tweak and nourish

In my quest to eat meatless meals, I try to come up with dishes that can be made with preparing a basic set of ingredients. I almost typed "recipe". You may know by now that I don't follow recipes so I create my own conconction. As my husband would say, "enjoy it because it will not be replicated".

I looked into my small pantry the other day and noted 3 bags of dried lentils. Without any concrete plans on what dishes to prepare, I went ahead and cooked the lentils in a pot with onion powder, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, ground pepper and salt. Then, I thought about making patties and veggie balls just in case I crave for a burger and pasta with meatballs. Here goes...

LENTIL OAT PATTIES AND VEGGIE BALLS

In a bowl, mix cooked lentils, rolled oats, panko, egg, chopped carrots and celery, roasted red peppers, caramelized onions, Worstershire sauce, and salt. I usually do a taste test by forming a small patty and pan fry with minimal oil. For a slight crisp, I coat the patty with potato starch.

I had leftover eggplant caponata and wondered if I can top the patty with it. It worked perfectly and saved me from eating bread:) I also topped it with Lavender Strawberry Pepper jam for something sweet!

One more photo to show I'm all set for future cravings:)