Thursday, October 14, 2010

Recipe Testing!

I volunteered my services again for Dreena Burton to test recipes for her upcoming cookbook and am truly honoured that she accepted my offer. This will be Dreena's 4th cookbook and it's going to be terrific!

Obviously, I can't give away any of the recipes or a whole lot of detail, but what I can give you are teaser pictures.

Up first, Nutty Veggie Burgers. These are super delicious! I would say they are the best burger/patty I've ever made from scratch. This recipe didn't require a lot of ingredients, or really much work.

The burgers held their shape, didn't fall apart and were easy to flip in the pan. We had them fairly simple, on a ciabatta bun with lettuce, mayo, red onions and BBQ sauce. Leftovers were re-heated the next day and tasted just as delicious. (In a household with only 2 people, how food holds up to being re-heated on another day is a big deal. If we don't eat it for another dinner meal, I will take leftovers for my lunch.)

This is Lemon Infused Mediterranean Lentils. This savoury dish is different from other lentil dishes I've made. There is a lot going on and every bite made me want to take another one.

More lentils in Fragrant Kidney Bean Lentil Dahl. It's certainly not Dreena's prettiest dish, but with lots of spices, it really is fragrant. Delicious with basmati and naan.

Of course, Dreena has made quite a name for herself with her baked goods recipes. He legacy will continue with the new book.

Here we have Coconut Banana Muffins. These turned out beautifully!

A little sprinkling of sugar on top gave just an extra touch of sweetness.

Inside, nice and flavourful. We ate a few and I put the rest of them in the freezer for a quick grab-and-go snack and they freeze really well. Scrumptious!

Cake anyone?

This Pumpkin Spice Cake is a wonderful autumn treat. The layers are so moist and delicious. This could even be a birthday cake.

Everyone that tried it really liked the flavour and texture of this cake. I used a generic cream cheese frosting for the outside, but Dreena is offering a few tasty icing recipes that would definitely be suitable for this cake.

If you like Banana Oat Bundles and have a love of chocolate (like Dreena and I both do!), you're going to be very happy to discover Cocoa Almond Jumbles. This is a super chocolately cookie that is better for you than most cookies. But, you don't feel like you're sacrificing anything!

I don't know if you can see this picture very clearly, but I wanted to show you the chocolately, nutty goodness inside.

If this little sampling hasn't gotten you looking forward to Dreena's new book, then stay tuned. There is more to come!