The first of many.

My first blog post, how daunting!

I am a fan of food, and I try to bring that love of food to my friends and family.  I think my constant Facebook posts about food is starting to annoy some people, but when you love something, you want to share.

I was sitting on my couch, thinking about all the fun recipes I try from Pinterest and other websites, and how good they turn out for me.  I almost always tweak things, and when I get a winner, I want to shout it from the rooftops.

One of my recent favorites was a pin from Pinterest, Lentil Cakes with Pesto.  It looked so good to my gluten free mindset, that I wanted to try it out.  We do meatless Mondays at our house, and it seemed like a nice alternative.

I needed to take it down from fancy town though, to make my kids interested in it.  So I turned it into lentil burgers.  I changed the recipe a bit, but it worked really well. 

Lentil Patties (makes 18 cakes)

• 1 lb dried lentils
• 1 cup dried quinoa
• water to cover
• 1 TBS oil or your choice (I used coconut oil)
• 1 red onion diced
• 2 cups pre-shredded cole slaw veggies (I used leftovers, you can omit of you don't have)
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 cup cheese or your choice (I used feta crumbles leftover in the fridge)
• 3 eggs (lightly whisked)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp garam masala (or Chinese 5 spice)
• 1 tsp turmeric

Soak lentils, and quinoa in water. I soaked mine for 9 hours, you can soak yours 9-24 hours.  I was in a hurry, and didn't want to wait a day. 

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Pour soaked lentils and quinoa into a pot with water and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until lentils are tender but not mushy, the quinoa will have sprouted in the soaking liquid. 
3. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and vegetables.  Cook until lightly browned.  I liked the flavor caramelizing did for the end product.  
4. Strain any remaining liquid from the lentils and quinoa. Pour half of the mixture into a bowl. Let cool.  Pour the other half into a food processor, do not pulse yet.
5. Add the browned veggies to the food processor and pulse until it becomes a paste, the consistency of hummus. Let it cool.
6. Combine the paste with the lentil/quinoa mixture.  Add the seasonings, and whisked eggs.
7. Using the lid of a mayo jar, lined with plastic wrap and sprayed with oil, fill with lentil mixture and press to form a patty. Repeat as many times necessary.  If you don't have a mayo lid, form the patties by hand.  I just love to use the mayo lid because it forms perfect serving sizes for burgers.  Place patties on a baking sheets lined with parchment paper and bake for 30 minutes.

The patties were moist inside.  Not pasty or dry.  Crisp outside, and boy were they filling.  I ended up freezing the leftovers, and we ate them the next day as Veggie Chiliburgers.  My kids really liked them, and I can't wait to make them again.

Let me know if you try them!