Cheap and Cheerful food for Students. (Vegetarian)

Member Name: QueenElf

Product:	Vegetarian
Date:	14/01/06 (3645 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to prepare, most only need one cooking pot.

Disadvantages: Not enough space to add more than a few.

Food, glorious Food.
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I got into a conversation the other day about the difficulty of making cheap and easy meals especially when you don’t own a freezer. For most people this wouldn’t apply but for students and people living in a bed-sit this can be a major obstacle and eating out or buying takeaway food can break the budget. I’ve had a lot of experience with this, firstly as a newly wed living in a bed-sit with only a Baby Belling ® to cook with to the day when my daughter went to university and found the same problem.
In her first year she lived in the halls of residence with a tiny room barely enough to accommodate a desk, a bed, a wardrobe and a tiny cooker. Students were expected to eat at the university but my daughter had been a vegetarian since she was twelve years old and the menu wasn’t that appealing or cheap. I knew beforehand that she would find it difficult to manage her budget so I prepared for it beforehand.

With only two rings and a tiny oven there is a limit to what you can cook so I bought my daughter the following items. A large stew pot with a capacity of 4 litres, a wok complete with utensils and a medium sized saucepan. Odd plates and cutlery made up the box with the addition of a large wooden spoon. It may not sound a lot but there was a method behind this. Would you believe that one young girl actually brought a microwave? I don’t think times have changed that much and plugs in the rooms were scanty. Of course a music player was essential, what student can do without that? My reasoning behind my choice of cooking items was this, a wok can be used for so many things, it can do large stir-fry’s quickly and cheaply, double up as a frying pan, make a mean chilli con carne and so much more.
The stew pot can make all sorts of meals with the minimum of fuss and washing-up, the students’ nightmare. I dithered a while over the inclusion of a saucepan or a casserole dish but knowing how my daughter often just opened a can of soup the saucepan won hands down.
What has all this to do with recipes? Bear with me a while longer.

My daughter was going to the Royal Holloway University of London and I knew that it would take her a while to find the cheap essentials so made up a basic food package. These were the basic foodstuff; A large packet of red Lentils, cooking oil, a large soy sauce, a big tin of coffee, a big pack of rice and pasta, some tins to tide her over, a large packet of Soya mince, cornflower, long-life milk, a packet of museli and some spices. The spices include Garam Marsala, Chinese five spices, mixed Italian herbs and salt and black pepper.

So lets have a look at those recipes.

Cauliflower Dhal

Ingredients.

One large cauliflower, two onions or leeks, Garam Marsala, salt and pepper, 2 litres of water, 2 to 3 ounces of red lentils, peas and/or spinach (canned is fine), a little cooking oil and any leftover vegetables. (Garlic is optional).
Method.
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Fry the onions or leeks in a little oil until opaque, add the garam Marsala or curry power if you don’t have anything else. Blend into a little of the water and add the red lentils. Simmer for ten minutes and then add the rest of the water and the cauliflower. It’s not necessary to cut the cauliflower up but top and tail it. Continue simmering until the cauliflower is getting soft; now add the peas or/and the spinach. By now the mixture should be like a normal curry but without the meat. Toss in any leftover vegetables or if you like meat add any kind of pre-cooked meat. Serve with rice and you have a cheap and filling meal.

Lisa’s Stew.
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I adapted this to suit my daughter and satisfy me but I do have a longer version.

Ingredients.

One medium or halved Swede, two onions and/or leeks, 1lb of carrots, 2lbs of potatoes (diced), 2 to 3 ounces of red lentils, parsnips (optional), I head of broccoli, one tin of peas, garlic (optional), two litres of water, salt pepper and a sprinkle of herbs, vegetarian gravy granules or marmite.

Method.
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Put the water into the stew pot and simmer. Add sliced or diced onion and/or leeks, season with salt and pepper. Now add the red lentils and continue simmering while you dice the vegetables, this saves time. Add the Swede, parsnips, carrots and potatoes, continue to simmer until the vegetables are softening, by now the lentils should have dissolved leaving the stew thickened naturally. Now add the broccoli and/or peas, leave this to the last or they will break up. If you like a bit more flavour to your stew, add either gravy granules or Marmite.
Red lentils are an ideal base for curies and stews they dissolve in about twenty minutes avoiding the need for flour. Sprinkle a few herbs on the top and enjoy!

The beauty of stews is that they are often better on the second day and provide all the nutrients you need.

A similar recipe can be used with quorn or Soya mince. Simply add a cupful of ready prepared mince and leave to simmer for about an hour. Add the other ingredients and leave them to simmer, this recipe will serve about four to six people with lovely French bread or garlic bread to dip in. I often use two garlic cloves but to be on the safe side I sometimes leave them out.

Chilli Con Carne
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One of the easiest recipes and so popular with everyone, this can be made in a stew pan or in a wok.

Ingredients.

Two cups of prepared Soya mince, water, onions to taste, (garlic optional), a tin of red kidney beans, a chilli (optional) mixed peppers and mushrooms, seasoning.

Method
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Use either a wok or a large saucepan, stir one to two cups of Soya mince in a large mug of hot water and leave aside. Brown the onions and chilli and if using fresh mushrooms add these to brown too. Now add the water according to the size of the saucepan or wok (remember that water will soak up some of the ingredients). If you are adding garlic use a garlic press to add it now. (You can buy garlic flakes but they don’t have the same flavour). Pour in the tin of kidney beans and simmer for five minutes, now add the Soya mince and the chilli (fresh is best but powder is fine). Season to taste and serve with rice or couscous.

Italian Pasta Supreme.
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Ingredients.

This recipe can be as basic as you like or dressed up for a special occasion. You will need a packet of pasta (Conchiglie Shells are the best), A jar of Passata or tomato concentrate, Tinned button mushrooms or fresh ones, two cloves of garlic, Fresh tomatoes, onions, Italian herbs, water, courgettes, mince as in the previous recipe, cheese (either ordinary or Soya cheese), a tin of mushroom or asparagus soup. Seasoning.

Method
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For a basic Italian meal use the following recipe. Bring a large pan of water to the boil and then keep it simmering. While you are doing this fry some sliced courgettes with some mushrooms and fresh tomatoes (keep a few back for the garnish). Place on one side and gently fry the onions until opaque, add to a small amount of water and thicken with the Passata or concentrate. If you want to keep it simple just add the tomatoes, courgettes and mushrooms. Put 100gm of the pasta per person into the pan of boiling water it should be ready in about six minutes. Don’t overcook it; pasta should be “al dente” which means with a bit of a bite, overcooking leads to a soggy mess.
To add a touch of style use the mince as above, sprinkle with cheese and herbs and serve fresh.
To make a more elaborate meal follow the basic steps but in the meantime cook a vegetarian substitute in the oven or under a grill (Chopped vegetarian sausages add a bit of “bite”). Instead of the passata use a tin of mushroom or asparagus soup. Place the pasta on the plates, top with your chosen vegetarian substitute and pour over the soup. Garnish with fresh tomatoes and use the tomatoes and courgette as a side dish.
Bellisisimo!

You may have noticed I haven’t given any quantities of water in two of the recipes; this is because people have different preferences on how they like their sauce. I’ve also aimed these recipes for students who may want to make large of small batches.

I have tried to make to make these recipes as easy as possible, most can be cooked in about half an hour but the stew can simmer away while you are revising or downing a few beers.


All these recipes can be used with a small amount of preparation and you don’t need loads of saucepans to cook them. The wooden spoon was used so often that I had to buy my daughter another one. Out of all the recipes my Cauliflower Dahl was the one my daughter used the most. It was quick, cheap and made her very popular with her roommates. That was a while ago and in time my daughter found some Asian shops where she could replenish her stocks of lentils, rice and bought some dirt-cheap chapattis.
I buy my lentils and other loose goods from an indoor market so I can roughly price my Cauliflower Dahl. One Cauliflower in season is about 50p. Lentils come to about 10p. A tin of peas is about 9p in Tesco or Kwiksave. Garam Marsala is about 30p for a tub of 50gms. Spinach is a little dearer at about 30p per can. Oil is so cheap it probably costs about 2p. Garlic is around 10p per clove. So without cooking costs this meal costs about £1.20 and serves six people.

Apologies for the length of this review, you only get one go at it and if you are broke a little money can go a long way. I’ll be looking at side dishes, starters and desserts later on.

Thanks for reading.
Lisa Fuller. January 2006.

Summary: A few basic recipes for people on a budget.