Vegetable Couscous
“I think we are all going to enjoy this little treat. I got the recipe from Ladies Home Journal. The mail got wet in the rain. So, some of the pages ran together. What I couldn’t read, I improvised with my own little creative ideas. You see it’s got raisins in it…and you like raisins.” – John Cusack’s mom, Jenny Myer, in Better off Dead. You see my next dish has raisins, and who doesn’t like raisins? You might say, “Sure I like raisins. As a kid, I ate them out of a little red box tucked inside my brown paper sack lunch in elementary school.” You might also say, “Raisins are a great snack food. They are nature’s candy. But how can they be transformed into anything remotely close to being carnilicious?” Well, using some creative ideas, I improvised this next meal. I was actually trying to come up with a simple side dish to have with a developing curried eggplant croquette recipe (sounds good I know, but that one is not yet perfected). And what started out as a simple side dish grew into a single stand-alone meal. It is a great recipe to have as a light summer dinner, bring to a pot-luck, or to take to the office for lunch. And it has raisins. You like raisins. What could be better? So, break open those little red boxes. Nature’s candy is no longer just a snack. Combined with some other ingredients, the raisins are transformed into a hearty and substantial dish. I give you my version of VEGETABLE COUSCOUS which I promise will beat the pants off any recipe from Ladies Home Journal.
Ingredients
- 1 Lrg. Carrot (shredded)
- 1 Med. Red Bell Pepper (diced)
- 1 Med. Zucchini (diced)
- 3 Cups Vegetable Broth (divided use)
- 1 Cup Whole Wheat Couscous
- 1 Cup Quinoa
- 1 15oz. Can of Garbanzo Beans
- ½ Cup Dried Apricots (chopped) (about 12)
- ½ Cup Raisins
- ½ Cup Pistachios
- 1 Tbs. Ground Cinnamon
- 1 Tsp. Cumin
- 1 Tsp. Turmeric
- 1 Tsp. Coriander
- 2 Tbs. Olive Oil
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
First of all, you will want to cook your quinoa and couscous according to the directions on the package. Once cooked, allow your grains to cool. I use vegetable broth instead of water when cooking my grains, but I will leave that up to you. While the grains are cooking, go ahead and cut up and shred you carrots, red pepper, and zucchini. And feel free to add in some other vegetables if you want. I just added my top three, but yellow squash, cucumbers, roasted eggplant, and even beets would work in this dish. No judgments here, use a little creativity to improvise.
Now comes the hard part. Get a large mixing bowl; add in your grains and vegetables. Then top this with your garbanzos, raisins, and apricots. Mix to combine and then add your cinnamon, cumin, turmeric, coriander, and salt and pepper. Drizzle the salad with the remaining olive oil and mix once more time to ensure all the spices are mixed into the salad. I would also check to see if you want to add a touch more salt and pepper. Now place the salad in the frig and cool for at least 30 minutes. The longer this salad sits the better it tastes as the flavors have more chance to meld together.
http://www.grassfedcarnivore.com/vegetable-couscous/
You like raisins
That is all there is to this recipe. It is simple, quick to prepare, and delicious. I serve it with pitas and home-made hummus (future blog I promise). But again, like Jenny Myer, feel free to improvise with your own little creative ideas. Longer Letter Later.
Love, Bob aka The Grassfed Carnivore
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