Couscous

A while back I bought about a pound of Israeli couscous. I've had it in restaurants and I've made that Far East pre-seasoned box stuff enough, but I knew that the Israeli was better, so I thought I'd try it.

It is better. Easy and delicious. These are hardly recipes, just ideas. Delicious ones.

Also, I'm sorry about the HUGE picture at the top. I can't seem to shrink it, so I either need to a) accept it, b) get a new template that accepts pictures, or c) get rid of it.

Last night for dinner I made Israeli couscous with basil butter. Easy enough: chop fresh basil, smash into unsalted butter. Pref. let sit in fridge overnight, but whatevs (If you've not done this before, the best way to store it is to get some parchment paper, spoon the butter into the middle of it, and roll it up and twist the ends like an old-school candy wrapper. It'll keep in the fridge for a good week, but it can also go in the freezer for a loooooonnnnnng time.) Cook couscous, add generous pat of basil butter. Sprinkle with some salt or garlic salt. Enjoy.

For lunch today, I sauteed a clove of garlic just until fragrant (45 seconds?) and two handfuls of fresh baby spinach. Let that go until wilted. Tossed about a cup of cooked couscous with that and added a pinch of salt. Absolutely wonderful (and a good way to use the slightly limp spinach that was left in my fridge).

Found a recipe for toasted couscous with grilled veggies that I'd like to try, but need to go to the grocery store first. I also wish I liked zucchini more than i do. Maybe I'll just do the asparagus and bell peppers.

New postings?

I haven't really been here in awhile, and I know there's not really anybody checking/using this blog, but I'd like to start posting some ideas again. Right now I'm on the hunt for the perfect BBQ sauce recipe. While it's not popular with "real" BBQers, I love Famous Dave's Devil's Spit and have been trying to make a similar sauce with no real luck. I've used a few recipes out of Raichlen's BBQ Bible (and his sauces book) and I've not really loved any of them. Too sweet, too vinegary, too bland. I've tried building two of my own from scratch and they've been fine, but not great. So maybe I'll post a few recipes here in the upcoming days and if anybody happens upon this, they can give me some suggestions. If not, at least I'll have a record of what I've done, what I've liked, and what I haven't liked.