Tag: vegetarian

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Yellow Split Pea Dahl (Yellow Roald Dahl)

Yellow split pea dahl with mini naan and glass of wine

Slow Cooker Yellow Split Pea Dahl (Yellow Roald Dahl)

ScranMa
This is a really easy, cheap and tasty dish, and can be made from store cupboard and freezer ingredients. If you're using the spices for the first time you can use a mild curry powder instead of the individual spices listed here to cut costs. It can be a main dish, or served as a side dish.
My kids eat this because they like the Roald Dahl stories (hence the name Yellow Roald Dahl) and because it's not very spicy. Add 1tsp hot chilli powder to the slow cooker mix for some extra zing!
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 6 hours
Course Main Course
Cuisine Indian

Equipment

  • Slow cooker (crockpot)

Ingredients
  

  • 8 spray Spray oil
  • 260 g Yellow split peas Rinsed (or not if you're feeling lazy)
  • 3 cloves Garlic Chopped (or straight from freezer)
  • 1 whole Onion Chopped (or straight from freezer)
  • 2 tsp Turmeric
  • 3 tsp Cumin Seeds
  • 2 tsp Root Ginger Chopped (or straight from freezer)
  • 2 whole Stock Cubes Best with 1 Kallo Vegetable and 1 Kallo Garlic & Herb
  • 750 ml Water
  • 1 stick Lovage Optional! Included once as a friend gave us one stick and it was great, you could use 2-3 sticks of celery chopped instead, it's an entirely optional extra .
  • 400 g Carrots Diced

Instructions
 

  • Put the slow cooker on a medium heat.
  • Mist the slow cooker ceramic bowl with cooking spray. Put the split peas, onion, turmeric, ground cumin, crushed garlic, ginger and stock in slow cooker and stir. Optionally add 400g of carrots (or cauliflower florets are also a good tweak), submerging in the liquid. Cover and leave on medium for 6h (or low for 11h).
  • For an optional side, which tastes so good the kids were fighting over the last sprout (I still can't quite believe it): just before end of slow cooking time, heat 1/2 tbsp sesame oil in a frying pan and gently fry 1 clove of sliced garlic and the other 1 teaspoon cumin seeds for 1 minute, stirring until fragrant. Add 350g of shredded brussels sprouts and stir fry for 2-3 minutes until bright green (don't leave them on while you try to persuade a child to wash hands before food or they burn…see photo…oops!).
  • Serve with optional naan or rice – the photo has this dahl on a bed of steamed savoy cabbage to increase veg intake and a garlic and coriander mini naan.

Notes

I first tried this for 6h on low following a different guide, but the split peas were still a bit hard, so it worked after putting on high for another 1.5 hours, by which time everyone was too hungry.
Keyword cheap, easy, indian, kids, scranitfortheplanet, slow cooker, student friendly, vegan, vegetarian
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Recipes

Sprouts Worth Fighting Over

Sprouts quick fried in sesame oil with garlic and cumin seeds

Sprouts worth fighting over

ScranMa
I know this sounds ridiculous, but my kids actually wanted more of these and fought over who got the last one…they are so simple, fast, healthy and tasty if you can get the prepped small button sprouts in season.
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Prep Time 1 minute
Cook Time 5 minutes
Course Side Dish
Servings 3

Ingredients
  

  • 0.5 tbsp Sesame oil
  • 1 clove Garlic Chopped (straight from the freezer)
  • 0.5 tsp Cumin seeds
  • 240 g Brussels Sprouts Small, whole, prepped in-season sprouts are the best

Instructions
 

  • Add the sesame oil, frozen garlic and cumin seeds to the frying pan and gently heat so that the oil takes on the flavour of the additions for 2-3 minutes.
  • Add the sprouts, and fry on a high heat for 2-3 minutes until they are bright green and only just slightly soft.

Notes

Don’t use big sprouts for this, or they’ll still be hard and not cooked, if you only have these give them a quick steam for 2-3 minutes before putting into the frying pan of tasty oil.
Also don’t spend 3 minutes trying to persuade a child to wash hands before dinner or they do burn (although somehow they didn’t taste burnt, just caramelised and yummy, thank goodness, and still the kids fought over them).
Keyword cheap, easy, scranitfortheplanet, student friendly, vegan, vegetarian
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Lorna’s Banana Pancakes

Lorna’s Banana Pancakes

ScranMa
My friend Lorna gave me this recipe for a pancakes that doesn't need any time for the batter to rest. While they don't rise like normal pancakes, they taste delicious and are ready really quickly. Another tasty way to use up older bananas is this tasty Banana Muffin recipe.
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Prep Time 2 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Course Breakfast, Snack
Cuisine British
Servings 1

Ingredients
  

  • 1 large Egg
  • 1 medium Banana Ripe – brown or spotty ones are best
  • 1/8 whole Nutmeg Freshly grated
  • 0.25 tsp Ground cinnamon
  • 12 spray Spray oil

Instructions
 

  • Mash the banana in a bowl or jug with a lip for easier pouring later. Add in the ground cinnamon, nutmeg and eggs and beat together to form the batter.
  • Spray oil into a non-stick frying pan, warm up the pan then pour in the batter into pancake shapes and cook on one side until solid enough to flip. Flip and cook on the other side until cooked through and golden.

Notes

When the kids mash the bananas they seem to eat more pancakes, they can make the whole recipe themselves (crack the egg into a separate cup so any shell pieces can be more easily removed). This can do one big pancake like an omelette or about 4-5 smaller ones for the kids. Swap cinnamon and nutmeg for mixed space when supplies are running low. You can optionally add some self-raising flour for a thicker batter, and leave it to rest for 15 minutes so they rise to be light and fluffy like normal pancakes and still taste of bananas.
Keyword cheap, vegetarian
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Recipes

Healthy Porridge that tastes like Pudding for Breakfast

Healthy breakfast porridge with cherries in a bowl

My Favourite Healthy Breakfast Porridge

ScranMa
This is my fave healthy breakfast, I've had it almost every day for the last few years and somehow still think it's delicious, amazing and brilliant every day and don't get tired of it. It might be because it tastes like pudding for breakfast, has one of my 5-a-day and has energy from slow release oats that keeps me fuller for longer, whatever it is I don't care, it's yummy!
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Prep Time 1 minute
Cook Time 2 minutes
Course Breakfast
Cuisine British, Scottish
Servings 1

Equipment

  • Microwave

Ingredients
  

  • 30 g Porridge oats I love the oats with oatbran and wheatbran best as they taste slightly nutty (from Sainsbury's in the UK), but any porridge oats are good
  • 0.25 tsp Ground cinnamon
  • 80 g Cherries Frozen, whole cherries
  • 100 ml Skimmed milk Or oat milk is even more delicious, though more expensive

Instructions
 

  • The night before: add the oats, then ground cinnamon, then still-frozen cherries into a large microwave-safe bowl. Cover with a plate and leave overnight.
  • Add 100ml milk to the bowl and microwave for 2 minutes on high (at 850W, adjust for your own microwave). Stir and enjoy.

Notes

I honestly have eaten this for breakfast over 70% of the time for the last 3 years: it’s that good, plus of course it’s one of my 5-a-day in breakfast.
To make it vegan take the oat milk option instead of cow’s milk, it’s even more tasty (though more expensive).
Keyword 5-a-day, cheap, scranitfortheplanet, tweak-for-vegan-version, vegetarian

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Easiest Boiled Rice Ever

Easiest Boiled Rice Ever

I know, it's rice – how hard can it be? It was still a revelation when I learned this method of boiled rice, as it's the least effort and most taste. It's also fine if you get timings a bit wrong as the pan can be switched off and left warm for a few minutes without it going to mush.
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Prep Time 1 minute
Cook Time 12 minutes
Course Side Dish
Cuisine Chinese, Indian
Servings 4 people

Equipment

  • Measuring jug, or see-through container like a high-ball glass
  • Pan with a lid

Ingredients
  

  • 200 g Basmati rice Any quick cook rice will work, basmati flavour is our favourite
  • 360 g Water

Instructions
 

  • Weigh out the rice into a see-through measuring jug (or glass). Note the level that the rice comes up to in the jug and pour it into the pan.
  • Measure twice the amount of water as there was rice in the jug, e.g. if the rice came up to 200ml, then measure out 400ml water. Add the water into the pan and season to taste.
  • Put the lid on the pan, bring to the boil then turn down the heat to low and leave for 10-12 minutes. Don't take of the lid, don't stir, just leave it be. The rice absorbs the water perfectly so there's no need to drain or rinse, just spoon onto plates when you're ready to serve.

Notes

Obviously tweak the amount of rice you want per person. Remember it’s not double the weight of the rice, it’s double the volume of the rice, leave it in the pan with the lid on and no stirring!
Keyword cheap, easy, student friendly, vegan, vegetarian
Categories
Recipes

Banana Muffins

Banana Muffins

ScranMa
This is a great way of getting kids into baking and using up spotty or brown bananas that might otherwise go to waste. Another tasty way to use those older bananas is Lorna's Banana Pancakes (https://scranplan.com/lornas-banana-pancakes).
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Course Dessert, Snack
Cuisine British
Servings 12

Equipment

  • Muffin tray

Ingredients
  

  • 200 g Wholemeal self-raising flour
  • 0.5 tsp Baking Powder
  • 1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
  • 1/8 whole Nutmeg Grated finely
  • 0.25 tsp Ground cinnamon
  • 0.25 tsp Salt Optional
  • 3 large Bananas Ripe (spotty or brown is best)
  • 150 g Caster sugar
  • 1 medium Egg
  • 75 g Margarine Melted in a cup in the microwave is easiest (or butter for non-vegans for granny-friendly tastes)

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 180 C / Gas 4. Place 12 paper baking cases in a muffin tin.
  • Sift together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon, salt into the "dry bowl", and grate in the nutmeg to taste over the top. Set aside.
  • Mash the bananas in a separate, large "wet bowl" then add the sugar, egg and then melted margarine/butter and mix up all together. 
  • Fold in the flour mixture from the "dry bowl", and very gently mix until just mixed.
  • Spoon evenly into baking cases in muffin tin, using the 2-spoon method.
  • Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until muffins spring back when lightly tapped. (Perfect in the oven for 25mins if preheated to 180C.)

Notes

Kids can actually do most of this themselves, including mashing the banana with a fork, and weighing out the ingredients once they can recognise numbers. They just need a grown up to help with the oven bits.
Once cooled, these can be frozen for up to 3 months, and are great taken out of the freezer in the morning and put into a snack box for school as they’re defrosted nicely by play time.
Keyword vegetarian

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Recipes

Apple Roses

Apple Roses Plate

Apple Roses

Beautiful to look at, delicious to eat and deceptively easy to make. They are delicious hot out of the oven with ice cream or cream drizzled on top.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine British
Servings 6

Equipment

  • Muffin tray
  • Microwave
  • Pastry brush

Ingredients
  

  • 325 g Ready Rolled Light Puff Pastry
  • 2 tbsp Apricot jam With 2 tbsp water
  • 2 medium Apples Red-skinned ones look best in the finished roses
  • ½ medium Lemon Juiced
  • 2 tsp Ground cinnamon
  • 1 pinch Ground ginger
  • 12 spray Spray oil Or butter or margarine for greasing the muffin tray

Instructions
 

  • Grease 6 holes of the muffin tray with butter, margarine or spray oil.
  • Half and core the apples, leaving the skins on as it adds to the finished look. Slice them really thinly, around 1mm thick. Put into a microwave safe bowl half filled with water with half the lemon squeezed in (no pips). Microwave for about 3 minutes then drain the water out gently.
  • Unroll the puff pastry and use a knife to gently cut it into 6 evenly sized strips along the longer edge.
  • Add the apricot jam to a small bowl or ramekin with 2tbsp water and microwave for 1 minute and stir together. Use a pastry brush to paint the jam mix along each puff pastry strip.
  • Lay a piece of apple over the puff pastry so the flat edge is parallel to the line of the pastry but about 1cm below the top of the pastry, and with the top of the crescent going over the top of the pastry about 1cm. i.e. the apple extends over the top of the pastry and sticks on the bottom. Put the next crescent of apple half on top of the apple slice before in the same orientation, and keep repeating until there is apple all along the length of the pastry.
  • Sprinkle ⅙ of the ground ginger and cinnamon over the apple pieces. Fold up the puff pastry along the length so the apple pieces are sandwiched between the folded puff pastry piece, then roll up from one end to make the rose.
  • Put the completed rose into a muffin tray then repeat for the remaining 5 strips of pastry and softened apple. Bake at 190C for 40-45 minutes.
  • Serve with a little icing sugar over the top and vanilla ice cream for extra decadence.

Notes

My daughter loves laying the apples along the pastry and rolling them up, and also loves eating them.
Keyword 5-a-day, fruit, vegetarian
  • Apple Roses Family Plate
    Apple Roses Family Plate