Stuffed Zuchini - PLENTY (kind of)

Cost: $6                 Servings: 2            Time: 40 minutes

I tend to alter the recipes from Plenty quite a bit, but this is taken to a different level. I realized that I didn't have a lot of the ingredients required to make this dish, so I improvised. On that note, my goodness, this dish will make your apartment smell delicious! The aroma of cinnamon, cloves, mushrooms, and zucchini is divine.

● Two Zucchini                       ● Two Cinnamon Sticks

● 1 Cup of Cooked Rice          ● 20 Cloves

● 1/2 Onion                             ● Parsley

● Mushrooms

Slice the zucchini down the middle, drizzle with olive oil and bake in an oven at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

In a small pot of water bring cinnamon and cloves to a boil and then let simmer for ten minutes to extract the flavour.

Slice onions and mushrooms and onions and sauté for five minutes in a large sauce pan with oil.

Add rice, parsley, and more oil and let fry for another five minutes.

Take the zucchini out and hollow out the middle to make "boats." Add the rice and other ingredients into the hole. Then filter our the cinnamon clove water from the solids and pour on top of each. Put back in the oven at 375 for 10 minutes.

Let cool for 15 minutes and they're ready to serve!

Insanely Easy Vegan Crockpot Chilli

Cost: $12                                 Servings: 5                   Time: 20 Mins on, 4-8 hours off

I really do not use my slow cooker enough. Today, I had both work and school, so the time I had to cook was significantly depleted. This morning I did 20 minutes of prep work, and the result was dinner, as well as lunch four more portions for lunches. How else can you do that? Not to mention the result was an insanely good, nutritious, and filling chilli. 

● One Can Tomato Sauce          ● One Green Pepper

● One Can Corn Niblets            ● 4 Cloves Garlic

● One Can Diced Tomatoes       ● One Onion

● One Can Red Kidney Beans   ● 1 Cup Raw Lentils

● 2 Parsnips (or Carrots)            ● 2 Stalks of Celery

Add all canned item into the slow cooker along with the lentils and turn on. Pour out and rinse the bean juice. Make sure to use dry lentils because they will absorb the flavour of the chilli and be extra delicious!

Then, slice all the vegetables and add them into the slow cooker as well. The bitterness of the green pepper will balance out the sweetness of the corn and parsnips. Instead of using parsnips, you may use carrots, but it won't have that same "spice" to it.

Add some spice to your liking (I used a mixture of oregano, cayenne pepper, paprika, black pepper, and chilli powder) then turn put the lid on and let stew! As a general rule of thumb, let heat until all the vegetables are tender. The longer the time and the lower the heat, the more the flavours will be brought out and mingle. The higher the heat, the shorter the cooking time. I let mine cook for four hours on high.

Serve with some fried tortilla or rice for a starch and garnish with cilantro for a bang! Vegan chilli that may be better than the original, and because of lack of any meat, easier to prepare.

Black Pepper Tofu - PLENTY

Cost: $4          Servings: Two large portions             Time: 20 minutes

All ye tofu nay-sayers say nay no more. I was like you too, until that is - I made tofu taste good. I mean I can't really take credit because it's not my recipe per se, but damn, was I ever wrong... 

This is a spicy asian take on tofu which has no shortage on flavour. When originally starting this blog, this is the type of food I had in mind: it's affordable, easy to make, quick, and delicious.

● 350g Extra Firm Tofu            ● Soy Sauce

● 3 Shallots                               ● 3 Cloves Garlic

● 2 tbsp Ground Ginger            ● 3 Red Hot Chilli Peppers

● Black Pepper

Fry the tofu in a pan with oil for about two minutes on each side or until golden brown

The original recipe calls to coat the tofu in flour - I did this to about 1/3 of the tofu (I'll be honest, I was hungry and lazy) and found that the floured ones were actually slightly charred and discoloured versus the non floured. After frying, put aside and let cool.

My recommendation: don't flour them before frying

Slice the peppers, shallots, and garlic. Grate the ginger. Then put everything into the pan with a bit of oil and fry for about a minute to soften up the vegetables.

add enough soy sauce to cover everything and let simmer while stirring for another three minutes to allow the flavours to mingle.

make sure to fully coat the tofu with all the sauce-y goodness and cook for another two minutes before serving.

This is delicious, and I recommend serving it with rice. 

Calories - 250  Carbohydrates  - 4g  Sugar - 0g  Fat - 16g  Protein - 26g 

Spicy Sweet Potato Cakes - PLENTY

The spiciness is optional (just omit the hot red pepper) in this delicious sweet potato cake.

Skin and slice the sweet potatoes into small pieces then boil the potatoes for five to seven minutes or until fork tender.

While waiting for the sweet potatoes to boil, slice green onions and chilli pepper, removing all the seeds from the pepper.

Then, add flour (I used spelt flour because of it's slightly nutty taste and I happened to have it on hand), green onions, soy sauce, and hot red pepper to the pot with drained potatoes. Mash the mixture until it is smooth and there are no inconsistencies. It should be sticky, not runny, if it's runny then add more flour.

 

Then, shape into patties and fry in a pan for less than two minutes each side or until golden brown!

Beet, Orange, and Black Olive Salad - PLENTY

Cost: $5                        Servings: $4              Time: 45 minutes

This salad is a combination of sweet and bitter flavours with subtle acidity and saltiness. The oranges and beets comprise the sweet factor with the radicchio providing a bitter contrast. The oranges also contribute to the acidity with the vinegar.  

● 5 Small Beets                       ● 1 1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar

● 1 Small head radicchio        ● 4 tsp olive oil

● 3 Oranges                             ● 3 tsp Green Onion

● Olives

First, skin and cut the beets in quarters then add to cold water and bring to a boil. Keep boiling for 25 minutes or until the beets are fork tender.

While waiting for the beats to tenderize, peel and cut the orange slices in half. Slice the radicchio and add into a mixing bowl (don't knock tupperware) with oranges, green onions, and quartered black olives. Then add balsamic and olive oil and mix thoroughly.

Once the beets are tender, drain and let them cool before mixing with the rest of the salad.

Calories - 70  Carbohydrates  - 15g  Sugar - 10g  Fat - 1g  Protein - 2g