Eggplant Patties

It seems that many of my recipes lately mimic mince meat :-/ It's not something I'm aiming for.... it just seems to be happening that way. I'm just enjoying incorporating more veggies into our diet in ways that a bit different than usual. 
Did you see my recent post of broccoli bolognese?

Today's veggie presented in a different way is 

Eggplant Patties

(Makes 10-12 patties)

You'll need:
2 medium eggplants
1 large onion
4 cloves garlic

1 cup besan/chickpea flour
1 teaspoon Italian herbs
2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
1/4 tomato paste

Chop the eggplants into pieces/cubes. Chop the onion and crush the garlic. Saute in a pan adding splashes of water if the mixture begins to stick. Cook until the eggplant is mushy and no longer white in colour.
Add the mixture to a food processor & pulse the mixture until it is sticky and slightly lumpy but not too finely chopped. 
Gently stir in the remainder of the ingredients until well combined.
Don't be worried if the mixture appears too sloppy to work. This helps the patties from drying out too much.
Shape into patties and place on a lined baking tray. You can either use wet hands, or just spoon amounts of the mixture directly onto the tray & use the back of the spoon to press them gently together.
Bake in a preheated 180C oven for 30-40 minutes until well browned and cooked through. Flip the patties over half way through baking.


























These have been a huge hit in our household each time they've been made. There never seems to be enough leftovers for each of us to take them the next day! They reheat well to become an addition to lunches.

Question of the day:
Do you prefer to eat veggies plain or turned into something a little bit more creative?

Mixed Bean Burgers

I am a BIG fan of bean burgers! I'm yet to find a type that I don't like. But these ones were particularly tasty. Even my hubby who is not a bean burger fan thought these ones were ok.
 

Mixed Bean Burgers

You'll need:
2 cans lentils
1 can butter beans
1 batch okara -or other plant milk pulp (approx 3/4 cup)
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup tomato paste
1 Tablespoon garlic
1 Tablespoon Italian herbs

Drain all the canned beans & combine in a large mixing bowl.
Mash the beans together and then add the remaining ingredients.
With wet hands shape the mixture into patties and place on a lined baking tray.
Bake in a preheated 180C oven for 40 mins until golden brown and firm.

These burgers need to cook for longer than other burgers as the okara adds quite a bit of moisture to them. Don't worry they won't dry out being in the oven that long - they will just brown nicely and be cooked through and won't fall apart.

 

Alternatively you can fry them in a frying pan. Approx 7 minutes each side. Be gentle when flipping.

Makes 12 burgers

Basic Lentil Patties - Create your own flavour!!!

I love love love having bean patties. Any kind, any flavour. I just love them.
My husband on the other hand is not a fan at all.
These ones however, he tolerates!

You'll need:
2 tins lentils
1/4 cup besan flour  (chickpea flour)
1 teaspoon mixed italian herbs
2 Tablespoons tomato paste

Drain the lentils and mash them well.
Stir in the other ingredients.
Shape into patties and bake at 200C for 20-25minutes until browned, turning half way through cooking.

These patties are really versatile. Not only are they really quick & easy to make but you can use this mixture as a base and add other veggies or spices as you desire.

Optional extras (pending husbands approval):
Chopped mushrooms, spinach pieces, onion, garlic, capsicum.
Using BBQ sauce or curry paste in place of the tomato works really well too & creates a slightly different flavour for these patties.

Great on burgers, added to salads or by themselves.

Submitted for Healthy Vegan Friday.
You can add your recipe at these blogs:
carrie on vegan                    veggie nook                    greenthickies 

WIAW - On a Tuesday

Happy Wednesday to all my readers :-)

I hope you've had a great today.

Add your link to the Peas & Crayons blog.

Today I have chosen to share with you What-I-Ate-Tuesday! My Wednesday meals are always so similar so that is why I'm given you some insight into other days of my week. This week's Tuesday was particularly exciting because it was 'burger day'. Each holidays my daughter and I have a day where we have a fry's burger :-) They sure are tasty and great for a treat but we don't eat them regularly since they aren't exactly 'health food'.

So here is what I ate yesterday:

Breakfast --> So incredibly tasty. I really enjoy eating quinoa for breakfast.

To make quinoa porridge, simply boil quinoa in milk and a touch of vanilla. Blend with a stick blender & add desired fruit.

Lunch --> a holiday treat! Lots of added veggies too :-) I love a good veggie burger.

Dinner --> I really enjoy Asian food but my husband does not, so while he was away for dinner this evening we made the most of it and enjoyed a tasty stir-fry. 

A frozen Asian veggie mix with rice noodles. Sauce was just soy sauce, sweet chili sauce & a tablespoon peanut butter. Absolutely delicious :-)

Question of the day:

What is something that you enjoy eating that your partner doesn't? 

When do you get to eat that food?

WIAW - Kickstart

This is the first time I've taken part in WIAW - What I Ate Wedensday.

You can read about it here and also sign up if you want to be involved!

As you may already know, I am currently following the 21 day kickstart. So what better way to start up WIAW with a kickstart day!!!

My breakfast was:
Fruit salad.....

and a piece of toast with fruit spread.












Lunch was my spiced lentil burgers with salad

Dinner was leftover Israeli Couscous with Carrots, Peas, and Red Wine Vinegar with steamed silverbeet and almonds.

Dessert was "ice-cream". Made by blending a frozen banana, blueberries, spinach & milk.
I love a good dessert :D mmmmmmmmmmmmm

    Here's something to remember about WIAW - directly from this link.

----What WIAW isn't about----

Comparison - Judgement - Restriction - Guilt

----What WIAW is about----

Celebrating one of the glorious things we all have in common: We all eat!

You can join in the fun too!

Just click here to follow the links!


I found out about WIAW from a blog that I really enjoy reading! Its all about healthy living & I encourage you to jump across and check it out. Some great fitness tips, tasty recipes and other odds and ends to make a girl smile :-)
Check it out here:  You+Me=Fit You won't be disappointed you did! :-)

Have a great Wednesday everyone!

Spiced Lentil Burgers

I created this recipe as part of the 21 day kickstart DIY Wednesday Lunch.

The flavours may seem unusual for a burger but they really work so wonderfully together to create an amazingly tasty burger. 

Enjoy on a roll or with salad. 

You could also roll this mixture into bite size balls if you would rather.

ENJOY!

You'll need:

1/2 tin lentils, drained

1/2 onion, chopped

6 button mushrooms, chopped

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon minced ginger

1/2 teaspoon each paprika, cloves, allspice

100g soft tofu

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

In a frying pan combine the mushrooms and onion with the garlic, ginger, paprika, cloves & allspice. Water fry until the onion begins to soften. Add the lentils and continue to cook for 5 minutes until the vegetables have cooked down well. 

Transfer the lentil mixture to a mixing bowl and add the tofu. Mash together well.

Add the breadcrumbs and stir til everything is well combined and mixture clumps together.

Using wet hands shape into burgers & place on a lined baking tray.

Bake in a preheated 200C oven for 30 minutes, flipping halfway through.

Serve warm or cold.

Borlotti Bean Bites

Here's another quick & easy meal that is very satisfying.

Also great for lunch accompanying a fresh salad.

Enjoy :-)

1 cup borlotti beans

1/4 red capsicum

1/2 red onion

3 Tablespoons tomato paste

Chop the onion & capsicum into little pieces. 

If using canned beans, drain them before putting into a bowl to mash well. Combine mashed beans with chopped vegetables & the tomato paste.

Mix til well combined.

Shape into little patties

Baked at 180C for 1/2 hour.

Makes approx 5-6 medium size patties - enough to serve 2 people.

Mixture nearly all used up!
Just wanted to show that it holds together well without anything added other than the tomato paste.

Ready for baking

As part of a meal with steamed veggies, brown rice, salsa & crumbed mushrooms.

BURGER ME

Sometimes a girl just needs a good burger!

Sometimes it tastes even better if it's combined with chips!

I love filling a burger so it is completely stuffed with layer upon layer of tasty goodness that I can hardly fit my hands around it! Pretty much anything will go in my burger..... except for fresh tomato eeeewwwwww, that can be saved for my daughter! One of my all time favourite burger layers is beetroot!
I also love to prepare home-made chippies :D I sprinkle them with some paprika & stock before being baked for added flavour.
This has got to be one of my favourite veganised meals!

Do you have a favourite veganised meal?
How do you like your burger? Stuffed or hand-held size ;-)
Is there anything you always add, or never add to a burger????

Sure beats Burger King!

Day 5 - Friday Favourites

A few of my favourites today.
Let's start with breakfast - rice pudding.
I really enjoy having brown rice at breakfast - I don't really know why, I just do :-)
Really nice with vanilla soymilk, banana, raisins & a spinkling of cinnamon.

One of my daughter's favourite things to have for lunch is what we call "little boys"! I don't know where we got the name from, it just seem to have stuck.
Its just veggie sausages wrapped in bread with some sauce.

Little boys!

The rest of her lunchbox:

Banana for Crunch 'n sip snack.
Morning tea of salsa and water crackers and a muesli bar - of course which kid doesn't love muesli bars!!!

Because everybody needs a coffee to make everything feel ok.
Even better when you can sit in a resort style backyard with the sun shining :-)

The colours of lunch......

Didn't lunch start out looking amazing!!!!!!!!!!
I just mixed grated veggies with chick pea flour & egg replacer.
Well...... let me assure you it didn't all go so well. Phone calls meant I forget about things on the stove and my veggie frittata got burnt :-( as I scraped it off the pan if flopped and looked like a big coloured pile of mess!

And this is what is ended up looking like!
hmmm, tasted good though! Esp when smoothered with sweet chili sauce!
Better luck next time!

One of my favourite things to have for dinner is a veggie burger.
Today I made a 'chicken', mushroom & avocado one.
I love these vegemeal burgers. I buy them from our local health food shop. They are so easy to make. Simply mix with water & leave for 15 mins before forming into patties. They are really tasty.