broccoli, chopped and nuked for about 3 minutes
1 red or orange bell pepper
teriyaki sauce (see below)

Teriyaki Sauce
1/4 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
1/4 cup soy sauce (or Shoyu)
1/4 cup dry cooking sherry
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons brown sugar

Combine ingredients in small saucepan and bring to a boil. Gently simmer for a couple of minutes.

Directions
Cook rice in rice cooker. I use 2 cups of water. While rice is cooking, saute tofu with garlic and ginger for around 5 minutes on medium high heat, lightly browning. Add sliced bell pepper and continue cooking for around 5 more minutes. Time is not critical, I just like everything semi cooked; it's going to go straight in the freezer. Add cooked broccoli, rice and teriyaki sauce. Mix well and divvy up the portions into freezer containers. Enjoy later!