Greek Style Stuffed Peppers

Let me start right away by saying that I am only calling these “Greek Style” because they have feta cheese, spinach, lemon, and oregano. If a Greek person made this, it probably wouldn’t be vegetarian. 

While chopping the veggies, I thawed some frozen spinach in a bowl of water in the sink.

When there are no more hard frozen parts, squeeze the spinach to get all the water out. Don’t be afraid to get your hands in there!

I like to saute my onions and garlic first to bring out their flavours. When the onions begin to get shiny and clear (glassy), add the rest of the vegetables.

Meanwhile, wash your peppers and cut off the tops. Remove the seedy part but keep the caps!

Wahhh blurry picture! Combine cooked veggies with cooked quinoa in a bowl, add feta cheese, lemon juice, oregano, and salt and pepper.

Cute! Am I the only one that finds using the caps of vegetables as lids cute? 

Bake for 50 minutes at 350 degrees and enjoy the roasty flavour. If a cap falls off, don’t fret. Just put it back on when it’s out of the over and no one will ever know!

Ingredients (makes 3 peppers)

  • 1 1/2 cups mushrooms, quartered 
  • 1/2 cup thawed frozen spinach
  • 1/2 red onion, diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese (to taste)
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp dried oregano flakes
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 3 bell peppers, any colour
  • 2 cups cooked quinoa

Method

  1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
  2. Cook quinoa according to package instructions.
  3. Saute vegetables in lightly oiled pan.
  4. Combine cooked vegetables, cooked quinoa, and everything except the peppers in a bowl.
  5. Cut caps off peppers and remove seeds. Keep the pepper caps.
  6. Stuff mixture into peppers. Put caps on top and bake for 50 minutes.
  7. Enjoy!

Tropical Tofu Kebabs

Guys, this is like the easiest thing ever. 

First, take some marinated tofu (recipe for tofu marinade here) and some slices of fresh pineapple and cut them into skewer-sized pieces. (Not too small! About 1 inch square)

You see where this is going…

I grilled these on a pan oiled with a bit of coconut oil, but any oil will do! Make sure the pineapple touches the pan so it can caramelize and taste extra delicious. Serve with some salad and rice for a summery lunch!

Black Bean Burgers

It’s no secret that I have a bit of a love affair with beans. We’re very close.

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Not pictured: Parsley and spices

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I’m kind of scared of making veggie burgers from scratch because it looks like a lot of work. With this recipe, you just whirl everything in the food processor! If you don’t have a food processor, you can chop everything up finely annd mash in the beans.

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Transfer the mixture to a bowl and stir in the egg.

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Serve with your favourite toppings with some yam fries and watermelon salad!

Ingredients (adapted from Budget Bytes):

  • 1 can (1.5 cups) black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1/4 of a red onion
  • 1 clove garlic
  • Handful fresh parsley
  •  1 large egg
  • 2 tsp Sriracha sauce
  • 2 tsp mayonnaise
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • Note: the original recipe calls for 1/2 cup of bread crumbs. I put in some rice instead, but that didn’t dry it up enough so I added some flour. So, 1/2 cup of cooked rice and 1/3 of a cup of flour were what I used, but use your own judgement. 

Method:

  1.  Whirl everything except the egg and rice/flour/bread crumbs in a food processor, OR chop everything really finely and mash it with the beans. Do this until mashy but still chunky.
  2. Put mashy/chunky mixture in bowl and mix in eggs and rice/flour/bread crumbs. The mixture should have a similar consistency to mashed potatoes. Even if it’s still kind of mashy and not dry, that’s ok.
  3. It’s kind of hard to shape the patties in your hand, so take about a 1/2 cup scoop and fry it in a well-oiled pan. You can press down on the scoop with a spatula to make it more patty-shaped, about 1/2 inch thick. Use quite a bit of oil to make the patties crispy without being too dry.
  4. Cook for about 8-10 minutes, flipping 2-3 times to get even cooking coverage.
  5. Serve with your favourite toppings as you would with any other burger!

People and Issues

The more I spend time on the internet, I see people getting angry at other people for caring about issues they think are unimportant, or for not caring about issues that they think are worth caring about.

The thing is, there are a lot of problems in this world, and as people it is our duty to care about them, but as one person it is impossible to care about all of them.

I see a lot of vegan websites slandering omnivores, with guilt inducing photos of cute cows and pigs, or saying things like “You’re not a calf, don’t drink cows’ milk”. I also know a lot of people who can’t stand vegans for this reason.

You know what? That’s fine. Some people care the most about animal rights. Some people care more about tuition hikes in universities or the protests in Istanbul or racism or the appalling state of third world cities. There are just so many things that need our attention! 

So next time you see someone waving their flag about an issue that you don’t feel particularly strongly about, just think about an issue that is close to your heart, and think about how you would feel if someone challenged that issue.

Just my two cents!

Lets get a few things very clear

livingfreshdaily:

liltedlullaby:

  • Carbs do not make you fat.
  • Nothing in moderation makes a difference to how your body looks.
  • It’s ok to treat yourself!
  • Your body can handle extra calories relatively frequently.
  • Water has no calories.
  • Sugar is not the devil.
  • Pasta is not the devil.
  • No food in the world is the devil because food is essential to everything in the world ever.

And don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
Including the little voice in your head. 

Everyone needs to read this.

I don’t normally reblog, but I do when it’s important.