Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Terry Testers!

I'm sure most of you know about the glorious Ms. Terry Romero, author & co-author of so many esteemed vegan cookbooks. She's hard at work on another cookbook, and I'm one of the many folks helping out by testing her recipes. Sometimes I get jealous when I'm surfing the blogs and I read about people who are testing for cookbooks - it feels like they're in on some big exciting thing that I'm not a part of. I hope you won't feel that way! Testing is definitely fun, but it also really keeps you busy and sometimes the meals don't turn out perfectly because the recipe is still being adjusted or refined.

So, ever since VeganMoFo ended, I've been busy in the kitchen cooking up meals from Terry's tester database, and I call them "Terry Testers." As you know, I am a big fan of cooking foods from around the world, and that's just what Terry's new book will be. Here are some of my favorites so far:

Japanese Night:
Okonomiyaki - a Japanese savory veggie pancake thingee that was 5-star mega delicioso. I am in love with this tasty item!

Here it is without any of the sauce or garnishes on it... nekkid!

Along with the Okonomiyaki, we also had these delicious Japanese Greens with Sesame. So delicious, and cute too!

Moroccan Yumz:
Moroccan Butternut Squash "Salad," with jicama
I really fell in love with Moroccan food when we went to Morocco a couple of years ago, so I've made a lot of the Moroccan style dishes in Terry's tester file. I remember so many dishes like this one, and they were all called "salads." Basically, they were warm or room-temp veggie side dishes... using a vast array of veggies, spices and herbs. Moroccan food is definitely a cuisine that knows what to do with a veggie!

Moroccan Carrot "Salad" with whole-grain bread slices.
OH MAN, did we love this one.

Another Moroccan-y dish; sort of a Tempeh Tagine with Carrots and Preserved Lemons, plus delicious toasted couscous. I've always wanted to make my own Preserved Lemons, and Terry's recipe is totally easy and fool-proof. How fun! That's another thing we saw (and tasted) absolutely everywhere when we were in Morocco... so the flavor really made these dishes taste authentic (and nostalgic!) to me.

Salad with Fennel & Oranges.
We ate so many oranges in Morocco, so this salad really hit the spot. I think we were served fresh oranges at every meal we ate in Morocco... and we saw them growing on the trees everywhere. Lately the oranges at the farmers market here have been really delicious, so I was happy to have a reason to make this salad!

Other Yumz:
A Middle-Eastern style salad with quinoa and chickpeas and sprinkled with sumac. I made this one just last night and it was absolutely incredible. Everything you could want in a meal all wrapped up in one pretty dish.

Afghani Ravioli!
There used to be a really excellent Afghani restaurant here in Santa Cruz, and they had lots of vegan options on the menu. These "ravioli" were something I remembered so fondly, so I was really happy to learn how to make them. They turned out even better than the ones at the restaurant! Big Yums.

Some simple tofu (not a tester recipe) with Greek rice and greens recipes. I love simple and hearty dinners like this. The rice was so easy to make, but came out tasting so special and much fancier than it actually was to prepare. Perfect!

Bonus Furbabies!
I couldn't decide which sleepy cutie picture to share, so I'm sharing them both:
Little Snoopy spotted our guest comforter folded up on the green chair, jumped up, royally messed it up, and got himself all tucked in. So cute. I think he was there for about 2 1/2 hours!

A while back, while tidying the bedroom, I put down a red pillow in the corner (thinking it would just be there for a moment.) Yummers pounced on that pillow and spent about one month completely inseparable from his red pillow. Just the other day he discovered this pillow, and now I can put the red pillow away, but not this one.

18 comments:

  1. Oooh! Now I want to try all of those recipes! Terry testing is a fun time indeed.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ps...how good is that okonomiyaki? I tried it years ago when it was published in VegNews and it remains a favourite.

    ReplyDelete
  3. oh my goodness- everything here looks amazing! my mouth is specifically watering over all of that moroccan yumminess! i need to get this book as soon as it comes out.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow, it all looks fantastic! I have been testing for Terry too but haven't made a single recipe you have posted about. Those Middle Eastern dishes look fantastic! I'm really loving the Mediterranean and Asian recipes.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Love your photos! I am testing, too, but opted for other recipes so far... these look great! There are just too many great recipes to try out!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh My Gosh, those recipes look amazing!

    What will the name of the cookbook be, I wonder? Does she know yet?

    Oh, wait, you said NOT to be jealous of the testers, right? WRONG ;-)

    XO
    Dawn
    Vegan Fazool blog

    ReplyDelete
  7. Well I was already going to buy Terry's new cookbook (cause she's awesome) but this makes me wish it came out today so I could go buy it RIGHT NOW!

    Your babies look so comfy!

    ReplyDelete
  8. holy moly you've been a testing machine! love the looks of your Okonomiyaki! i also loved the fennel salad and that dilly rice - yummers :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. I <3 Moroccan food. You're right... they totally know what to do with a veggie!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Ooh, I know what you mean about testing, but these dishes all look really good! There is a Japanese student who has brough okonomiyaki to a few parties, but he always puts bacon in it, so I'm going to have to try out a vegan version when this cookbook comes out.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oh man, you've been making some great food! I am excited for this new cookbook already, just by the sights and descriptions you've shared. So hungry for lunch now and I want everything you posted here!

    ReplyDelete
  12. It's so cute how cats claim random spots for themselves. :)

    All the food looks great, I can't wait for the book!

    ReplyDelete
  13. That all looks amazing!! Especially the okonomoyaki. I can't wait for the cookbook to come out. :) Love the furbaby photos. :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Looks amazing , all of it does. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  15. The cat picture or the dog picture? There is no comparison. The cat picture is art gallery quality. It is very good.

    Your "Terry's Taster" recipes look delicious.
    but are they low fat and low salt? Are they salt and oil free or just a pinch of salt and a tiny amount of oil.

    Here is some helpful info for those who interested on salt intake.
    Did you know that a human diet, Eating only fruits, fruits, vegetables, beans nuts and seeds. Without any any added salt equates to less than 1000 mg of sodium per day.
    Recommended daily salt intake for those who want to keep their salt intake low is 1000mg to 1300mg
    300 mg of extra salt a day is how much in teaspoons.
    300mg is 0.3g, there are 5g in a teaspoon. 1/16 of a teaspoon. That's it!!!!! !/16 of a teaspoon, That is a very tiny small of an amount, a pinch of salt is much larger amount!
    Take the recipes in your latest post, "Terry's Taster"
    Now that you know what 300mg of salt is, how much salt went into these delicious looking recipes.
    I am just asking question, trying to educate myself more so I can make healthy choices, I am sure some readers of your blob might be interested too
    thank you very much
    ALF

    ReplyDelete
  16. Cats are so funny with their obsessions! Mine doesn't do toys much, but when he finds one he likes he won't leave it alone for a while, then he'll forget about it.

    I've though about trying to test for cookbooks before because it looks like fun, but I know I'll never have the time. So I'm glad there are people like you who guarantee I get tasty recipes when I buy the book!

    ReplyDelete
  17. It's late but looking at all of that delicious food is making me hungry.
    So cute your Snoopy and Yummers is too cute all balled up.

    ReplyDelete
  18. yum! I love vegan food. I want to try that Afghan ravioli. different and delicious looking

    ReplyDelete

I love comments, they really make my day! Thanks for reading my blog! I'm sorry I had to turn on word verification and comment moderation - I was getting so many spam comments!