Often it feels like the minute 3:45 hits on the clock my daily studio practice is hijacked by meeting kids needs, homework, dinner prep and often chaos.  When possible I prefer to work through the homework-dinner prep rush and your slow cook recipes allow me to do just that. We are early risers in my house and for me I would much rather prep dinner in the early mornings when the kitchen is already uprooted with breakfast and then not have to think about much other than a salad and veg. until 5.  Thank you ZC for making this moms job that much easier!

the zen of slow cooking Spices are a huge help in my cooking. I am a gluten free vegan which can make meals difficult sometimes. Their spices add the perfect addition to my dishes. My favorite spice pack is the Indian dal spice packet. It does not have that bitter taste like other turmeric and curry spices. I make the curried lentils (using vegetable broth instead of chicken broth) a couple of times a month. It is my go to meal to bring to dinner parties or to bring to someone who is ill or recovering from a surgery. Its also a great addition to tofu scramble or lentil soup. These spices also make great gifts at all times but especially during the Holidays. I am so happy that I have found the zen of slow cooking Spices!!

My father became a widower when my mother passed away in 2012. Having had a long, loving, and traditional marriage for 55 years, he was at loose ends in the kitchen. My mother had been the only meal planner, shopper, and chef...although he does dry a mean dish.

Living in a retirement community, he has plenty of meal options, but all of them are determined by strangers and prepared by a distant staff.  It's a wonderful luxury, but I came to realize that what he gained in convenience, he gave up in enjoyment. There's nothing like looking forward to a meal prepared just to your liking.

Then I met Jane, and Meg, and found an entire world of recipes that he could create himself, safely, in his own kitchen and on his own timetable. They are easy to modify to allow for fewer servings, they offer familiar ingredients but surprisingly modern tastes, and best of all, he can enjoy the sights and smells of dinner cooking while he goes about his day.

At Christmas last year, I made him a cookbook of a dozen or so recipes from the Zen of Slow Cooking website. He started with the simplest one, and surprised even himself with how easy it was to assemble, but most of all, how delicious and elegant the end result was. As new recipes are posted, I'll email him ones I think he would like to try. He has taken to inviting neighbors over every now and then for dinner, and takes pride and satisfaction in having expanded his skill set.

For me, I am beyond grateful for the way that slow cooking, and Zen's recipes, has given my father a new kind of self-sufficiency and independence. He has the ability to provide for himself in the most elemental of ways, and that is a priceless gift.