On couscous

It gets to be the end of the week. There are a bunch of little bits and pieces of things left in the fridge from the meals you've eaten the previous weekdays. You've run out of ideas. Make couscous. You can put almost anything in couscous, and if your picky eater will eat even one or two vegetables, they'll like them even better when enveloped by couscous, which is, afterall, pasta. You might even sneak in a new vegetable or two. Below is my standard recipe for couscous, but there are endless variations, depending on what's in your fridge and what leftovers you've got. Think about using or substituting fennel, celery, any kind of herb and any kind of toasted nut or seed, green beans, chick peas, green peas, potatoes or sweet potatoes, leeks, butternut squash, pomegranate seeds, cubed chicken, leftover sausage-- sky's the limit. Just cube up those vegetables to about 1/4" dice and rev up your frying pan. AND, it counts for both a vegetable and a starch for that night's dinner!

Basic vegetable couscous

1/2 c. raw pepitas, toasted

1/4 c. olive oil

1 onion diced

1 large carrot, cubed to about 1/4"

1 medium to large parsnip, cubed 1/4"

1/4 t. hot red pepper flakes

1 large zucchini, cubed to about 1/4"

1 small bunch flat leaf parsley, minced

Salt to taste, if desired

1 1/2 c. couscous, cooked to package instructions

Toast the pepitas in either a toaster oven, or a small frying pan. Watch them carefully and shake the pan often to make sure they don't burn. Set aside.

Heat a mid size skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil, onion and carrot. Add red pepper flakes. Add the parsnips, and add the zucchini last since it doesn't need to cook very long. Stir occasionally. When all vegetables are crisp tender, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the pepitas, parsley, and salt if desired. When the couscous is ready, reheat the vegetables on a low flame. Flake the couscous with a fork and stir into the vegetables. It's ready!

In this version, I used up some leftover roasted potatoes, leftover spicy green beans with tomato and a big bunch of parsley I had on hand, plus most of the ingredients above. It was really good! The toasted pepitas are the key-- they give your couscous a delicious crunch and toasty flavor.