slow cooker african vegetable stew

i was overjoyed at the success of this recipe.  you see, african chicken has long been one of my family's favorite meals.  i realized that the key to this recipe isn't really the chicken at all....it's the sauce and the red palm oil, which is what makes it uniquely african.  so, my daughter and i pow-wowed about what vegetables would work best in this sauce and this is what we came up with. 

ingredients:

12 cups of water

4 tablespoons "no chicken" base or comparable amount of "not chick'n cubes"  

1 cup of natural peanut butter

1 can of tomato paste

1 medium onion

3 tablespoons of red palm oil

1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced

1/2 or more of a family sized bag of frozen baby carrots

1/2 or more of a family sized bag of frozen broccoli

1 can of chickpeas, drained

8 oz. extra firm tofu, diced

1 tablespoon coconut oil

cayenne pepper to taste

how to:

in slow cooker, on high:  add water, "no chicken" base, peanut butter and tomato paste.  heat until all ingredients are blended, whisking occasionally. 

in a small skillet:  saute onion in red palm oil until translucent.  add onions and oil to slow cooker.  

add diced sweet potato, baby carrots and chickpeas to the slow cooker.

in a small skillet:  brown cubed tofu in coconut oil, add to slow cooker.

reduce slow cooker to low

no more than an hour before serving, add broccoli.  

season with cayenne.  a little goes a long way, so just put a little in the pot and allow others to add more to their liking. 

  

serve over brown rice with whole grain pita bread and hummus.  

a couple of notes:

if you can't find the substitute chicken bases and do not care if this is a strictly vegetarian/vegan meal, then use chicken broth.  i don't recommend vegetable broth in this. 

i have made this without the red palm oil before and it's fine, but this is truly the most important ingredient that gives it that unique african flavor.  hunt this down or order some if you can. 

this has the potential to be very versatile depending on your vegetable choices.  get creative and let me know if you come up with a good combination.  cauliflower and squash would also be good in this and i was thinking that black beans and sweet potatoes would be a nice combination.  just pay attention to the cooking times of your vegetables and add them to your pot accordingly.