Pumpkin and Feta Burgers with my new pals, Gourmet Garden

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Ok, not totally new, we've been friends for a while.

Like those times when fresh lemongrass requires me to take out a mortgage in order to buy it.

When bugs have eaten all my basil.

And when I want some garlic that hasn't sprouted that weird little green horn because I've forgotten it's in the back of the cupboard.

Gourmet Garden have always been my friends, coming to my rescue with their reliable little tubes of herby goodness.

You may have seen them in your supermarket produce section. They may already be your pals too.

They live down the road from me, in pretty Palmwoods. Where, after the herbs are picked when antioxidants and essential oils are at their peak, they are packaged fresh and under refrigeration to get the best flavour, aroma and the highest value of nutrients. They're only washed, chopped, blended and packed. That's it!

I've been to their factory and by gum, it smells GOOD! It makes me hungry every time I even visit the offices, let alone where the actual magic happens. Their facilities are so clean and fancy, and although it is freezing in there, everybody looks cheerful and probably goes home smelling like an Italian neighbourhood. This is a Good Thing.

The tubes were originally created because they know that fresh herbs and spices can't be beat in cooking. But not all of us can or want to grow them, or they get sad and withered before we can use them. Plus we're all busy and if you're anything like me, you forgot the chillies at the supermarket, and now none of us have to miss out.

They have tons of flavours like chives, dill, ginger, rosemary, oregano, and cool mixtures like Thai and Mediterannean seasoning. No waste, always ready to go. Win!

You'll be seeing them pop up in recipes from time to time here on Veggie Mama, and I'll be creating some recipes for their site and blog, as well as the very cool Dominique Rizzo and the chicks from 4 Ingredients. I might even make a cameo in their very popular Herb eCooking School videos, which you can like on Facebook here and be kept up-to-date with their goings-on. You can enrol in the classes, which are FREE!

They have a whole treasure trove of recipes already, here.

I hope you'll make them welcome!

And yes, they were the very kind BlogHer/BlogHer food sponsors, so if you're a blogger, you know how awesome that is. For a company to value the worth of what we do, and be excited to partner with us in this way is incredibly generous and SMART of them. They could teach some brands a thing or two!

I loved the garlic in this recipe because it mixed much more smoothly and evenly in the burgers than chopped garlic would. They've just got that little something extra that boosted the flavour.

Makes 8-10


Ingredients
3 cups cooked brown rice
1.5 cup cubed pumpkin, steamed
1/4 cup danish feta
1 tbs Gourmet Garden basil
1 tbs Gourmet Garden garlic
1 egg
1/4 cup plain flour
salt (not too much) and cracked black pepper
chopped parsley
Method:

1. Mix all ingredients together. You can mash the pumpkin beforehand if you like, but I don't bother.

2. Cook on medium-high heat in a large frying pan 5-8 mins on each side, until browned and cooked through. You might want to keep flipping if yours is an excellent frypan and keeps the heat, not like mine, who takes forever to brown anything...