Stuffed Peppers with New Potatoes, Feta and Pesto

So if you're a keen follower of this blog (as I know you all are), you'll know we've already done a post on stuffed peppers. However, I would say this one is equally great but with an exciting different combination of flavours.

As Kitty said in her recipe, these are great to make a few of and then freeze before cooking to make a great ready meal for times when you just can't be bothered to make something afresh.

Although this does involve a lot of veg already, I would recommend serving it with a leafy salad as it adds to the combination of flavours (and overall healthiness) nicely. 

We're all about the long-lasting energy at Gourmet Student Grub, and this recipe is no different! Potatoes are a great carbohydrate for keeping you going aaall day and aall night.

It's really quick and easy to prepare (although the cooking time is a bit longer), especially for the amount of flavour it provides.

I've nicked this from a book called River Cottage Veg by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall which has loads of great vegetarian recipes in it, although not all of them as student-friendly as this.

Look at him: smugly eating all his vegetables

Ingredients (makes 2 portions)

2 red peppers
100g feta cheese
100g new potatoes
2 tbsp olive oil (or any cooking oil you have to hand)
2-3 tbsp pesto
Some chopped up basil leaves (if you've bought a reduced herb plant!)

Recipe

• Bring a pan of salted water to boil and then wack in the new potatoes
• Boil for 10 minutes until they are tender, then drain and set aside
• Halve the peppers lengthwise and remove the seeds and the dodgy white bits (stalk is optional).

I choose a life without stalk

• Brush outsides with oil and bung them all (tightly packed) on a baking tray that is well lined with baking paper.
• Halve the new potatoes (or quarter if large) and put them in a mixing bowl, with the feta (cubed) and pesto.
• You can always add more pesto, but make sure the combination is all well covered.
• Spoon the filling into the peppers and bake for about 40 minutes, until nicely browned on top.

Perfectly browned

• Sprinkle on the chopped basil and serve with green salad (balsamic dressing always helps).

That presentation though

• Simple and easy, voila!

Complimentary tune: Deckchairs on the Moon - Bipolar Sunshine, a cheeky little tune to match this cheeky little recipe for you cheeky little people.

Tip of the day: If you've any stale bread leftover then make croutons! Simply cut up into cubes and drizzle with oil (walnut and sesame taste best) and wack in the oven to grill for a couple of minutes. Make sure you flip them over to brown on both sides. A great topping to any salad, n.b. jazzes up a plain leafy salad nicely.

--C

Hearty Bean Stew

This is a favourite of mine in the winter - it's filling, yummy and it's a one pot wonder! I make it if I know I've got a busy few days because you can make a pot and eat it in portions. It's basically just vegetables and beans, so it's all super healthy and CHEAP. It's great if you want a healthy meal on a low budget. It's bulked out with vegetables and I eat it with wholegrain pasta to stretch it further and give me some long-lasting energy. And of course, the beans provide that all important protein!

Ingredients:

This is recipe is so flexible and ideal for using cheaper seasonal veg. It also makes use of the pot-planted herbs we've mentioned in previous posts. As it's summer at the moment, in the pictures in this post I've used summer vegetables, but in winter I use sweet potato and parsnip (very much down to personal taste) as well as other veg I can pick up.

The quantities are changeable according to what you've got, you can't really go wrong as long as you've got plenty of nice vegetables to add flavour and variation! So this is very approximate.

• 1/2 an onion (this is pretty important for flavour)
• 1/2 a pepper (or a whole one if you've got one that needs eating)
• 1/2 - a whole peeled sweet potato (optional/seasonal)
• 1 parsnip (optional/seasonal - see the stuffed peppers for how to cut it up)
• 2 sticks of celery sliced (if you don't like this, it's not essential, but it's such a good flavour giver! Give it a go)
• 2 carrots, sliced into circles
• A few cherry tomatoes if you have them
• 3-4 mushrooms
• Courgette (this is one I always buy - it adds some green)
• French beans, if they're not too expensive - at their best round about now (late July)
• A tin of chopped tomatoes
• Half a chicken or vegetable stock cube.
• A tin of beans - I prefer cannellini beans in this one 

Recipe (serves 4 or lasts 4 days, roughly):

• Start by chopping up all the vegetables - the onion into small chunks, pepper, sweet potato if you're using it etc.
• Depending on the cooking time, it might be an idea to put a bit of wholegrain pasta on to cook whilst you're making it - not much though because this is filling!
• Put a dash of olive oil (or whatever oil you have) in a large-ish casserole dish or saucepan, and begin to fry the onions until softened, then add the pepper and hard root vegetables (parsnip and sweet potato).
• Once they've been frying for a few minutes, add the mushrooms.
• Then add a can of chopped tomatoes, and a stock cube dissolved in a bit of boiling water - this depends on how many veg you have. You want to cover them in liquid, plus a little bit as it boils down.
• At this point, also add the celery, carrot, courgette etc. (any reasonably soft veg that normally takes about 8-10 minutes to boil)

• Season it with about a tbsp of tomato ketchup (magic ingredient this), salt, pepper, herbs (basil is especially nice here), dried herbs, black pepper - whack it all in!
• Allow it to simmer for about 10 minutes, and meanwhile, rinse the beans well (believe me, this bit is worth it...) under running water.
• Add the beans and peas if you fancy it. Taste, check the seasoning and simmer for 5 more minutes - until the vegetables are soft - then you're done!

How easy was that!? It's one to do when you can't be bothered to think. Hardly any washing up either! This can also be frozen in portions in the freezer.

Tip of the day: Try and go for seasonal veg when you're shopping - it's often cheaper, local, and more tasty!

Tune of the day: Hozier - From Eden

Enjoy!

---K

Moroccan Couscous

This is something that can be made in a large batch and reheated in smaller portions when needed. It is highly versatile and the recipe always varies whenever I make it, so different ingredients can be added each time you serve it.

Although couscous itself is not bursting full of nutrients, it is a great alternative carbohydrate to the wheat we tend to choose for most meals. The chickpeas provide you with much needed protein and the fruit and vegetables provide a lot of long-lasting energy.

This is great as a quick lunch option, especially if made in advance and kept in the fridge, but can also be a healthy dinner (perhaps with the addition of some grilled chicken to bulk it up a bit).

Kitty has talked about the use of planted herbs in recipes in a previous blog post, and the tactic of buying at the end of the day in supermarkets when they tend to be reduced. This recipe is a great opportunity for these plants to be used (especially if you don't have a vast quantity of dried herbs and spices in the cupboard), as Moroccan implies a lot of exotic herby flavours.

A work in process

Ingredients (makes 5 large portions)

500g of Couscous
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 can/carton of chickpeas (drained)
A large handful of herbs of your choice (coriander/parsley etc)
or
A large tsp of dried herbs (ground cumin/ground coriander etc)
1-2 tbsp of lemon juice (or any fruit juice you have)
2-3 carrots (grated)
1 pepper (optional but adds colour, espec. if red)
150g of raisins
150g of sultanas (or just 300g of one of these if cheaper)
2 cups boiling chicken or vegetable stock (about 2 stock cubes worth, follow ingredients on packaging)


Recipe

• In a large saucepan (you need to be able to fit in all the rest of the ingredients as well) fry the chopped up onions and crushed garlic cloves on a low heat.
• Stir in your boiling stock once the onion has browned (make sure cubes are completely dissolved before adding)
• Turn down the heat to as low as possible (or just remove from heat) and add couscous (and more boiling water if needed).
• Make sure you keep stirring well, as the couscous is liable to stick to the bottom of the pan without sufficient movement and lubrication (insert lols here).
• Once couscous is properly fluffed, chop up and add the rest of the ingredients (I would advise adding raisins/sultanas first, as allows them to plump up slightly with the steam from the boiled water).

• The best way to chop up fresh herbs is with a large non-serrated knife, place your hand flat on the farthest end of the knife and make a levering motion back and forth across the herbs (repeat in contrasting directions).

Action shot

• Add a decent amount of salt and pepper before finishing to taste (if you don't feel you used enough stock then add more salt to compensate)
• And there you have it, a simple but exciting recipe to keep you going for days (OK, maybe just hours).

Complimentary tune: Love On Top - Beyoncé, I know you all know this song so please belt it out like the belter outer it is for maximum summery happiness.

Tip of the day: If you're cooking meat off the bone, make sure to use the leftover meaty bones as stock. Do this by placing leftovers in a large pan and cover with cold water. Bring this to a simmer and then turn down to a low heat for a couple of hours (between 2 and 6), the longer its left the better the flavour will be. Strain the mixture and store in the fridge for up to 4 days or freeze and use when needed. Make sure you label well though so no-one uses it as an ice cream sauce.

That colour variation though

---C

Sweet Potato Stuffed Peppers with Cous Cous

This recipe is a bit more time-consuming, but delicious and fairly easy to make as well as being cheap. I made this last year at uni quite a lot as it makes a change from something pasta or rice based. It's also super healthy and full of goodness. The protein comes from cheese and pumpkin seeds (or any other nuts or quinoa), carbs from the sweet potato and vitamins and anti-oxidants etc from the vegetable and fruit content.

Ingredients

• 1 pepper (I prefer red)
• Half a large sweet potato or a whole small one
• One small parsnip (if you like parsnip)
• 2-4 tbsp of Philadelphia, other cream cheese, cottage cheese or a soft cheese. (I always have this in stock because I love to eat it in sandwiches with sliced tomato and fresh basil, or on its own if I'm feeling lazy. It can be put in any cheesy sauce and just perks up quite a few dishes).
• Parsley
• Optional 2-3 mushrooms,
• 3 tbsp of cous cous or quinoa or brown rice
• Lemon juice to flavour

Recipe

• Put a saucepan of water on to boil, and put a shake of salt in it. Set the oven to 200 degrees.
• Peel the sweet potato and the parsnip and cut them up into medium chunks. To cut up the parsnip, you'll want to core it as the core is tough. To do this, very carefully cut it in half length-ways, then turn it flat-side down and cut it into quarters. Then hold it angled side up so you have the ridge pointing upwards, then push a knife into the line between the core and the rest of the parsnip, and wiggle it so that the core comes away.
• Once you've done this, cut the parsnip up into chunks and place both this and the sweet potato into the boiling water. Cook them for about 20 minutes over a medium heat, or until a knife poked into a chunk feels soft.
• Once they're done, drain them, place them in a small mixing bowl and mash them with a fork. Add the cheese, parsley chopped up, season with black pepper and a bit of salt, and continue to whiz with the fork.Taste the mix and add more of anything to taste.
• Cut the pepper in half from top to bottom (not round the middle) and put the stuffing in - piling it up a little. Scatter some pumpkin seeds on top and grate some hard cheese too if you have some.
• Smear about a tbsp of oil round a baking tray or dish, and place the two halves of the pepper in it. Put them in the oven and set the timer for 20 minutes.
• While they're cooking, decide what you're going to have with it. I sometimes have brown rice and vegetables. This can be a bit dry though, so here I've suggested cous cous. Follow the instructions on the packet, and add lemon juice and vegetables and a bit of olive oil and seasoning and it should be yummy!!
• You can eat half the pepper, and put the other half in the fridge to eat another day.

Here's one we prepared earlier!

Tip of the day: If you ever see cream on offer in the supermarket, buy it and then freeze it individually in an ice cube tray. Whenever you're making a sauce that needs enriching, wack in just one of those cubes and voila! 

Complimentary tune: Sia - Chandelier (Night Cruise Remix) we love the original tune here at Gourmet Student Grub, and we love this remix even better.

---K

Gingerbread Men (kinda)

This recipe originates from a book from 'Sainsbury's Recipe Library', entitled Healthy Food For Kids and is approximately 3 years older than me (#woh).

I have never understood the choice of this photo as the front cover

It was obviously a great excuse for my Mum to get us doing something hands on, without her putting in that much effort herself and therefore has been well used over the years. 

The success of this recipe is such that the book now falls open at that page with minimal encouragement, bringing with it a delicious waft of ginger and spices.

Here is proof (my gingerbread men never looked like that)

The spices themselves are the only real splurge in this, but if you call them an investment for the future (ginger is great for more oriental recipes and cinnamon is a useful ingredient for any baking) then they definitely prove their worth.

Although, obviously, baking is never guilt-free, gingerbread is definitely one of the healthier options out there. This recipe uses wholemeal flour (i.e. longer lasting energy) and minimal sugar (i.e. less badness in your body) so is a definite win all round.

I've doubled the original recipe as it never seemed to make enough (or my family devoured them before they'd even cooled) so theoretically it should make 24-26 men, however I never actually make men (or women #equalrights) as they're too darn fiddly with our cutters. Whatever cheap cutters you can find (have a look in charity shops) will do just fine, I personally prefer making hearts because I'm loving like that.

Ingredients (makes as many as you possibly can)

250g   plain wholemeal flour
1 tsp   bicarb. of soda
1 tsp   ground cinnamon
2 tsp   ground ginger
50g     margerine
100g   muscovado (or any vaguely brown) sugar
2 tbsp honey
1 large dollop of orange juice (or whatever fruit juice you've got to hand)


Recipe

• In an smallish saucepan (saves washing up) melt together gently the margarine, sugar and honey (keep stirring occasionally as it does).
• Whilst this is all happening, wack the flour in a large bowl and sift in the soda, cinnamon and ginger and mix together with a wooden spoon.
• Once the saucepan mixture is all melted, wait for it to vaguely cool and then bung it in with the flour and add the juice.
• Give it all a good stir with a wooden spoon until it becomes a stiff dough (if it is too sticky add some more flour and if it seems to dry add some more juice).

I apologise for the extremely dodgy shape of my dough 

• Flour your chosen surface, and roll out with a large rolling pin until the dough is a decent centimetre thick (keep it thicker rather than thinner otherwise it is liable to burn).

I'm so impressed by my own photography here it's unreal

• Cut out with whatever cutters you can get your hands on into as many shapes as you can and wack them on a baking tray.
• Make sure they are well spaced out or they tend to merge and lose their shape (if in doubt lay them out on multiple trays and bake consecutively).

The neatest I've ever made

• Bake in an oven preheated to 170 degrees for about 10 minutes (check after 5 min as they cook faster at the back of the oven so you may need to swap the tray around).
• They should be a nice golden brown colour when done, n.b they will not be solid at this point as this only occurs after they have cooled.

• Take them out of the oven when done and leave to set, only once they are solid should you move them to a wire rack to cool.

• This is a really quick and easy recipe to do and will leave your kitchen smelling lush for hours!

Complimentary tune: Return Of The Mack - Mark Morrison one of those tunes for one of those days

Tip of the day: Charity shops are absolute gems for money saving students: affordable, original clothing and for a good cause. Had a great haul looking in them today and so I cannot emphasise enough their brilliance! Make sure you commit to having a look around though, as a half-hearted wander is not enough to find that vintage Topshop jumper you've always wanted.

---C

Potato Salad

This is a great salad to make if you've got lots of leftovers in the fridge and want something exciting to do with them.

It's best to do a large batch of the potato and apple and red onion and sauce (the base ingredients) and then have it repeatedly with different sources of protein and flavour added to it. Some options include cubed feta cheese (as I've done), smoked mackerel (Sainsburys does a cheap vacuum packed version that lasts longer in the fridge, 4 fillets for £2.42), or small pieces of bacon (better to buy large rashers and then cut up yourself as they are more cost effective and less fatty than lardons).

Potatoes in any form (even chips if they're oven baked) are a great source of long lasting energy, so even though this is just a salad, it'll keep you going long until your next meal.

This salad can be served hot or cold. As it's very hot at the moment I made the salad in the morning, wacked it in the fridge to cool and then ate it as a late lunch in the afternoon. Alternatively, if you eat it straight away and make sure all the cooked ingredients are kept warm, this can be just as appetising on colder days as a healthy winter warmer.

If my Mum makes this salad, she tends to plan her added ingredients by colour variation to make it more aesthetically pleasing, where as I just tend to bung in whatever ingredients I can find in the fridge. It's up to you, but obviously it would involve more planning ahead if you follow my Mum's technique.


Ingredients (makes 4 servings)

BASE 
4 medium/large potatoes
1 red onion (or a handful of spring onions)
2 apples
2-3 tbsp of greek/plain yoghurt
2-3 tbsp of mayonnaise
Seasonings

OPTIONAL EXTRAS
1/2 block of feta or 3 rashers of bacon or 1 fillet of smoked mackerel
A handful of radishes
A handful of gherkins
2-3 sticks of celery

Recipe

• Bring a saucepan of water up to boil and wash and chop up the potatoes into largeish chunks (no need to peel as makes potato shapeless and mushy when mixed).

• Steam the potato chunks on top of the boiled water (make sure you put the lid on) and turn the hob down to a medium heat.
• Leave for 20-30 minutes but keep checking them by sticking a knife through the chunks (they should be soft but still holding their structure well).
• Whilst that steams away, start prepping all your other ingredients.
• Obviously the size that you choose to chop up your fruit and veg to is your choice, but I would advise cutting up the red onion the most finely as it can be quite pungent in too large a dose.

• Once the potatoes are done, add in all your ingredients but leave your sauce til last. Use equal amounts of the mayonnaise and yoghurt and make sure that all ingredients are completely covered for optimum deliciousness. 
• If you want, keep back your source of protein til last as well and sprinkle on top to add to the finished presentation (doesn't matter if you don't though as long as it tastes good!)
• Don't forget to add black pepper and/or seasonings of your choice.
• Enjoy this salad and the hot weather!

Complimentary tune: Today Was A Good Day - Ice Cube or to rephrase, today would be a much better day with more ice cubes.

Tip of the day: Red onion is a much greater ingredient when raw and is therefore a great addition to most salads (buy them small sized). If you want to cook with onions use white ones, as they are cheaper and much more enjoyable when cooked.

---C

Quinoa and Bulgar Wheat Salad

One of the things I love about summer is salad. This one is easy and nutritious - the quinoa provides all your protein, and the bulgar wheat provides wholesome carbs. The herbs means it bursts with flavour and the vegetables just make it yummy and good. The aim is to make it as colourful as possible!

Ingredients - makes about 3/4 portions 
Keep it in the fridge and eat day-by-day

• 50g quinoa
• 50g bulgar wheat
• 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• Juice of half a lemon (you can buy bottles of lemon juice which may keep better. If so, I think a mean dessert spoon full) 
• Pinch of salt
• Mint, parsley and basil
• Half a cucumber (you can buy them in halves, which I do because I never eat them all in one go)
• Two tomatoes, or 5 cherry tomatoes
• Half a pepper
• 1 carrot
• Ready-cooked beetroot (this is the stuff you buy in vacuum packed packets in supermarkets)
• Half an avocado and any other raw veg you fancy - chuck it in!

Recipe

• Weigh out the quinoa and bulgar wheat, put it in a sieve and rinse it under a cold running tap.

It doesn't look like much, but it expands!

• Then place it in a saucepan, cover it with cool water until it's covered by about 5 cm, then bring to the boil. Once boiling, turn down the heat so it doesn't boil over, and cover. Set the timer for 15 minutes.
• Now to start cutting up the veg! Cut it all into fairly small chunks, and grate the carrot. It doesn't matter if you don't have all of it - I'd say the beetroot doesn't matter too much, it's just one of those things I have sometimes. Nor does the avocado. 
• Then chop the herbs. This is when having your own herb plants really comes into its own. You'll notice the flavour so much! 

• Keep checking the bulgar wheat and quinoa - if it's starting to boil dry, add a bit more water. You can always drain it off at the end.
• Once the 15 minutes is up, drain the water off and place the mix in a medium glass bowl. 
• Add the olive oil, pinch of salt and lemon juice. Then the herbs, fruit and vegetables. Give it a good mix and you're ready to go! See - easy!

If you're going to add avocado, I'd keep this separately in the fridge wrapped in cling film once you've started it because it goes brown very quickly. Serve the salad with some leaves. You could stir some cheese or pumpkin seeds through it too if you have any in stock.

Quinoa and bulgar wheat may not be your bog-standard fare, but they're so good for you. It might be worth looking into buying them in bigger packets to last a long time, and try to get them cheaply. However you won't use much bulgar wheat each time, so cost-wise, I reckon it evens out! 

This recipe could also be used for a healthy lunch if you keep it in the fridge.

Tip of the day: mix up your exercise and do something different every day. I get bored so easily so I go running, cycling, gym, or rowing!

Tune of the day: First Aid Kit - Emmylou 

---K

Non-Alcoholic Beverages

I know what you're thinking when you look at the title of this post (yawn, where's the party at) because it's probably what I would be thinking too. BUT..it's a Monday evening, you've probably done some drinking this weekend, and your bank and body probably aren't thanking you for it.

Now at Gourmet Student Grub, we are all about looking after our bodies and our banks (most of the time) so I thought I'd provide you with some great non-alcoholic beverage ideas that don't damage either.

Just as a side note, I can never promote enough the great detoxing effects of just plain water (tap water is fine). I'm not going to lie I tend to either down too much or don't drink any at all, so I know that being dehydrated sucks and feeling hydrated and full of beans feels pretty damn good. Just a thought.

Non-Alcoholic Pimms

I discovered this bizarre alternative in Tesco one day, when an old lady -upon seeing a bottle of Pimms in my trolley- suddenly grabbed my arm and questioned whether I knew of the non-alcoholic version. After my startled response of 'no, I don't think so', she proceeded to tell me the story of a barbecue she once cooked for her daughter's family and how her daughter's suggestion of an alcohol-free option led her to research this. Apparently 'no-one could taste the difference!'; Tesco is a mad world on Sunday afternoons I tell you.

Although there is many non-branded alternatives to Pimms (I've heard Aldi is the best for taste and cost), any alcohol is fairly expensive, and so if you're not planning on getting absolutely mortal (day drinking never ends well) this is a great idea. 

Ingredients (makes 1 jugful)

4 tsp Balsamic Vinegar
1 bottle of Lemonade
Loooads of Ice
Strawberries, cucumbers, mint etc to garnish

Wack the vinegar into the bottom of your jug (or whatever vessel you've chosen) and then fill up with lemonade and add the ice and garnish.

The garnish is mainly to replicate how a normal jug of Pimms is served but this is obviously up to you and how much effort is being put into its appearance.

Ice is important! No-one likes a lukewarm beverage and ice is free (if you're clever and already have an ice cube tray) so get freezing!

Gunners

This does contain alcohol, but in such a minuscule amount that it would take you many, many moons to get even remotely tipsy on it (akin to a Shandy beer but with even less alcohol).

This is a drink my Dad always likes to make, especially as a refreshment in the middle of a game of tennis, and so in my childhood naivety I assumed he had invented it himself. However, upon seeing him order one whilst out at a pub I realised my mistake and that it is actually quite a well known drink, although more so for his generation.

It's simple, refreshing and costs nearly nothing to make. The minimal alcohol is provided by Angostura bitter which in itself is quite expensive (£10 for 20cl) but will last you centuries as you only use a couple of drops of it per jugful.

Ingredients (makes 1 jugful)

1 bottle of Lemonade
1 bottle of Ginger Beer
4/5 drops of Angostura Bitters
Ice ice baby

I would suggest pouring about half of the lemonade and ginger beer into your jug (as long as they are equal amounts it's fine) and then adding the drops of Angostura (you can always add more for more zing factor).

Again, ice is important so make sure you've got a decent amount already frozen.

As I said before, this drink is deliciously refreshing. It's for those moments when you would rather pour the ice over you than put it in the drink (n.b put it in the drink otherwise this whole drinks making thing is pointless).

Lime and Soda

My final tip is this particular drink -not to make- but for when you are out at a pub and don't feel spending much dollar, but still want something more exciting than just tap water.

Ask for a half pint of lime and soda water and it will be free, I mean it, absolutely blooming free. I know, it's crazy right? It's tasty, refreshing, and a whole lot more zingy than water so a great choice for those alcohol-free nights (they're rare I know).



Complimentary tune: Pacific Air - Float (Mountain of Youth Remix) a little chilled out tune to compliment a summer evening and a nice glass of non-alcoholic substance

Tip of the day: Lucozade is something I'd absolutely swear by as a hangover cure. It replenishes all those electrolytes that you've lost over the course of the evening and hydrates you all in one, thereby curing any nausea or migraine. Trust me.

---C

Easy Vegetable Risotto

I love cooking with vegetables, in fact it's pretty much all I do at uni. It's cheap, healthy, easy, hygienic and there's so much variety and so many things you can do! That's not to say I'm a vegetarian, I just find it saves me money. Occasionally for a treat, I'll get myself some British bacon, Scottish salmon (I'm careful where any meat comes from) or some free-range chicken.

Rave about vegetables over, let's get down to risotto. This is something I make if I have lots of veg to use up, or just if I fancy an easy meal, plus it's just yummy. The easy thing about risottos (this sort anyway) is that they're so approximate, so this might seem a bit vague, but do what you like with it!

Ingredients (serves 1)

• 1/2 an onion
• 1 small sweet potato or 1/2 a large one
• 2 or 3 mushrooms
• 1/2 a pepper (I prefer red)
• 3 cherry tomatoes or 1 normal one cut into quarters
• 1/2 a stock cube, chicken or vegetable, your choice
• 1 courgette, 1 carrot, 1 stick of celery, 1 beetroot, a handful of peas, a floret of broccoli - whatever you have! 
• A knob of butter or a dash of olive oil
• A couple of handfuls of risotto rice - remember that it expands!
• Seasoning, including any herbs you have - basil, parsley and mixed herbs work well

Recipe

• First step is to cut up all your vegetables and prepare your stock so that it's all ready to put in in stages while the risotto is cooking. Make about half a pint of stock with your half stock cube and boiling water.
• Melt the butter or heat the olive oil in a (preferably non-stick) saucepan over a medium-high heat, and add the onion, pepper, risotto rice, sweet potato and any other hard vegetables you have - so, carrot, parsnip, uncooked beetroot, celeriac etc. Fry them for a couple of minutes - stirring continuously so it doesn't burn.
• Add a portion of the stock - enough to cover the rice with a centimetre or so on top (not necessarily the vegetables). It will spit and hiss a bit, so mind out! Once you've added the first lot of stock, you want to keep an eye on the time. You'll probably need to cook the rice for about 20 minutes, but test it along the way.
• Keep stirring and when the liquid is all absorbed add more. 
• After about 10 minutes, add the mushrooms, tomatoes, beetroot (if it's packeted cooked beetroot), celery and any softer vegetables - such as broccoli and courgette.
• Continue to add the stock in stages, and keep stirring! If it looks like it's burning - turn the heat down.
• You can add a splash of white wine (if you happen to have some lying around...)
• After a further 5 minutes, add peas and spinach if you want to. At this point season with salt, pepper and herbs. 
• Test it about now to see how it's doing. It shouldn't be smushy, but should be tender and need biting. 'Al dente' is the correct way. Make sure it's not underdone though! Also adjust seasoning if it needs it.
• Now you're done! It's ready to eat straight away - enjoy!

If you have pesto lying around - I so often do - and it needs eating up (you should use it within 3 weeks of opening), whack a spoonful of that in. If you're feeling really adventurous add some tomato purée, or both!

I also sometimes add cheese too to give some more protein to the meal. I often snack on nuts, so I have quite a lot of protein during the day anyway. 

This meal is nutritious and cheap. It's definitely worth a go!

Complimentary tune of the day: Milky Chance - Stolen Dance

Tip of the day: Make your own lunches. What I do is buy sandwich rolls from the supermarket - wholegrain ones are so cheap - and split them up and freeze them. Bung one in the microwave and you can have a sandwich done in 3 minutes - a lifesaver if you're always rushing like me! If you have more time, a couscous or quinoa salad is a healthier option. 

---K

Banana Bread

This recipe involves very simple baking ingredients that you should have in decent quantities for any of your baking needs: flour, sugar, butter, baking powder etc. However the key ingredient is (surprise, surprise) BANANAS!

The best thing about this recipe is you can use anything from 2-5 bananas, and they can be in as much a sate of ripeness as you like (and I mean any). See below for an example of the excessively blackened bad boys that I happened to use this time.

Trust me; they work.

The bonus of them being extremely ripe is that mashing beforehand is not needed and you can just wack them in to be whisked in with the rest of the ingredients.

This particular recipe is from Nigella Lawson's How to be a Domestic Goddess which, despite not actually teaching me to be a domestic goddess, offers this beautifully healthy breakfast (or snack option) which is perfect for students.

The culinary bible in all its glory

Although the walnuts and sultanas may seem like luxury items, both can be used as great fibre-filled salad ingredients or healthy snacking options. Walnuts are a great snack to nibble on whilst revising, especially if you toast them first -put them in the oven at 200 degrees for about 10 minutes, but keep watching so they don't burn-.


Ingredients

100g sultanas
75ml rum (I don't need to tell you what excess of this can be used for)
175g plain flour (wholemeal if poss.)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
125g unsalted butter (melted or just softened by being taken out of fridge in advance)
150g sugar
2 large eggs (if you don't have enough eggs, a couple of tbsp per egg of plain yoghurt is fine)
2-4 bananas (as ripe as poss)
60g chopped walnuts
1 tsp vanilla extract


Recipe

• Wack the sultanas and rum into a smallish saucepan and bring to boil.
• Once bubbling take off the heat, cover, and put it aside for later use (this allows the sultanas plumpen and absorb the alcohol and therefore adds strong taste to the bread).
• Mix together with a wooden spoon all the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, bicarb and salt, then transfer to a smaller (dishwasher proof-less washing up) bowl and set aside also.
• Using the mixing bowl you've just emptied, whisk together the sugar and butter until well combined, and then add in slowly both eggs and all the bananas (beating them as you go).
• Then, using the wooden spoon, stir in and add gradually the walnuts, vanilla essence and the drained sultanas.
• Shove in the flour mixture a third at a time and stir well.
• Turn on the oven to 170 degrees and place the mixture into a greased loaf tin, see below picture for approx. size.
• Cook for 1-1 and a quarter hours (definitely check after 55 minutes and adjust timings accordingly).
• To check if its properly baked, insert a skewer or toothpick into the loaf and it comes back batter free it is done.
• Leave to cool and eat sliced (with extra walnuts and sprinkled icing sugar if you're feeling extra special).
• It keeps well (and even longer if refrigerated) and so will do you well as a breakfast option over the next couple of days or week.

A simple tin:cookbook scale for you

Enjoy this scrumptious home cooked healthiness! It's the only cake doesn't make you feel guilty afterwards!

Complimentary tune: Bob Marley - Is This Love (Montmatre Remix) A question I asked myself many a time whilst making this baked beauty.

Tip of the day: If you're hungry between meals (especially whilst revising or doing coursework) snack on nuts. They aren't as addictive as salty snacks like crisps and they fill you up for a lot longer (also a great source of protein). As with the walnuts earlier, most nuts taste better toasted (as do seeds). 

---C

Side note: since posting this recipe, two of my friends have professed an intense hatred for this sacred yellow fruit. Therefore I intend ti win them back to the crazy side(go bananas so to speak) by listing their many merits...
(actually that'll take too long so here's a link that does: 25 Powerful Reasons To Eat Bananas)

Macaroni Cheese

Macaroni cheese is one of those delicious homely meals that I love to eat, and so of course I make it at Uni. It's so easy to add goodness and extra flavour to every meal by adding as many vegetables as possible, so I always do, even to my version of macaroni cheese. Here, I've used bacon to add extra protein, but if you're vegetarian, the cheese content should provide enough, along with the protein in the wholegrain pasta, and vegetables. 

You may also be thinking that the thick creamy sauce can't possibly be healthy and must be full of fat, but there you'd be wrong. The thickness is provided by the reaction between the little bit of fat and the gluten in the flour. However, there is still fat in this meal, but you need fat in your diet, and if you bulk it up with lots of vegetables, you don't end up eating a lot!

This recipe serves four, but what I do is make it one day, put it in the fridge and cut off portions to heat up in the microwave (making sure it's piping hot all the way through) each day. Alternatively, wait until it's cooled down, and cut it up into portions to freeze. I always do this when it comes to exams so that I don't have to think about food when I'm stressed out revising; I can just whip a portion out of the freezer, bung it in the microwave for a few minutes and eat a tasty, healthy meal.

In terms of cost, vegetables are cheap and so nutritious, especially if they're in season, and the basic ingredients of flour and butter keep for a long time so are cheap if a little is used at a time, as in this recipe. Bacon is perhaps more expensive, but if you're particularly budgeting - use onion to add flavour instead (I explain how later).

Ingredients

• 2 rashers of bacon
• 1 red pepper
• 4-5 mushrooms
• 1 courgette, or 2 small courgettes
• 2 large tomatoes or 5 cherry tomatoes
• 1oz or 25g of butter plus a little extra for frying
• 1oz or 25g of plain flour
• 1/2 pint or 280ml of chicken (or vegetable) stock (just dissolve half a stock cube in boiling water)
• 1/2 pint or 280ml of semi-skimmed milk
• 1 tsp of wholegrain mustard (I always have a pot of this in the fridge, but it might be worth sharing with other people because it goes quite slowly!)
• Juice of half a lemon (or lemon juice to taste from a bottle)
• 3oz or 80g of cheddar or another mild-strong cheese. This is also a matter of taste. By all means add more or less as you please! The lemon juice helps to bring out the flavour.
• 5-6oz or 140-165g of wholegrain pasta
• Any vegetables you have lying around - I add carrots, peas, celery (which adds lots of flavour), sweet potato and parsnip.
• Fresh parsley
• Salt and pepper

The courgettes in this picture are from my parents' garden so they're small and one is yellow. Normally I just buy them from the supermarket! So are the peas, but again, normally I use frozen ones. Also, we had no wholegrain pasta in the house, so this is standard pasta.

Recipe

• Start off by cutting the pepper into chunks, and slicing the courgette, mushrooms and tomatoes. 

Tomatoes, courgettes, mushrooms and pepper

• Melt a knob of butter in a large pan and add the pepper, bacon and courgette. Fry them on a medium heat until the bacon is done and the pepper is soft, or for about 7 minutes. Put a pan of water on for the pasta and add a little salt.
• Add the mushrooms and tomato and continue frying for another 4 minutes. At this point also add the pasta, and set a timer for it according to the instructions on the packet. If you're adding carrots or celery, I'd recommend boiling them with the pasta at the same time, except for peas which you need to add with two minutes left to go.
• Add the butter, wait for it to melt, then add the flour and stir until all the flour has been soaked up. At this point it looks a bit weird, but bear with me! 

I had to scale quantities up to make it for my family, but the principle is the same.

• Once the flour has gone, add the stock and milk and continue stirring until it thickens. 
• Add the cheese, mustard, lemon juice and a few twists of black pepper. If you have fresh parsley cut this up and add it too. It doesn't matter if you don't though.
• Now taste, and season if it needs it. 
• Add the pasta and boiled vegetables and stir together until it's all coated.
• You can leave it at this point and freeze it/take portions of it as described at the beginning.
• OR you can scatter breadcrumbs and more grated cheese on the top and bake it in a large dish at 200 degrees for about 15-20 minutes.

This is the final thing before it was baked. YUM.

If you're vegetarian and don't want to include bacon, you can add onion at the same stage as the bacon. You might need to alter the seasoning accordingly, by adding a bit more salt.

If you want to add a harder vegetable like sweet potato, it will need to be cut into small chunks and fried with the bacon and pepper, or boiled for twenty minutes. Alter the veg with what you have in stock, be flexible with the seasons and offers.

Complimentary Tune: Base Like Home - Lily Allen, because there's nothing like home comforts!

Tip of the day: Last year at Uni, I had a basil plant and a parsley plant in the kitchen. They're not too expensive and carry on providing fresh herbs if you keep watering them! Definitely worth it because they add so much flavour to any dish!

---K